Red Wings Activate, Reassign Shai Buium

According to a team announcement, the Detroit Red Wings have activated defensive prospect Shai Buium from the season-opening injured reserve and reassigned him to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.

Buium, 22, is the older brother of Vancouver Canucks’ blue liner Zeev Buium. He too played for the University of Denver Pioneers, scoring 14 goals and 75 points in 120 games with a +61 rating. Shai won two National Championships with the Pioneers, whereas Zeev only contributed to one.

The Red Wings, who drafted Buium with the 36th overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft, signed him to his entry-level contract at the end of the 2023-24 NCAA season. He only registered one game for the Griffins down the stretch.

Last season was his first in the professional circuit, and he performed relatively well. He finished second on the team in scoring among defensemen with two goals and 25 points in 67 games. Unfortunately, he couldn’t help the Griffins achieve a deep playoff run, going scoreless in three games with a -3 rating.

Although Buium hasn’t played yet this season, we know the situation he’ll be returning to in Grand Rapids. The Griffins have been on an unprecedented pace this season, producing a 28-1-1-1 record in 31 games. The next closest team in the overall standings is the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, who are 11 points back of the Griffins with three additional games played.

Because of this, the Griffins can easily afford to slowplay Buium’s return to consistent minutes. The team is flush with good defensemen, sporting veterans Erik Gustafsson and Justin Holl on a nightly basis, assisted by Antti Tuomisto, Ian Mitchell, William Wallinder, and William Lagesson.