Zeev Buium's Defense Is Still Holding Him Back

Zeev Buium made history when he stepped on the ice for the Minnesota Wild’s first game against the Vegas Golden Knights in Round 1 last season. He became the first Wild player to debut during the playoffs. Buium had a strong start to his career and assisted Kirill Kaprizov on a power-play goal.

Bill Guerin highlighted Buium’s “ability to generate offense” when Dan Barreiro asked him what Buium brought to the team in a KFAN interview. Buium had 48 points in 41 games in the 2024-25 season at the University of Denver, and almost immediately started generating offensive opportunities for Minnesota. Buium will be a great addition to the power play, but still has room to grow.

Buium showed confidence with the puck and made an impact during his 4 playoff games last season. However, he occasionally made defensive mistakes and averaged 13:36 of ice time (TOI).

During Game 3, Reilly Smith picked up the puck off a weird bounce and sent it to William Karlsson. Buium got back to defend. Still, Karlsson walked into the zone, passed around Buium back to Smith, and Smith scored. 

Buium is high in the offensive zone when the play starts, so it would’ve been dangerous for him to pinch on this play. However, he doesn’t gap up correctly, and Karlsson is able to pass around him. 

Through the preseason, Buium has played a similar game. He had great offensive plays, but has not consistently made the defensive play. During the Wild’s September 25 game against the Dallas Stars, Buium was on the ice for 4 of their 5 goals against. While every goal for and against is a collective team effort (or lack thereof), there were a couple of moments that an extra effort from Buium would’ve stopped the goal.

For Dallas’s second goal, Buium has the puck in the offensive zone and loses it, which Mavrik Bourque picks up and passes to Wyatt Johnston. Buium manages to poke check it away from Johnston, but then leaves too much space, so Johnston is able to pick it up again. Buium has a moment of hesitation, followed by a poorly angled attack that Dallas capitalizes on and scores. 

I’m not pointing out Buium’s mistakes to suggest he’s a bad player. Defensemen get beat, it’s part of the game. However, his job is to defend, and he has room to grow defensively, especially considering these were pre-season games, and he can expect tougher opponents in the regular season. 

Something else holding Buium back defensively is his age. At only 19 years old, he stands at 6-foot-0, 183 lbs., and has spent far less time in the weight room than most NHL players. While he’s technically bigger than Jared Spurgeon already, he’s probably not as strong. He’ll likely fill out and gain weight, making him physically harder to get by later on in his career. 

Even if these mistakes make him a defensive liability, the Wild should still give him ice time. While Buium had a tough game against the Stars, he showed the kind of impact he can make on September 28 against the Chicago Blackhawks. Minnesota doesn’t score on the following play, but they get shots on net and dominate the zone because Buium chases down the puck instead of circling back into a defensive position. 

A more timid defenseman would’ve gotten back into position, but Buium has the confidence and ability to pick the puck back up and make a play with it. 

By the Wild’s September 30 game against the Winnipeg Jets, Buium had found his stride. He looks natural at the top of Minnesota’s umbrella power play. He confidently and quickly moves it around the zone before firing from the blue line on net.

Kirill Kaprizov tips the puck in. Still, the movement between Buium, Matt Boldy, and Vladimir Tarasenko is critical to this goal. 

Buium continued to generate offense during Minnesota’s October 3 game against the Blackhawks. Kaprizov entered the zone on the power play and sent it to Buium as he crossed the blue line. Buium held the puck and went behind the net instead of shooting. He got a clear pass to Boldy, who passed it over to Tarasenko, who scored. 

Buium doesn’t take the shot or the pass when he doesn’t have it on the power play. While getting a shot off and going for the rebound is typically the safe play, on the power play, it allows the other team to pick up the loose puck and ice it. Buium’s long stick doesn’t hurt his ability to keep the puck out of Artyom Levshunov’s reach here, either. 

He’s also able to generate scoring opportunities outside of the power play. Buium consistently drives to the net when given an opportunity, like he does in this clip. 

Later in the game, Buium cements his position on the power play by giving Boldy an outlet. Tarasenko moves up top as a decoy outlet, and Buium sends it back to Boldy, who shoots and scores. 

Minnesota needed a confident player with strong offensive ability on the power play, and they definitely got one. While Buium has some work to do defensively, he’ll be able to close that gap as he adapts to the NHL, and his ability to produce on the power play makes up for it.