DENVER – The University of Denver Hockey program unveiled its 2024-25 team honors on Saturday at its 68th annual awards banquet at Magness Arena. Sophomore defenseman Zeev Buium was named the Bill Masterton MVP and also picked up the Keith Magnuson Best Defensive Player Award, while junior forward Jared Wright was recognized as the Dr. Ken Bredesen Most Sportsmanlike Player for a third straight season.
The full list of DU hockey’s 2024-25 award winners:
Buium was a Hobey Baker Award Hat Trick finalist and tied for the NCAA lead in scoring among defensemen with 48 points with 35 assists and a career-high 13 goals. A repeat first-team All-American, Buium led all rear guards in assists and trailed only fellow teammate Jack Devine in helpers in the nation. The San Diego, California, native registered multiple points in 13 games and recorded three points in a game five times during the year. Overall, he picked up points in 30 of the 41 contests he played and tallied 38 points (13g/25a) in the final 31 outings and 16 points (7g/9a) in the last 14 games. Buium finished third in the NCAA in average ice time (27:03), including skating 51:41 in the double-overtime loss to eventual national champion Western Michigan in the NCAA Frozen Four Semifinals. The defenseman also ranked second on the Pioneers in penalty minutes (44), third in blocked shots (50) and fourth with a plus-17 rating. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Minnesota Wild on April 13 and finished his collegiate career ranked 10th all-time in scoring by a DU defenseman with 98 points (24g/74a)—the most by a Pioneer blueliner in their first two seasons since Greg Woods had a pair of 52-point campaigns as a freshman and sophomore in 1975-76 and 1976-77. He finished 10th in Denver’s record book for career assists by a D-man (74).
Devine was just the third DU player to lead the NCAA in scoring after posting career highs with 57 points and 44 assists, joining Bobby Brink in 2021-22 (57 points) and Ed Beers in 1981-82 (84 points). Also a repeat first-team All-American and Hobey Baker Award Top-10 Finalist, Devine was also the first Denver player to record back-to-back 50-point seasons since Daryn McBride in 1987-88 (58) and 1988-89 (51) and owns two of just six 50-point campaigns by Pioneer skaters since 2012. The Glencoe, Illinois, native registered at least a point in 34-of-44 games and recorded multiple points in 17 outings. He scored 13 goals, including 11 markers after the New Year and tallied seven times in a nine-game stretch from Feb. 14-March 14. Devine won the NCHC scoring time with 32 points (11g/21a) in 24 conference games and led the team with 27 power-play points (5g/22a). The senior signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers on April 12 and finished his career at Denver as the highest-scoring player in the modern era of the program. Devine ranks 12th in team history with 163 points and is ninth with 106 assists, while also being one of just 10 DU skaters to record 50 goals, 100 assists and 150 points in their time at DU.
Reeder led all Denver freshmen in scoring with 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points and was the only rookie to appear in all 44 contests during the campaign. Overall, the forward finished tied for sixth on the team in goals and ninth in points, while also adding 15 blocked shots, posting a plus-17 rating and leading the Pioneers with an .186 shooting percentage. The Glenview, Illinois, native took only two penalty minutes during the year, the only consistent-playing player to achieve that mark. Reeder made his NCAA debut on Oct. 5 at Alaska Anchorage and scored his first collegiate goal in his second game on Oct. 6 at UAA, achieving the feat on his 19th birthday.
Caponi suited up for a fifth season at Denver as a graduate student and finished his career as the program’s all-time leader in games played. Serving as an alternate captain on the squad in each of the past two years, the forward broke former teammate Ryan Barrows games-played record by skating in his 169th game on Feb. 8 at Arizona State. Overall, Caponi played in 185 games, tied for the second-most in NCAA history. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin, native matched a career high with five goals and added four assists while appearing in 42-of-44 games. He missed his first and only games of the season on Dec. 6-7 at Western Michigan due to a lower-body injury after playing in 62 straight outings dating back to the 2022-23 season. Caponi paced the Pioneers with 65 penalty minutes and added 25 blocked shots while centering the team’s fourth line between a pair of freshmen in Hagen Burrows and Jake Fisher. He finished with 37 points (18g/19a) and 179 penalty minutes in his time at Denver.
Ashcroft recorded personal bests with four goals and eight assists for 12 points while skating in all 44 games. The sophomore defenseman tallied three game-winning markers, the first such goals of his collegiate career. He scored his first game-winning goal in the third period on Oct. 25 against Wisconsin. He recorded points in back-to back games for the first time in his career by netting the game-winner on both Dec. 14 versus Colorado College and on Jan. 4 at Maine, with the latter coming with 20 seconds remaining in regulation. The St. Albert, Alberta, native registered his first of two career multi-point outings on Feb. 1 against Omaha with a goal and an assist before tallying a personal-best three assists on March 16 versus CC in Game 3 of the NCHC Quarterfinals.
Wright becomes Denver’s fourth player to earn the Dr. Ken Bredesen Most Sportsmanlike Player award for three straight seasons, joining Bryan Vines (2000-2002), Gabe Levin (2014-2016) and Colin Staub (2017-2019). Also a finalist for the NCHC Sportsmanship Award this past year, Wright led all DU forwards with 75 shots on goals while blocking 28 shots and having just six penalty minutes, the second-fewest on the squad among players to see significant ice time. The Burnsville, Minnesota, native played all 44 games and totaled 17 points during the campaign on nine goals and eight assists. The junior forward recorded career highs with two assists (tied) and three points (1g/2a) on Feb. 1 against Omaha and finished his career with 54 points (32g/22a) and nine game-winning goals after signing a three-year entry-level contract with the Los Angeles Kings on April 14. He appeared in 122 games across three seasons at DU, including playing in each of the final 90 contests dating back to March 17, 2023.
Buckberger was recipient of the NCAA Elite 90 Award for having the highest cumulative grade-point average among participants at the 2025 Frozen Four (4.0). Also a member of the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team and an NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete, Buckberger produced on the ice as well during his sophomore season. The defenseman recorded career bests with nine goals and 30 points while also adding 21 assists, ranking in the top 10 on the team and third among DU defensemen in each of the three scoring categories. The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, native finished tied for fifth in the NCAA with a plus-30 rating and was leading the team in plus/minus before suffering a season-ending, upper-body injury on March 22 vs. Western Michigan in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship Game. Buckberger had skated in the first 41 outings of 2024-25 prior to missing the three NCAA Tournament contests and had played in each of the first 85 games of his collegiate career.
Radford, an alum at Denver, received the Daniel Ritchie Spirit Award, which honors an alumnus or friend of Denver hockey who embodies DU Chancellor Daniel Ritchie’s spirit of giving back to the school – not only financially, but with time and effort.
In addition to this year’s award winners being recognized, the team’s graduating seniors and departing players that signed professional contracts gave heartfelt speeches about their time at DU and what it meant to be them play for the Pioneers.
