By Neil Urbanski -
Rookie defenseman Zeev Buium has hit the ground running in his first NHL season, displaying the skating, creativity, and playmaking skills that make him one of the best prospects in hockey. The 19-year-old phenom has nine points in his first 16 games, which is tied for third in rookie scoring and 20th among NHL defensemen.
Still, there have been some expected growing pains, exacerbated by the fact that the Minnesota Wild coaching staff has had trouble finding a defensive partner who can complement the dynamic, free-wheeling Buium, who occasionally is as much a rover as he is a defenseman.
Entering this past week, Buium had played at least 20 five-on-five minutes with Brock Faber (20:30), Zach Bogosian (28:13), David Jiricek (53:19), and Jared Spurgeon (89:57). Buium has experienced mixed results, partly because he must play in tandem with someone who can read off his aggressive, rover-like mentality, something that is easier said than done.
However, the search may be over. Over the Wild’s past two games against the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Islanders, the Wild activated Daemon Hunt. They’ve slotted him next to Buium on the third pair, with the left-handed Hunt playing on his offside, allowing Buium to continue to play on his natural left side.
The early returns have been fantastic. Through 22:42 of five-on-five ice time, the two have produced an expected goals percentage of 54.47%, including a dominating 70.77% in just over 15 minutes of ice time against an uninspired Islanders team on Friday.
Hunt and Buium appear to have found instant chemistry, and after some early struggles against Carolina that reflected the team’s performance for much of that game, the duo has really begun to pop.
Hunt is a talented, intelligent player who makes good reads, decisive puck plays, is sound positionally, and doesn’t hesitate to join the rush when he sees an opportunity. He has good feet and a solid center of gravity, and almost always positions himself so he’s facing the play. While Hunt is not an overly powerful or dynamic skater, he has excellent footwork. He makes efficient turns, weight shifts, and pivots, and because he’s always facing the play, his movements are usually in the right direction for a given situation.
That makes Hunt an ideal partner for Buium, because when Buium is at his best, he’s wheeling around all three zones, slicing through lanes and breaking down defenders with deceptive fakes and excellent lateral movement. Basically, he’s all over the place. Hunt seems to understand how Buium wants to play and, more importantly, reacts quickly and gets to the right places.
Since Hunt is always facing the play, he reads Buium’s movements and works in tandem with him in all three zones. It’s not uncommon to see them switch back and forth between the right and left sides three or four times in a shift, and the duo has a knack for understanding when to do so.
Here's an example of the type of shift these two regularly turned in on Friday. Watch how Buium (No. 8 ) and Hunt (No. 48) work in tandem to cover ice and move creatively in all three zones, and how they create and fill space. Notice also how both of them defend with footwork and positioning:
That was basically a perfect shift and exemplifies what makes Buium and Hunt a compatible defensive pair. Hunt is the first to take the initiative offensively, working a give-and-go with Zuccarello and slicing down low, with Buium reading that play and filling in on the right side. Their pass doesn’t connect, but it was a perfect read by each of them.
After they retrieve the puck, they interchange in their own zone, and Buium transports the puck into the offensive zone. When it was time to defend, Buium used his skating to stick with his man and keep the puck to the outside, while Hunt used his 6-foot-1, 201-pound frame and strong footwork to out-leverage his man in front. He then beats his man to the puck down low and creates a turnover.
This pairing works because Hunt doesn’t just defer to Buium positionally. That’s the key to taking what Buium can do and elevating it to the next level. A defense partner that’s able to read off of him and work in tandem to create a five-man unit moving up ice and pressuring in the zone unlocks Buium’s ability to break down defenses by giving him the options that he needs to be able to attack with the puck freely.
Sometimes, he allows himself to get caught on an island with the puck, and that’s when bad turnovers happen. Hunt’s play reading and movement might be able to give Buium another option and ensure he has that safe outlet, and Hunt’s ability to jump into open ice helps create the space that Buium uses to deadly effect.
Here are a couple of examples of Buium and Hunt working in tandem to interchange up high, creating space and pressure in the offensive zone:
Notice how Hunt reads Buium’s intentions when he decides to walk the blue line, often recognizing immediately that Buium is going to slice across laterally, and skating hard to fill in his place on the left side. That’s an example of the quick chemistry that the two have developed.
Hunt also has a strong offensive-zone presence, using his play-reading and understanding of time and space to jump up in the play at opportune times. Here are a couple of examples of him taking the initiative offensively:
When Buium played with other defense partners, particularly Spurgeon, it seemed there was a tendency to sit back and watch what Buium was doing, ready to cover for his mistakes. While that is occasionally understandable, it also limits his effectiveness. Hunt’s willingness to play a free-flowing game is exactly what is needed beside Buium.
It also works on the defensive end:
The first clip above is an example of how Hunt playing on his offside can be an advantage. Buium roams to the right, and Hunt feels natural when shifting to the left; when the Islanders come in on the attack, they’re still on the opposite sides, which allows them to rotate naturally throughout the D-zone. Hunt can use his skating to recover and kill a play.
In the second clip, Hunt and Buium switch sides for the O-zone faceoff, which is common practice for defensemen with righty-lefty pairs, so that each is in a good stick position to handle a won faceoff.
However, with both being left-handed, this switch was clearly to allow Buium to make a play if the Wild win the faceoff. Instead, they lose it, and the Islanders come down the ice and establish possession. As the Islanders begin their cycle, Hunt and Buium switch coverage to get back to their right and left sides, and both make positive plays with positioning and footwork to help get a zone clear.
The fact that Hunt and Buium press the advantage every chance they get makes a pair that can help put the hammer down and give the Wild the upper hand in possession. The thing that separates high-level teams from the pack is their ability to hound opponents relentlessly and ensure there are no easy shifts.
Suppose Hunt and Buium can consistently play at a tempo that forces opponents to match it, one that seeks the initiative at every opportunity. In that case, it will make the Wild a much tougher matchup for up-tempo opponents like the Colorado Avalanche, who won’t be able to count on having a dozen shifts against a slow, overmatched third pair, as has sometimes been the case in past iterations of Wild D-pairings.
It's early, and David Jiricek and Zach Bogosian are also looking for chances to get playing time. Buium and Hunt are young players who will have some tough nights from time to time. Still, Hunt has brought a dynamic to the Wild’s back end that they didn’t have. If he and Buium can continue to display chemistry and cohesion, the Wild will become a much more well-rounded, dangerous team.
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