| Boston Buckberger | Lincoln Stars | USHL | L | D | 5’11” | 172 | Wisconsin | 2023 | Saskatoon, SK | 2003 | 2022-2023: C+2021-2022: C+ |
USHL: Lincoln vs Des Moines, January 28, 2023: Buckberger totaled 24:09 in ice time including 2:24 while on the power play and 0:51 while shorthanded. He finished -2 on the night with the second one being an empty netter with eight seconds left. His first minus occurred with fourteen seconds left in a 1-1 game as he attempted to utilize a high scissor play with the his forward while he was the last man back. We’ve seen worse decisions made, but we would have liked to see the recognition that he was the last man back on a low percentage play. He has three shots on net that all led to rebounds including a one-timer off a face-off play that wasn’t a rocket but we liked how he adjusted his feet to a pass that wasn’t perfect. He finished the game -2 with 0 points, 3 shots, 1 PP shot, 1 grade “A” opportunity, 0 hits, received 2 hard body checks, had 2 shots blocked, 5 giveaways, 8 takeaways and he won 40% of his 10 puck battles.
USHL: Lincoln vs Omaha, November 4, 2022: Buckberger totaled a game high of 25:53 in ice time including 4:48 while on the power play and 5:48 while shorthanded. When utilizing a power play controlled breakout he showed nice awareness and puck poise by attacking the F1 directly. This allowed him to manipulate the F1’s angling route and often times put the player on his heels. All night his passes were on the tape and easy to handle. After sprinting onto the ice to break-up a 2on1 as the result of a bad line change he earned a secondary assist by hitting the stretch man in stride to send a 2on1 the other way. One thing to note, he attempted two power play shots from the top of the umbrella and both were blocked. Neither block led to an offensive zone clear, but one hit the shinpads of the forward directly in front of him and the other hit a body at the top of the crease. On the night he finished +1 with 1 assist, 2 shots, 3 PP shots, 1 grade “A” opportunity that he fired high & wide to the glove side, 0 PIMs, 0 hits, received 1 hard body check, 4 giveaways, 9 takeaways and he won 57% of his 7 puck battles.
USHL Showcase, November 15, 2022: Buckberger played his first two games in the USHL after being drafted 11th overall in the USHL Phase II Draft off an impressive first season in the AJHL where he produced 31 points in 59 games for Brooks won the AJHL Championship team and was All-Rookie team. He’s a skilled offensive defenseman with poise and smart puck management. He’s quick in transition and gets back to pucks on retrievals and is able to pick pucks clean off the wall evade forecheckers with slick moves and quick spins and stretch the ice with passes into the neutral zone. He likes to jump up and join the rush as a fourth forward and his assist against Green Bay was just that where he flew up the wall and made a crafty centering pass to the slot for a catch and shoot goal. Boston has the offensive skill and creativity to be a forward; on one rush he made two defenders miss weaving through the neutral zone and he had a fake shot at the blue line against Green Bay that got the forward to go down for a block and then just walked around him with such ease and poise and snapped a pass off. Another rush in the Green Bay game he joined as a late trailer and instead of sprinting to the net he saw open ice in the high slot so he slowed down almost to a stop to create space and get open for the puck carrier and got a pass and immediately fired it without handling and beat the goalie clean on pure power. Buckberger has a heavy shot and is a legit scoring threat from the blue line both 5v5 and on the power play and he can zip passes with ease through traffic over sticks and hit the tape consistently. He’s only 5’11’ 180lbs but he’s got great lower body strength and while he’s not a big body-checker or physical presence he’s able to ride opponents off pucks and has a strong stick to stick check or poke or steal and takeover possession. He could get a step quicker if we are being critical to make up for his size and he could play a tighter gap and more aggressive defensive style and a bit more physicality if we are being critical but tough to find much issue with his first two games in this league finishing with a goal and three assists; +3 rating and 4 shots on net. An immediate impact prospect at the NCAA level and one of the top ’03 defenseman in the league. Grade: A-
Neutral Zone’s Brendan Collins: Buckberger is a two-way defenseman. He maintains good gap control and doesn’t give up open ice easily. He is confident holding his spot as well as stopping the puck along the boards. He defends with good balance and positioning.
Neutral Zone NHL, July 4, 2022: Why he’s an NHL draft pick, he plays a reliable game and does not take unneeded chances. His passes are hard, flat, and on time which will help him thrive in professional hockey. Why not an NHL draft pick, during 2021/22 he attempted 145 shots from the point and high slot. He had 52 of them blocked.
Centennial Cup Quarterfinal and Semifinal, June 6, 2022: Buckberger is a solid, two-way defender that is able to jump into the offense without sacrificing any issues at his own end. He plays a clean, easy game and is poised in all situations as he manages the puck well. Boston can lead a rush on his own and slip through traffic as he drove the net on occasion to make odd man situations. He is always in the right position in all three zones, not overcommitting to pucks and only jumping at necessary times. Boston held the blue line a few times, keeping the offense going which led to some solid chances. Buckberger is deceivingly strong and was able to push guys off pucks, leaning into them and using his stick to poke pucks loose. He is not easy to play against or generate much around him either. Boston grabbed a late assist on the powerplay to get his name on the scoresheet. GRADE: B+
AJHL Finals: Spruce Grove vs Brooks, May 8, 2022: Buckberger is a two-way defenseman who was steady throughout. He maintains good gap control and doesn’t give up open ice easily. He is confident holding his spot as well as stopping the puck along the boards. He defends with good balance and positioning. He skated into a hard pass and used his strength to lean into and rip a hard one-timer on goal. He assisted on the 1st goal in game 5 on the PP as he used several quick shot fakes and change of direction at the point before passing it over to the R flank for a shot leading to a rebound goal. Grade: B
AJHL: Each Team Evaluated, February 14, 2022: Buckberger is an averaged size, mobile defenseman with skating and puck moving ability. He is a good skater with decent speed and mobility. He made good reads and decisions on when to pinch down the offensive zone wall. He did well at taking the boards away to keep pucks in the offensive zone. With the puck, he used good head and shoulder fakes to throw off attackers. He also did well at delaying and changing his shooting angles. Grade: B
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images