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Time of India
24-07-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Can Zeev Buium become the Minnesota Wild's breakout star this season?
Photo byWhen training camp opens in September, all eyes will be on Zeev Buium. The 19-year-old defenseman, drafted 12th overall by the Minnesota Wild in 2024, isn't looking for a slow introduction to the NHL. He's planning to step in and make an impact right away. 'I do think that there is an opportunity for me to step in and be a player on the team,' Buium said recently. 'And for me, I don't just want to be a guy who's out there—I want to help this team win.' From college dominance to NHL playoff debut: Zeev Buium's rise to stardom Zeev Buium signed his three-year entry-level contract on April 13, just three days after the University of Denver's Frozen Four elimination. One week later, on April 20, he made his NHL debut in Game 1 of Minnesota's first-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights, logging 13:27 of ice time in a 4-2 loss. He appeared in four playoff games and recorded one assist, giving him an early taste of the league's intensity. 'Being able to play in those couple games at the end of the year and then going to World Championships [with the United States] really helped me,' Buium said. 'You learn a lot… how guys carry themselves and what you need to do.' Before signing with Minnesota, Buium had a remarkable college season. He put up 48 points (13 goals, 35 assists) in 41 games for Denver, earning NCHC Player of the Year and Best Offensive Defenseman honors, while finishing as a Hobey Baker finalist. He was also a unanimous NCHC First-Team All-Star selection. The California native isn't short on championship experience either. He helped Denver win the 2024 NCAA title and was part of the U.S. teams that claimed gold at both the 2025 World Juniors and the IIHF World Championship—the latter breaking a 92-year drought for Team USA. 'There'll always be enough room [for more trophies],' Buium joked. 'The group of guys we had was so special… everyone's so great and cares about each other. ' Zeev Buium's offseason grind and Bill Guerin 's blueprint for a breakout rookie year Now, Buium is focused on adding strength and explosiveness to his 6-foot, 183-pound frame before camp. 'I think for me, it's putting on weight,' he said. 'Working on explosiveness, getting faster and stronger… get ready to play a full NHL season.' Wild GM Bill Guerin believes he's on the right track. 'Zeev is a young guy that we've all seen what he's capable of,' Guerin said. 'He's one of those young pieces of talent we're very excited to see make a push and have an impact on the team.' After a year packed with milestones and championships, Buium's hunger to succeed at the NHL level has only grown. 'Losing in the Frozen Four put into perspective how hard it is,' he said. 'It makes me more grateful… and realize how much more I want it.' Also Read: Winnipeg Jets sign Gabriel Vilardi to $45M deal—blockbuster trade pays off after breakout NHL season For real-time updates, scores, and highlights, follow our live coverage of the India vs England Test match here. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
New York Times
29-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Wild offseason needs: How Minnesota measures up to NHL conference finalists
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The path seems arduous. Think about the Central Division — from the Dallas Stars, who are in another conference final, to the Avalanche, who usually reload, and top-seed Winnipeg. The Utah Mammoth have an impressive young core and the Nashville Predators aren't likely to belly flop again. Advertisement So, where do the Minnesota Wild fit among the Western Conference contenders? They went from the best record in the league in mid-December to just sneaking into the playoffs after a dramatic win in the season finale. But the oh-so-close loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round did feel different than the others in the last decade. 'I don't think there's any question this is a team on the rise,' said former NHL GM Craig Button. On the rise, sure, but how close to actually making a run? This pivotal summer will have a lot to do with it. GM and president of hockey operations Bill Guerin is armed with $16.4 million and a potentially valuable trade chip in Marco Rossi to bolster his roster. There are needs, for sure, and to figure out where, we used Dom Luszczyszyn's Net Rating model to compare the state of the Wild roster to the average roster of the NHL's four conference finalists. This snapshot of the Wild roster is a bit incomplete, considering Rossi's possible departure, plus some rookies slated to make the lineup in Zeev Buium, Danila Yurov and Liam Ohgren. The ratings here are based on what they contributed during the 2024-25 season. For Buium, it was his college numbers at the University of Denver; for Yurov, we used replacement-level stats as he's coming from the KHL. But it provides a picture of how the Wild