An unconventional path led Shai Buium’s family to a life revolving around hockey.

photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins

Hockey origin stories typically have common roots. They’re set on frozen ponds or backyard DIY rinks and involve parents or relatives who played competitively and want to share the joy of hockey with a new generation.

For the family of Griffins defenseman Shai Buium, the road to becoming a hockey family was a little different. But the results speak for themselves.

It’s certainly not uncommon to see the names of Southern California natives dotting rosters throughout professional hockey. Longtime Griffins fans will never forget two-time Calder Cup champion and Whittier native Mitch Callahan, for example. But the first time Buium expressed an interest in hockey, he was met with, well, some resistance. 

“I was 6 years old, and I asked my mom if I could play,” said Buium. “She basically said, ‘Over my dead body you’re playing hockey – no way that’s happening.’”

It’s hard to believe that conversation would lead Miriam and Sorin Buium, Shai’s mother and father who immigrated to California from Israel in 1999, to raise three sons whose passions would come to dominate the family’s daily schedule. They knew nothing about the sport, but they had moved to an area of San Diego where one of Shai’s cousins had started playing hockey. He planted the seed – and even recommended a favorite team.

“My cousin played local hockey around San Diego,” said Buium. “He liked the Red Wings for some reason, and when it’s your older cousin, you just love whatever they love.”

The middle child between older brother, Ben, and younger brother, Zeev, Shai quickly took to the sport and eventually received parental approval to lace up his skates. Luckily, he had competition waiting for him at a moment's notice.

“We always got along really well, but all three of us are really competitive,” said Buium. “We would just play 1-on-1-on-1 in the streets with a stick and our rollerblades. My older brother and I would just bully Zeev, so maybe that’s why he’s so tough now and so good on his skates. It paid off for me as well. I think that’s the way to get better, just always compete, and it’s best to do it with your brothers.”

By the time he was 10, Buium was already in need of a new challenge. He joined the Los Angeles Jr. Kings, a premier youth organization in California. The problem: it was a two-hour commute from the family’s San Diego home. 

“We’d always get pulled out of school early and do homework in the car,” said Buium. “My mom is awesome, she’d always make food, too. For us, it was pretty easy, but now that I drive, I couldn’t even imagine.”

The driving responsibilities generally fell to his mom on weekdays while his dad ran an air conditioning business in San Diego. To add to the accumulating mileage, all three Buiums made the move to the Jr. Kings, and with each playing within his own age group, that meant long days at the rink.

“We’d be there for hours,” said Buium, whose family eventually moved to Orange County to cut the commute down to one hour each way. “Zeev would practice first, I’d be in a skill session, then I’d practice, and Ben would practice later. We were there a lot.”

Being a member of the Jr. Kings had its perks, as they are based out of the Toyota Sports Performance Center in El Segundo, which is the primary practice facility of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings. With Crypto.com Arena being among the busiest entertainment facilities in the world, the Kings and their opponents frequently hold game day morning skates away from the bustle of downtown Los Angeles. This allowed for some chance encounters for the Buiums while they killed time at the rink.

“We always saw [NHL teams] there,” said Buium. “We were always asking players for sticks and autographs, just annoying them. I was able to meet a bunch of players, like Pavel Datsyuk and Anze Kopitar. That was pretty special when I was younger.”

While Buium’s Jr. Kings were consistently nationally ranked, he eventually reached the highest rung on the competitive ladder in that area, too, as Los Angeles lacks high-end competition past the youth programs. That led to a move at 14 years old to Minnesota, where all three Buiums eventually followed a path laid by some of the biggest names in the sport.

“My older brother got recruited to go [to Shattuck-St. Mary’s School],” said Buium. “They said, ‘We have another spot on the under-14 team if Shai wants to come.’ For me, it was a no-brainer. All you do is play hockey and hang out with your buddies. It’s really easy compared to California. The travel is easy, everything is right there.”

Shattuck-St. Mary’s is a prestigious private school located in Faribault, Minnesota, that balances academics with a robust athletics program. Three former NHL first-overall picks – Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Macklin Celebrini – are Shattuck alumni, as are the likes of actor Marlon Brando and sportscaster Brent Musburger.

“The competition declines in California when you get past age 16, sadly,” said Buium. “It was probably the best decision I ever made. I loved it because you push each other. Everyone there wants to get better. Everyone there wants to make it to college hockey and play in the NHL.”

While Ben returned home and eventually joined his dad and cousin to assist with the family air conditioning business, Shai spent most of the next four years in this environment, soon followed by Zeev. It was at this stage that the two realized that pro hockey might be in their futures.

