SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Two Denver Pioneers have been named finalists for the 2025 Hobey Baker Memorial Award, as DU sophomore defenseman Zeev Buium and Denver senior forward Jack Devine are among the 10 finalists for college hockey’s most prestigious honor as announced by the Hobey Baker Award Committee on Wednesday.
 
Denver is the only team to produce two Hobey Baker Award Top-10 finalists this season, with Devine being selected a Hobey Baker finalist for the second straight season. The DU duo are the lone two finalists from the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), which has two finalists for the second straight season. Only the Big Ten has more Hobey Baker Award finalists this season with three.
 
Buium (San Diego, Calif.) is tied for the NCAA lead among defensemen with 42 points in 36 games, while his 1.17 points per game are tops among blueliners. His 32 assists also lead defensemen nationally and tie for second in the NCAA among all skaters. The Minnesota Wild first round draft pick has scored 10 goals this season, which ties for sixth in the country among rearguards. He carries a +14 plus/minus on the season, while averaging 26:06 time on ice, which is fourth nationally.
 
Buium leads all NCHC blueliners in points, goals and assists and is a unanimous First-Team All-NCHC selection for the second straight year. He is also a finalist for NCHC Player of the Year and NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year this season, after winning Offensive Defenseman of the Year in the NCHC as a freshman. In conference play, Buium’s eight goals and 20 assists also both led all blueliners, while he became only the third NCHC defenseman ever to record a hat trick, doing so Nov. 15 at North Dakota. Buium was a three-time NCHC Defenseman of the Week this season.
 
Devine (Glencoe, Ill.) is back in the Hobey Baker Top 10 after leading the country with 54 points in 39 games this season. His 41 assists are nine more than any other player in the NCAA this year. The Florida Panthers draft pick has also fired in 13 goals this season, with seven goals coming in his last 11 games, while five have come on the power play. In conference play, Devine captured the NCHC scoring title with 32 points (11g/21a) and 1.33 points per game in 24 NCHC games. His 21 assists in NCHC action were second.
 
Devine is a First-Team All-NCHC selection for the second straight season and is a finalist for NCHC Forward of the Year, as well. The two-time National Champion ranks 14th on Denver’s all-time scoring list with 160 points (57g/103a) in 157 career games. He is one of only 10 players in DU history to record 50 goals, 100 assists and 150 points in their career. Devine was a two-time NCHC Player of the Month this season in October and February, also garnering HCA National Player of the Month in October.
 
The 10 Hobey Baker Award finalists were selected by voting from all 64 Division I college hockey head coaches and online fan balloting. This year's Hobey Baker winner will be chosen from the 10 finalists by the 30-member selection committee, as well as an additional round of fan balloting running from March 19-30 on hobeybaker.com. Criteria for the award includes displaying outstanding skills in all phases of the game, strength of character on and off the ice, sportsmanship and scholastic achievements.
 
The three Hobey Hat Trick finalists will be announced on Thursday, April 3, and the Hobey Baker Award will be handed out on Friday, April 11 during the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four in St. Louis, Missouri. The announcement will be televised live on the NHL Network and streamed on the Hobey Baker website.
 
Buium and Devine give the NCHC 19 Hobey Baker Award finalists all-time, as the NCHC has had at least one finalist every year since play began in 2014. The NCHC is home to two previous Hobey Baker Award winners in former Denver defenseman Will Butcher, who won in 2017, and former Minnesota Duluth defenseman Scott Perunovich, who captured the honor in 2020.