compare to the average roster from the four teams that won two playoff rounds: the Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers. The Net Rating model has a long track record of demonstrating predictive value, and even though it's imperfect, there's some reliability in how it can put into perspective what individual players are contributing to the team's success from an offensive and defensive standpoint. We based this on the idea that the Wild would not re-sign pending unrestricted free agents Gustav Nyquist, Justin Brazeau, Marcus Johansson and Jon Merrill. Declan Chisholm is a restricted free agent, though if he's re-signed, he could end up a seventh defenseman with Buium jumping into the lineup. Advertisement What stands out right away is how well the Wild match up to the top teams in terms of how they defend. Their overall rating of 18.9 tops the average of the four conference finalists, with a stick tap to the forward group of stout two-way players like Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno. The defensive rating for the Wild's blue line, despite a minus-4.3 rating for Zach Bogosian and a minus-1.7 rating for Jake Middleton, is 6.4, above the 4.4 for the conference finalists. The defense, as Guerin has put it, is pretty much set. What does need some work, and perhaps some significant help, is the offensive support in the forward group beyond Kaprizov and Boldy. The average conference finalist has two forwards in the elite category, meaning above the 11 in net rating. The Wild pretty much have that in Kaprizov (19.3), arguably one of the top 10 players in the world, and Boldy (10.2). Joel Eriksson Ek (9.1) matches up pretty well as the supporting top-line forward to the conference finalist (9.8). But there are only two other Wild forwards with a positive net rating: Mats Zuccarello (5.5) and Rossi (4.2), who could be on the move. The conference finalists have at least three other top six forwards with a rating of three or above. Foligno, for what it's worth, was at a minus-0.3 net rating even though he had arguably one of his best seasons. The Wild's blue line is solid overall, especially the top four with Brock Faber and Jonas Brodin, and Jared Spurgeon is tops in terms of the net rating at 5.2. The conference finalists' average has a No. 1 defenseman at 10.3, a top-pair defenseman at 8.0 and another top-four D at 4.3. Brodin is the Wild's next highest at 3.7, though we can see Faber's 1.2 net rating as lower than what he produces as a franchise-caliber defenseman. If Jake Middleton bounces back with a better year from an analytical perspective and Buium grows into the star many people believe he'll be, then this group will be much closer. Advertisement In net, Filip Gustavsson showed he's a solid No. 1, though his net rating is 2.7, below that of the conference finalist (7.9). But we think most wouldn't mind having Gustavsson over Stuart Skinner (Oilers) and Frederik Andersen (Hurricanes). Meanwhile, Jake Oettinger (Stars) and Sergei Bobrovsky (Panthers) do have an edge. So, what do the Wild need this summer? Guerin made it clear at his exit interview press conference what he's focused on this summer. He'd like to upgrade his center position, supporting their No. 1 in Joel Eriksson Ek, who is also their top shutdown pivot. 'I think Ekky needs a little help,' Guerin said. 'He's in a battle every single night. And there's no easy nights for him. So I think we could create some help there.' There will be some internal help in the form of top prospect Yurov, a skilled playmaker who has won a title in the KHL. Guerin admitted there would be some 'growing pains' as Yurov tries to prove his 200-foot game, so let's not just guarantee he'll be a 2C right away. And if the Wild do trade Rossi, who has been a top-six center most of the season, that leaves another hole. That's why you're hearing about the Wild being interested in veteran UFA Brock Nelson. He's 33 and the money would have to be right, but he'd bring a stabilizing presence up the middle to take some defensive pressure off of Eriksson Ek. The UFA market for centers isn't extremely deep, and while Sam Bennett seems like a great fit, his price is only going up during these playoffs, and there's no guarantee he gets to July 1. John Tavares is out there, if he doesn't re-sign in Toronto, and Matt Duchene played for John Hynes before in Nashville and would likely come cheaper. Guerin also said he 'wouldn't be opposed to a scoring winger.' Balanced scoring is something of a need for the Wild, who dropped off quite a bit when Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov missed several months with injuries. Zuccarello didn't produce as much when not on a line with Kaprizov. They're probably going to lose UFA Marcus Johansson, who was a mainstay as a second-line winger all year. Advertisement This is where the Wild being connected to the likes of Brock Boeser comes in; for what it's worth, Boeser's net rating of 4.4 last season was the same as Rossi's. Prospect Ohgren could get a shot if he's ready. Ryan Hartman's impressive