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Article: What Does Zeev Buium Have To Do To Be In the Calder Conversation?


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12 minutes ago, TCMooch said:

It would be nice to bring home some hardware but if Buium is able to score at least 50 points this season and not look out of place on the defensive side I would be extremely happy no matter what!

Suter's season record is 51...so yeah.  50 would be nice.

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There are going to be some growing pains on the defensive side with ZB and I hope everyone will be patient. He is extremely aggressive and a risk taker, always looking to skate the puck up ice and make plays. He's going to get caught sometimes, it's something we'll have to live with. I hope the coaches don't reign him in too far.  He was extremely tentative in the games he played last year just because it was playoffs and mistakes are amplified, but that is going to change when the regular season starts. Looking for big things from this kid, he is sensational!  

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9 hours ago, TCMooch said:

It would be nice to bring home some hardware but if Buium is able to score at least 50 points this season and not look out of place on the defensive side I would be extremely happy no matter what!

50 points as a rookie on this team?  I'll take it with or without the Calder Trophy.  

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Politics will impact his votes.  Even if he beats out Demidov for points he might not win the trophy.  

That being said if he has a season that puts him into the conversation of winning the Trophy I'll take it in a heart beat.

Let's say he scores 50 points.  Figure Faber scores 45, Middleton 40, Spurgeon and Brodin score 25 to 35 each.  That is a ton of points and we aren't even talking about the wild card in Jiricek.  That would be a ton of points from the defense.  

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21 hours ago, TCMooch said:

It would be nice to bring home some hardware but if Buium is able to score at least 50 points this season and not look out of place on the defensive side I would be extremely happy no matter what!

Wait, what? A happy Mooch? Does this ever happen?

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I think it will take much more than just individual accomplishment, though one thing not on the list is a couple of wow moves that get shown over and over again. He will need those. If he does it in the reverse retros, even better, since those uni's really stand out and are flashy.

But, I think this also boils down to team performance. Let's face it, this team doesn't get much press, and when watching on a national broadcast who will they be watching? Kaprizov. That means that Buium would have the opportunity to do something special while most are watching for Kaprizov to do it. 

Wins will help a lot. But it doesn't just help Buium, it can also help The Wall and Yurov (or Jiricek or Ohgren). With as much turnover as we've had going into this year, the rookies will play a big role in the success of the team. If The Wall has to step in for a time with a Goose injury, he gets the spotlight. If Buium has to step in with defensive injuries and play minutes like Faber did a couple of years ago, he gets noticed. If Yurov is elevated and puts up points, he also gets noticed. If all 3 do, it's great for the team but lousy for the Calder since votes will split. Also, any of the Wild players will have to fight against East Coast bias. 

I think Buium will start the year with Spurgeon. I have no problem with that either as I believe the Captain can pour into Buium's game. Spurgeon and Goligoski were real good for half a season until Goligoski fell off a cliff. I think that same potential exists with a Buium-Spurgeon pairing (without the cliff). 

Denver played Buium in the most important minutes of games. They trusted him to shut down the opposition too. I think his defense will be a pleasant surprise. There will be a learning curve, but debuting against a very large Vegas team was probably the best thing that could have happened to him. He probably wondered if all teams were that big? 

FWIW, Nishishkin for Carolina also debuted in the playoffs last season. He also was pulled from the lineup at some times. I expect him to be real good, but he wasn't a wonderkid last season.

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