A full season in the AHL saw Buchinger post nine points in 51 games. Although the production rate was not particularly exciting, it was a great sign that he played in the AHL for that many games. He will need to work on his defensive habits to climb into positive plus-minus territory if he should be considered for NHL callups in the future. Additionally, before Buchinger gets a consistent opportunity at the NHL level, he will need to produce more offensively at the AHL level. He still projects as a bottom-pairing defenseman in a few years if his development goes well, and the sooner he establishes strong defensive habits, the better.

After playing 26:54 in just two preseason games, Buchinger was sent back down to the OHL. This will be Buchinger’s third season with the Guelph Storm, and given his significant increase in points last season, it will be interesting to see if he can maintain his production or if he will experience his development stagnating.

The smooth-skating defenseman took another step in the right direction last season with an impressive 67 points in 61 games. This was 23 more points than his previous season. Buchinger’s abilities extended beyond offensive play; he was also excellent at preventing zone entries. He uses his long stick and is aggressiveness to stop the opponent from entering his zone. His value might skyrocket if he can keep this up.

Buchinger was drafted 88th overall by the St. Louis Blues.

Buchinger played a key role for Guelph in his draft year, averaging over 21 minutes per game, including plenty of time on both special teams units. His 44 points in 63 games were good enough for fourth-most among draft-eligible OHL defencemen, behind only Pavel Mintyukov, Christian Kyrou, and Ty Nelson.