playoffs performance was reminiscent of his 34-goal season a few years back, so he could be an option in the top six. The Wild could also address this hole in a Rossi trade. Whether it's targeting the likes of JJ Peterka from Buffalo or another scoring winger, Minnesota could use a boost here. Patrick Kane is also a free agent, as is clutch performer and agitator Brad Marchand. Does Nikolaj Ehlers re-sign with the Jets? If you look at the sizable difference between the Wild's forward net rating and that of the conference finalists, the eye-watering negative numbers in Minnesota's projected bottom six play a large role. The lowest-rated five forwards on Minnesota combined for minus-29.6, compared to minus-16 for the conference finalists. Yakov Trenin underwhelmed in the first season of a four-year, $14 million deal, which is why his net rating was minus-6.7. He looked like a much different player in the postseason, a forechecking force who created both of Marco Rossi's goals. If Trenin plays like that, his number will look a lot different, and so will his role. And if the Wild do add in free agency, perhaps Vinnie Hinostroza (minus-4.9) is more of a 13th forward. The combined minus-15.5 for Ohgren and Yurov is partly due to Ohgren's small sample size in the NHL and Yurov being put at replacement level for this exercise as an unknown. So the 20-point gap between Minnesota and the contenders can be bridged in some portion. But the Wild could use some attention in the bottom six. They looked like they missed Brandon Duhaime, who was a beloved 'dawg' in his first year with the Capitals. In hindsight, Nico Sturm would have been a great addition at the trade deadline. The Wild need a fourth-line center who can win draws and kill penalties while driving that line. If Minnesota adds and it pushes Gaudreau down there, that's one thing. But as for wingers, why not give a look to Corey Perry? The 40-year-old former MVP still plays at a high level and can be useful on any line from first to fourth. He brings an edge and swagger to the room, too, much like a Pat Maroon. Advertisement The elephant in the room is whether Rossi is here playing for the Wild next season, vs. being on this chart. But if Rossi isn't, the 2020 No. 9 pick leaves a hole in the middle. That's still 24 goals and 60 points on a team that struggled with secondary scoring. The emergence of Hartman late in the season offers the belief he can step into a top-six center role again. But there still needs to be some more depth added here. We'll explore in future articles what a return for Rossi might be, but it would make sense for the Wild to ask for an impact forward in return, vs. futures like a first- and third-round pick, similar to what the compensation might be if they lost Rossi in an offer-sheet situation. (Top photo of Kirill Kaprizov and Gustav Forsling: Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wild Rookie Zeev Buium Records First Point For USA In World Championships
Wild youngster Zeev Buium got a taste on NHL hockey when he played in four games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Vegas Golden Knights. He recorded one assist in those four games and it came on the power play. Buium, 19, was drafted by the Wild with the 12th overall pick from the 2024 NHL Draft. After the Wild lost in six games to the Golden Knights in the first round, Buium announced he was going to play for USA in the IIHF Men's World Championships. Advertisement In his fourth game for USA, Buium recorded an assist in USA's 6-1 win over Kazakhstan. Buium recovered the puck after he was pressured on the offensive blue line. He skated it back to towards the defensive zone before turning around and flying into the offensive zone. He dropped it off to Buffalo Sabres' star forward Tage Thompson. The 6-foot-6 forward then ripped home Buium's pass into the back of the net. Buium also recorded a shot in that game. Make sure you bookmark The Hockey News' Minnesota Wild page for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more. Wild Related News Former Wild Defenseman Advances To Eastern Conference Final For Second Straight Season Former Wild Defenseman Advances To Eastern Conference Final For Second Straight Season For the third consecutive season the Advertisement Florida Panthers are heading to the Eastern Conference Finals. It also happens to be the second-straight season that the former Minnesota Wild defenseman Dmitry Kulikov is heading to the Conference Finals. Wild's Jonas Brodin Extends Point Streak At IIHF Men's World Championship Wild's Jonas Brodin Extends Point Streak At IIHF Men's World Championship Jonas Brodin opened the IIHF Men's World Championship with a goal in three straight games. He currently is on a five game point streak that includes three goals and three assists. Wild Sign Top Prospect Danila Yurov To A Three-Year Entry-Level Contract Wild Sign Top Prospect Danila Yurov To A Three-Year Entry-Level Contract ST. PAUL, Minn - The Minnesota Wild announced today the signing of top prospect Danila Yurov to a three-year entry-level contract.