“They instill in your head that you can become a pro hockey player while you’re there,” he said. “You see the history there, so probably around 16 years old, I realized that I really have a chance at this.”

In California, the Buiums generally didn’t play hockey year-round. “We barely played in the summer, and we’d go to Israel every other summer,” Buium said, adding that they always packed their rollerblades and still had plenty of time for skating and competing. But at Shattuck, he was able to develop his game thanks to the balance the school offered.

“We would get up at 5:30, skate at 6:00, go to class at 8:00, have practice at 11:00, and go back to class after,” Buium said, noting that his parents were able to visit about once per month. “It’s pretty fun when you’re a kid to go non-stop like that. It was an amazing opportunity. And everybody’s in the dorms together, so you’re just hanging out with buddies and playing hockey every day.”

Buium was drafted into the USHL but started his draft-eligible season at Shattuck. When COVID regulations paused the team’s schedule, he opted to move to the Sioux City Musketeers, where he first noticed his name ascending NHL draft rankings.

“Probably around January or February is when I started talking to teams,” said Buium. “I was playing really well in the USHL. I was having fun doing it, playing hockey and doing school online. It was a different lifestyle that I loved.”

Eventually, Buium was selected in the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft by Detroit – a full-circle moment after having become a Red Wings fan playing street hockey with his brothers and cousin in their San Diego neighborhood 12 years earlier.

“I talked to them I think twice, and the interviews went well,” he said. “So I wasn’t shocked, but people were telling me I’d go anywhere between the late first to the fourth round, so I’m really fortunate that the Red Wings took me in the second round. And the rest is history.”

While Buium’s draft was conducted virtually, he was able to experience another celebratory family draft moment by being in attendance when Zeev was selected in the first round (12th overall) by the Minnesota Wild in 2024. The younger Buium brothers also had the opportunity to finally play on the same team, as they both attended the University of Denver in 2023-24.

“It was so fun, being able to grow together and hang out like that, because it might never happen again,” said Buium, who was also collegiate teammates with fellow Griffins Carter Mazur and Antti Tuomisto. “Hopefully it does, but I never took it for granted. That was a pretty special year.”

“Special” is an understatement to describe Buium’s tenure at Denver, one of college hockey’s blue blood programs. He captured two NCAA National Championships, the second coming in the season he skated alongside Zeev. But how interested were the coaches in capitalizing on the familial chemistry on the same defensive pair?

“They actually separated us,” said Buium. “Any time it was a power play or 4-on-4, we were together. Maybe it’s a good thing. [Zeev] and I kind of go at it sometimes, so maybe that’s not good for the rest of the team. We’d go at each other in the locker room, but we always turned it on next period. But he and Sean Behrens played well together, and I played well with Boston Buckberger, so it was a good mix.”

Whether it was for harmony on the bench or to spread the high-end talent around the lineup, the decision paid off for both Buiums. Zeev signed his first pro contract last spring and stepped right into the Wild’s lineup for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, while Shai hopes to build on a productive rookie season in Grand Rapids to pave his own road to the NHL.

“It was a huge learning year,” said Buium. “I thought it was good – there are things I wish I did better, but that’s hockey. You learn from that and you grow.”

In particular, Buium is hoping to showcase his offensive talents more in his second professional campaign. Even bigger defensemen, like Buium at 6-foot-3 and 213 pounds, are expected to be able to make plays with the puck in the modern NHL, and having played as a forward until he was 12, he always enjoys being able to produce points.

“Defending is obviously important, and we can have fun doing that as well,” said Buium. “But I love having the puck on my stick and making plays. That’s where my passion is at.”

Buium returns to his roots in the Orange County area each summer and skates with local NHLers. And while he enjoys the weather, he’s become much more of a traditional hockey player than a stereotypical California beach bum.

“I’m the worst surfer in the world,” said Buium. “I can’t surf for my life. I wish I were good at it, but I more like hanging out at the beach.”

Kyle Kujawa is a Grand Valley State University graduate and lifelong hockey fan who enjoyed a 12-year career in sports that began as a public relations intern with the Griffins in 2010. After two seasons (and one Calder Cup!) as a full-timer, he moved on to the Detroit Red Wings’ PR staff, where he spent nine seasons (2013-22). He turned in his press credentials for the corporate world in 2022 but has remained involved in hockey through various freelance writing gigs, coming full circle with an opportunity to contribute to Griffiti.