| Luka Radivojevic | Orebro HK J20 | J20 Nationell | R | D | 5’10” | 154 | Edina, MN | 2007 | 2024-2025: A |
Game Grade: C+
Comments: Radivojevic is the youngest player in this year’s tournament. His lack of size is a real issue at this level as he is unable to win physical battles behind the net. He has a ton of heart and gives it his all but cannot push players off the puck with his body. He ties up sticks well in front of the net to shut down chances. He is an incredibly confident and skilled offensive defenseman for his age. He executed multiple edge driven fakes and showed off quick hands to walk past attacking opponents. He has very quick and agile feet which he uses to move up ice and around each zone with speed. He also showed off a skilled saucer pass under pressure to break the puck out under pressure. Luka’s defensive game was off today. He was far too aggressive with his step ups and missed many important poke checks which led to goals for the US. He finished -2 and needs to reign in his defensive play as well as fix some flaws in his positioning. Not the best performance defensively but like we said before, he has the heart and compete level to continue to battle and keep trying shift after shift. He will need some time and more experience to round out his game, but his offensive talent and confidence will provide a great base to build upon and has the potential to be one of the first defensemen off the board in 2025.
| Zeev Buium | Denver University | NCAA | L | D | 6’0″ | 183 | Denver | 2023 | Laguna Niguel, CA | 2005 | 2023-2024: A- |
Game Grade: B+
Comments: Another great offensive performance from Buium as he picked up 1 goal and 1 assist. His confidence continues to grow as the week has gone on. He flies up ice on the rush with a short but smooth stride and forces opponents to respect his speed. He is incredibly agile and was able to pull off multiple tight turns away from pressure as well as confident line walks to open up lanes to pass through. When the puck is on his stick, his head is up and scanning options up ice. He makes quick, smart decisions and executes crisp stretch passes that connect on his teammates tape from long distances. His goal was beautiful, executing a shift head fake while entering the offensive zone and walking past his man. Then he walked into the slot, pulled off a toe drag around a reaching defender, and fired a wrist shot that snuck through the goalie. This goal was a great showcase of his speed, confidence, skilled hands, and agility. His assist was a secondary assist created by an agile spin move while controlling the puck at the offensive blue line. He turned around his man and slid a pass to a nearby teammate eventually resulting in a goal. While we like his flashy style and agile skating, we felt that he needs to choose his spots to try flashy moves better. This play was nearly shut down when he bobbled the puck under pressure and would have given his man a free breakaway if the puck had taken an unlucky bounce. He should continue to use his skill in creative ways to set up chances but needs to be a bit more careful when in exceptionally tight spots. Buium’s defensive game is good but still needs some work. He is a bit passive and chased the puck around the zone. One time in particular he followed his man all the way out the top of the circles which gave up a ton of open space in front of the net. We also feel he will need to add a ton of strength to be able to effectively win battles and clear space in front of the net. He is one of the younger players in this tournament but had a lot of trouble pushing the screen away from his goaltender. This was another impressive performance from Buium.
Scout: Henry Lawrence