New York Times
24-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Will the Wild scratch Buium or Bogosian for Game 3? Also, Faber's big minutes and ‘unbelievable' Gustavsson
MINNEAPOLIS — Coaches usually loathe fiddling with the lineup after victories, but as the Wild-Vegas Golden Knights series switches to Minnesota, there's a chance John Hynes will tweak his lineup for Game 3. The Wild coach insinuated on Wednesday that the coaches were discussing changing up the third defense pair and perhaps even the fourth line heading into Thursday night's game. Advertisement If the Wild sit rookie Zeev Buium or veteran Zach Bogosian, Hynes said there could be a myriad of reasons for it. The top two pairs of Jonas Brodin-Brock Faber and Jake Middleton-Jared Spurgeon got a heavy workload down the stretch of the regular season and in the first two games of this series. With a short turnaround between Thursday night's game and Saturday afternoon's Game 4 — and then two days off before Game 5 in Las Vegas — it's clear Hynes would like to even out the ice time in Game 3 and better manage their minutes. The Buium-Bogosian pair has been on the ice for three Vegas goals in the series, including both in Game 2. In 20 minutes, 49 seconds, of five-on-five ice time, they've been outscored 3-1 (and the one goal-for was a Matt Boldy goal in Game 1, when Brodin and Faber made the play leading up to the goal before a line change) and have been out-attempted 31-17 for a 35.42 Corsi For percentage. 'I think the D pairings have been pretty solid,' Hynes said before volunteering, 'I think that we may look at some different things, possibly. I think sometimes as a series goes on, you might look at, say, your 5-6 pair. Is there something you want to adapt or change there? Do you want to keep it the same? Do you make a lineup change? Do you insert a player and give a player a break? All those things you consider as it goes through. 'You're looking at now a travel day (Wednesday). Then you have an 8 o'clock game, then you have a 3 o'clock game, then there's a little bit of a breather, right? So do you want to be able to possibly insert someone and keep some guys fresh? It's not so much particular pairs or a particular player, or whatever is. I think you're looking at the assessment of the series now, of trying to manage workloads, manage different pairings and things like that. So those are all things we've talked about today and will continue to talk about leading into (Thursday).' Tomas Hertl makes it a two-goal game early in the 3rd! 👀 — Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 23, 2025 Since the Wild have yet to scratch Bogosian, it very well could be Buium, who was thrown into the fire in games 1 and 2 for his first NHL action, who gets a little breather. Mixing the defense pairs makes little sense since the top-four has been stellar, so perhaps Buium will watch a game from upstairs before getting back in Saturday. Advertisement Hynes, as he insinuated, also doesn't want Jon Merrill and/or Declan Chisholm getting stale by not playing for too long. Hynes does feel it's too easy to pick apart Buium's every move because he's the newbie in the lineup. 'Everything he does well, and every time there's a mistake, it's magnified because he's a young guy that just got added to our team,' Hynes said. 'So I think he's done some good things. I think Bogo has done some good things. To me, it's more you're also assessing the total D corps. … It's managing Brodin, Faber, Spurgeon, Middleton, and their roles and responsibilities. Those guys have played solid for us and played a lot of big minutes, which is going to continue. But as this goes on, it doesn't mean you're always going to have the same six D, so there's lots of things that come into it. Is it a different 5-6 pair that we want to look at for a game? There's a potential of that.' Noah Hanifin gets the Golden Knights on the board 🎥ESPN #VegasBorn — Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) April 23, 2025 Faber agreed that Buium is under a microscope with everything he does. After all, Faber experienced that two years ago when he signed out of the University of Minnesota and was thrown into the Dallas series on the third pair. 'It's super hard, right?' Faber said. 