The Minnesota Wild saw a player dropping through the first round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft and took full advantage. Announced right before the 12th overall pick, the Wild trade with the Philadelphia Flyers to move up exactly one slot and get a very good defenseman.
For the 13th overall pick and a 2025 third-round pick, the Wild moved up and selected University of Denver defenseman Zeev Buium. A player that was projected go anywhere from third overall, to anywhere else in the first 10 selections -- and the Wild got him at 12th overall.
The Minnesota Wild saw a player dropping through the first round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft and took full advantage. Announced right before the 12th overall pick, the Wild trade with the Philadelphia Flyers to move up exactly one slot and get a very good defenseman.
For the 13th overall pick and a 2025 third-round pick, the Wild moved up and selected University of Denver defenseman Zeev Buium. A player that was projected go anywhere from third overall, to anywhere else in the first 10 selections -- and the Wild got him at 12th overall.
Buium was simply one of the most electric defensemen in college hockey last season, as one of the youngest blueliners in the NCAA. He scored 11 goals and 50 points in just 42 points as a freshman, something that is very, very rarely seen. Purely, he is a special talent and the Wild knew almost immediately to take full advantage of him slipping -- just like they did with goaltender Jesper Wallstedt a few years ago.
What exactly is Buium like on the ice? We turn to our friends at Elite Prospects:
"Zeev Buium was the best draft-eligible defender in all of college hockey this year – maybe one of the best in the country, period. The counting stats tell that story well enough, but further scrutiny only bears this out in more stark relief. Because it’s one thing for a defenceman to lead the country in scoring at well north of a point a game clip as a 17- and 18-year-old freshman; it’s another entirely to do it while handling the assignments laid at his feet.
"Buium started the year at the top of Denver’s depth chart, and that’s where he finished it. All told, he played 1084:55 all-situations minutes, the most of anyone in college, 18 clear of second place with two games in hand. He took on the opposition’s best, night in and night out, and escaped with a plus-32 goal differential at evens, the third-best mark in the nation. All the while chipping in with 50 points in 42 contests – the most ever by a first-time draft-eligible blueliner. For many, watching Buium this year elicited memories of Quinn Hughes back in 2018, an altogether reasonable response given the similarity of their profiles"
That is some praise.
Next up, the Wild will start their second day of the 2024 NHL Draft with the 45th overall selection in Round 2.
