By Robert Brent -
When the Minnesota Wild drafted Zeev Buium at 12th overall, experts and fans lauded the pick as a draft steal. The excitement was well-founded. Buium put together one of the best freshman seasons as a defenseman in recent NCAA memory. His 50 points ranked as the second-best mark by an NCAA defenseman since 2009-10. Buium’s Denver Pioneers also won the National Championship, completing a storybook season.
With such a successful first year in the college ranks, it’s natural to wonder how Buium could possibly improve in his second season. So far, he's avoided the sophomore slump and is fleshing out his game. Denver is undefeated, and Buium is playing a pivotal role, making fantastic offensive plays like the one below.
While Buium’s headlines are positive, his impact on the scoresheet lags behind last year’s production. Buium has yet to find the back of the net through 10 games after tallying 11 goals in his previous campaign. While it may be easy to worry about smaller scoring numbers this year than last, Buium’s contributions go far beyond his (still-great!) point totals.
Buium’s Role Is Maturing
While discussing Buium’s drop in production is fair, there's no reason to be concerned. He's still producing elite offensive numbers with 10 assists in 10 games. Buium's lack of goals doesn't come from a lack of opportunity. The Wild prospect regularly dominates play and has 17 shots on goal.
Still, despite his outstanding play, there are some underlying reasons he's not scoring at the same rate as he did in his freshman season.
Buium’s role with the Pioneers has grown. He dictates the flow of the game with his vision, skating, and passing. Buium is a mainstay on Denver's top pairing and often quarterbacks the powerplay. The prospect is shooting slightly less this year and is also seeing some of his usage go to Bemidji transfer Eric Pohlkamp.
Denver is using Pohlkamp as their triggerman for a lot of their offense, with the blueliner registering 39 shots on goal to Buium's 17. With a two-headed monster in Denver, Buium doesn't need to carry the load to the extent he did last season. The goals and points will come, but Buium has successfully settled into a distributor role.
Let's take a look at an example:
In a straightforward but effective play, Buium enters a dangerous scoring area to draw a defender before making the right play, passing it to an open teammate. A player as talented as Buium might be tempted to take the space he's given and try to cut to the net. Instead, he lets his gravitational pull create an even more significant opportunity for a teammate.
The play above doesn’t go on a player's sizzle reel, but maturing as a hockey player often means forgoing those highlight opportunities for a higher-percentage chance. That's what Buium is showing in spades this year. Using not just his skills, but how those skills force opponents to play him, is making things easier for teammates and is the next level for him, offensively.
Buium’s Skating and Creativity Shining
One of Buium’s most alluring attributes is his ability to make creative plays with the puck using his hockey IQ and excellent skating ability.
“I love to be creative. I love to make plays. Obviously, when you’re doing that, you’re gonna mess up sometimes, but that’s the game. That’s hockey,” Buium said in an NHL.com draft profile. “For me, I love to be creative and try to find space for my teammates and myself, and when the puck is on my stick, I’m pretty confident that I can make a pretty good play.”
Buium is getting to show that off even more in his sophomore season. In the early goings of this season, Buium is making tons of cerebral decisions that generate high-quality scoring chances.
Let’s look at Daniel Gee’s highlight package, head crossover scout at EliteProspects:
The reel above is a treasure trove of Buium’s impact plays that result in quality chances for himself or his teammates. He’s gotten incredibly crafty this season, using subtle moves to manipulate defenders and create space all over the ice.
He’s also adept at getting his shot off with impressive puck control in tight windows. The first play in the reel encapsulates all of those abilities. Buium takes on multiple defenders, keeps the puck through skating prowess and stick handling, and ultimately dishes the puck to an open teammate for a high-quality chance that ends up in the back of the net.
Buium’s Path Forward
Buium isn’t putting up the numbers he did last year. However, if he continues to make plays like he has, he’ll start scoring more often. Still, Buium doesn't need to reach his freshman point totals to make progress. Buium may not score 50 points this year, but it's clear from how he's played this year that he has a path toward being an impactful player for the Wild.
Before he becomes a contributor in Minnesota, Buium needs to work on some things. He will probably simplify his game further at the next level. Buium is uniquely talented, but relying on plays where he skates through multiple defenders is a low-percentage play in the NHL. The first-round pick is a good defender, but he admits he wants to be better defensively.
"I think I'm not a shutdown defenseman, but I do take pride in that game. I want to be a guy that can play those big minutes." Buium said in the NHL.com profile. "For me, the guys at Denver, the coaching staff and players, everyone knows how much work I've put into it, how much effort we put into it. For me, it's just working on it every day and trying to perfect it."
Minnesota’s front office must be excited about Buium's willingness to work to improve. His offense will likely always be his strongest skill, but Buium's attitude toward improving his all-around is a promising sign. Denver is a great program that churns out high-quality hockey players, and the NCAA has become a factory for producing elite defenders. His play has been excellent so far this season. All the pieces are in place for Buium to go from an exceptional prospect to an exceptional NHLer.
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