'It's his first games. … If the puck's on his stick, if the puck's around him, you're staring at him the whole 60 minutes of the game, whenever he's out there. So, everything's magnified. Obviously, what he's doing is different. I came in a year older, I believe. I had two regular-season games. … I was able to kind of get comfortable and find my game whereas Zeev was Game 1 against Vegas, arguably one of the hardest teams to play against in the entire league, thrown into the fire like that. So, what he's doing, he's playing great obviously considering the circumstances. We all have trust in him. We're all glad that he's here. He's going to keep getting better. It's hard to do what he's doing, for sure.' NHL GameScore Impact Card for Minnesota Wild on 2025-04-22: — HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) April 23, 2025 It'll also be interesting to see if Hynes does anything to address the fourth line of Yakov Trenin, Marco Rossi and Justin Brazeau. The trio had three shifts on Tuesday night when they got hemmed significantly in their defensive zone. Rossi, demoted to the fourth line after playing 12 minutes in Game 1, played only eight minutes in Game 2. Could we see Devin Shore inserted in the lineup for Rossi, or could we see the Wild give him a new winger, such as Vinnie Hinostroza or Liam Ohgren, who could bring more skill and speed to his wing? Advertisement 'It's something I think we'll look at,' Hynes said. 'I thought that line in Game 1 was actually very effective for us (with Ryan Hartman at center over Rossi). Last night, I thought they had some good pushes. There were a couple of times where they got caught and hemmed in the D zone. 'We made a couple tweaks after Game 1. Even though we didn't win the game, we thought we played a really good game, and a solid game, and gave ourselves a chance to win Game 1. But we just saw some things and made some slight tweaks. I think with the way that our team's playing, and the mindset of the group, I think there doesn't need to be a ton of changes all the time. But I think if we feel like there's something that could help us, or a little bit of a tweak, then we won't be afraid to do that.' Faber, in his second full season, has averaged 27:09 of ice time in the first two games after playing a ton of minutes down the stretch of the season. Yet he continues to play at a high level, including being on the ice for all three Wild first-period goals on Tuesday. 'I feel good,' Faber said. 'I think I'll find my legs more as the series goes on. I feel like the intensity early and the emotion leading up to a series and feeling nerves — real nerves again before you play, just those meaningful games, they carry a heavy load emotionally, which obviously makes you more tired on the ice. I think we're all still trying to settle in and it's been a good series for us so far. 'I thought we played great in Game 1 and gave ourselves a chance to win. Game 2, I thought we played another really solid game. Now that we're back home, it's going to be loud. It's going to be fun. But for me personally, I feel good. Again, I think I'll start to feel better as the series goes on and the emotions start to flatten out a little bit and not so high.' Faber says he's a lot more at ease than in the 2023 series against the Stars. 'I feel that first time I was playing a little different minutes,' Faber said. 'A little more sheltered, but, yeah, maybe more nerves the first time. I didn't want to come in and make a mistake. Obviously, these guys work all year. It's what Zeev's doing now. It's a hard spot to be in and it's definitely nerve-wracking.' Advertisement Overshadowed Tuesday night by the show Kirill Kaprizov and Boldy put on, and by the strong play of the third line of Marcus Foligno, Hartman and Gustav Nyquist, was the fact that Filip Gustavsson made 30 saves, including coming through big-time in the first five minutes of the game and during some hairy pockets late in the second period and in the third period. The Wild registered only seven shots in the final 42:45, so they did a lot of defending. 'I think we were just, execution-wise, a little bit off, but Gus made some unbelievable saves in there to keep us in and weather the storm,' Foligno said. 