As expected, Buchman continued to impress over the Silver Stick. I've recently talked about his defensive impact, and while that was still evident here, I really liked his game for pushing play forward and sparking offence. David had many excellent sequences of getting up to support the play, making himself a passing option, and involving himself in rush attacks. With the puck in the neutral zone, he was his typical confident self, dodging forecheckers effectively, carrying pucks up ice with control, and looking for ways to spark chances off the rush. Within the offensive third, he was eager to rotate down the wall, successful on his pinches, and distributing pucks around the zone, making him a critical piece of their attack. Of course, Buchman was excellent in passing out of his own end and defending as usual, but I felt he created a notable amount of offence over the two Titans games I watched, which is the key element I wanted to highlight in this evaluation.

Continuing the theme of Myers defenders who caught my eye, Buchman was another standout on their blueline. Like his Myers defence counterparts, I also noted David as being effective at breaking up plays and then swiftly moving pucks up ice. While I could rave about his notable impact in those departments, he had one unique element that made his game slightly different than his teammates. Buchman was the defender on Myers that I found to be the most eager to activate and involve himself up ice. Whether skating pucks through the neutral zone or providing off-puck support, he always tried to get up ice and join in on rush sequences. I typically jotted down notes that revolved around his assertiveness and ambition to push play forward, setting his game slightly apart on the Myers backline. Defenders who engage themselves up ice with the play always catch my eye, so it's not surprising that Buchman made his way onto my notes all weekend long due to his constant activations.

Behind Caden Bell on Team ETA, I thought Buchman was the second best defender at the Draft Day Showcase. At the core of his game was his all-around skating package. In a straight line, he was incredibly powerful, using long strides to propel himself up the ice. All he needed was a few strides and was at top speed, blazing by his opposition. He was equally impressive in his lateral mobility, showing incredible footwork to turn and pivot in any direction necessary. While the skating tools were impressive on their own, how he leveraged them was the cherry on top. He was so assertive in using his feet to escape forecheckers, push play forward, and be one of the leaders in transition for the HEO squad. David's combination of skating ability, puck skills, and confidence all blended together to yield a player who could carry the puck out of his zone so easily and enter the offensive zone control time and time again. Buchman was so effective at escaping forecheckers, using quick lateral movements and smart puck touches to weave in and out of his opponents, pushing play up ice seamlessly. While this assertive puck-carrying was the focal point of my assessment, he was also fantastic in the offensive zone, threading passes from the point to teammates in scoring positions for quality chances on target. On this HEO squad, David was easily the player who exceeded my past expectations of him, cementing himself as one of the top defenders on my radar entering the regular season.

With Buchman, the offensive involvement, skating ability, and puck-moving have all been apparent since I first started untangling the '09 Ontario crop. While that's still the case and great to see, the more and more I've been watching, I've noticed just how impactful he is on the defensive side of things. David is incredibly aggressive at applying pressure in the neutral zone, using his stick smartly to take away passing options and just smother his opponents trying to enter his zone. His mobility package allows him to shadow attackers, take away their time and space, and pounce when the time is right to free up the puck. These defenders who shut down transitions early in their progression will always stand out to me, as denying entries is far superior to trying to make a stop once play has been set up in your defensive zone. I could talk more about the offensive flair of his game, but this defensive impact was what cemented him quite high on my initial list as it started to reinforce not only how much upside there is in David's game but also a solid, well-rounded player.

Buchman was the primary puck-mover out of the back end for the Titans, making transitions seamless whenever he was on the ice. David was almost perfect on retrievals, never panicking under pressure and consistently spotting the right path forward to spark a clean, controlled breakout. Even when under the presence of a forechecker, David had the footwork to dodge them with ease, buy himself time and make a pass up ice. He was another defender who recorded a goal when his point shot from a distance found the back of the net through a chaos of screens net front.

I thought Buchman was very easily the player of the game, mainly because of his involvement in transition. Whether he was carrying pucks up ice, relying on his mobility and handling to navigate the neutral zone or passing up to his forwards, he was nearly perfect at everything that goes into securing controlled zone entries. His head was always up scanning for the best path forward and consistently chose correclty, opting for the right decision to help transport the puck into the White end. Buchman connected on stretch pass after stretch pass, never hesitating once he spotted a passing option, and caught defences off guard with his passes, springing his forwards for many countteracks. David shut down many attack and added a goal in the game, which was all great to see, but this near perfection at executing breakouts and transitions was the focal point of my notes and what landed David as the first star.

Buchman was the other defender on the Titans who was noticeable throughout the game. David is a strong, powerful, and mobile skater, and I thought he used those skating tools to his advantage. There were some nice plays of him being aggressive in carrying the puck up ice, activating up ice to join the rush, and pouncing on loose pucks in the neutral zone, and it all revolved around his footwork. It wasn’t as often as I think he could he flexed his mobility, but there were some flashes where Buchman impressively skirted a forechecker with a quick lateral move and off he went, keeping play flowing up ice. Similarly to Kunopaski, David was looking to involve himself in the offensive sequences, sparking a few quality opportunities. This offensive involvement, paired with his transition game, made for a solid showing in the Titans’ opening game.