They'll be teammates next season at Denver, and hopefully one day in Detroit.
With their top two picks on the second day of the draft, the Red Wings selected a scoring defenseman in Shai Buium and a Detroit native and Little Caesars product in winger Carter Mazur. Both are U-D commits.
Detroit was clearly targeting Buium, another big blue-liner in the mold of sixth overall pick Simon Edvinsson and 2021 sixth overall pick Moritz Seider. The club traded up to snag him at No. 36, sending picks Nos. 38 and 128 to Vegas.
Buium, 6'3, was ranked No. 20 among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting and No. 32 overall by TSN's Craig Button. A left-hand shot, he put up 26 points in 50 games last season for Sioux City of the USHL after leaving Shattuck St. Mary's.
He described himself Saturday as a "two-way offensive defenseman" who can "read the game well and pick my pockets of when to join the rush."
"I think I’ll be able to be a good, solid top defenseman in the NHL," he said.
A San Diego native, Buium called it a "dream come true to be drafted by the Red Wings" because his two favorite players growing up were Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom.
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Mazur was the first forward drafted by Detroit this year, No. 70 overall. He put up 20 goals and 44 points in 47 games last season as the captain of the Tri-City Storm of the USHL. He also led the league in shorthanded goals. He's a right-hand shot who typically plays on his off wing.
NHL Draft analyst Chris Peters praised Detroit's selection of Mazur, noting his "game really took off this year" and "he made Tri-City better with his pace and work ethic."
Red Wings director of amateur scouting Kris Draper coached Mazur during his day in the Little Caesars youth hockey program.
To round out the draft, the Wings hold picks Nos. 102, 134 and 166.