'He did a great job and we just got to our game. The start was the start, but we felt good going into it and it was nice to see us take over there in the first.' Gustavsson joked, 'You get into the game very easy. A little sweat there.' But he also raved about the job the Wild did in front of him. In fact, the Wild blocked 30 shots. 'I checked after the game, I saw Kirill having four blocks,' Gustavsson said. 'If the star players are doing it, everyone's going to do it.' It's amazing how one personnel move can change the makeup of a line. Hartman's impact on the third line was that impressive. Ryan Hartman finds Marcus Foligno with a terrific centering pass, doubling Minnesota's lead to 2!#mnwild | #StanleyCupPlayoffs — Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) April 23, 2025 'One of the reasons we made the change was we felt that Hartzy played really well (in Game 1),' Hynes said. 'I think he's got some good chemistry with Foligno. It looks a little bit like a different line. Sometimes you just make a move or two, and you just feel like there might be something that a line could have a little bit stronger of an identity on it. Advertisement 'I thought also Nyquist was good on the line as well. So those guys came through in a big way and I thought played the style of game that would give them a chance to be good.' Foligno's total of 23 hits is tied for the second-highest total over a two-game playoff span since the stat began being tracked in 2005-06. His playoff-franchise-record 12 hits on Tuesday tied for the eighth-highest ever in a playoff game. Asked how he's doing physically, Foligno quipped, 'I feel good. I mean we took a year off (from the playoffs), so I should be good.' Gustavsson said Foligno 'said he was going to get 15 (Tuesday) and he only got 12, so he was a little upset. The physicality, their D, they know he's coming there. Brock probably knows it's not fun going back and get a puck there when Moose or some big guys are coming.' Said Faber, 'Yeah, thank God he's on our team.' (Photo of Zeev Buium, Zach Bogosian and Vegas' Ivan Barbashev: Stephen R. Sylvanie / Imagn Images)
NBC Sports
22-04-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Frozen Four or NHL playoffs, stage not too big for Wild 19-year-old Zeev Buium
LAS VEGAS — Zeev Buium was trying to help lead Denver to the NCAA's Frozen Four championship not long ago. Over the weekend, he made his NHL debut for the Minnesota Wild. As a 19-year-old. In a playoff game. At one of the NHL's loudest arenas. Buium, the No. 12 overall pick in last year's NHL draft, more than acquitted himself with his new teammates after the Vegas Golden Knights claimed Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series. He played 13:37 with a shot on goal in the 4-2 loss, playing on the third defensive pair with Zach Bogosian. 'I was not ready when I came into professional hockey, that's for sure,' Wild forward Marcus Foligno said. 'I took my time in the American (Hockey) League, and thank God for it. I do not know what he's going through and what he's thinking about, but he's a way better person than I was at that age. It's kind of crazy he's 19, but there's a reason why he was drafted so high and the buzz around him. 'He doesn't carry himself like that, though. He's got a lot of confidence and great kid. The skill set that he has is amazing, so I think he's going to be just fine. I think you're going to see the next couple of games him really blossom here.' Buium, who also was in Las Vegas last June for the draft, said he didn't feel overwhelmed by the atmosphere. 'After my first shift, the nerves completely went away,' Buium said. 'It was less nerves than I thought there was going to be.' Coach John Hynes said showed his confidence in the youngster by putting him in at 6-on-5 in the final two minutes when the Wild were trying to force overtime. 'You're trying to make the best decisions as coaches and management to try to give your team the best chance to win,' Hynes said. 'It was good to see him get in there and play well.' His teammates were sold. 'When I was his age, I wasn't even running a power play in juniors,' defenseman Jake Middleton said. 'So I can't really relate to what he's feeling right now, but he's going to be an exceptional player. You can see it already.'
