Zeev Buium’s whirlwind season hasn’t concluded despite Wild’s ouster from playoffs

The whirlwind that is Zeev Buium‘s hockey season continued Sunday morning when the Wild‘s 19-year-old defenseman went through exit interviews with the third of the four teams for which he will play in 2025. Afterward, he was whisked to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to catch a flight to Sweden, where he was to join Team USA for the IIHF men‘s world championship.

That is the latest destination for Buium, the San Diego native who:

• started his sophomore season at the University of Denver in October;

• led the United States to the gold medal in the world junior championship in Ottawa in January;

• guided Denver to an NCHC Frozen Faceoff runner-up finish in St. Paul, an NCAA regional triumph in Manchester, N.H., and a Frozen Four appearance in St. Louis;

• made his NHL debut in Las Vegas to start a four-game playoff stint.

“It was crazy, the last couple months,” Buium said at Xcel Energy Center. “Everything’s been crazy coming in, just trying to help, and at the same time, the whole experience of being in the playoffs. I’m just very, very thankful for the opportunity and being able to experience that.”

Buium played Games 1 through 4 for the Wild in their six-game ouster against the Golden Knights in the first round. He showed some early nervousness, finishing with one assist and a minus-1 rating while playing between 12:45 and 14:37 per game.

“Whatever I could to kind of help them was what I was trying to do, but I thought defensively I was happier with my game than I thought I was going to be,” said Buium, the 12th overall pick in the 2024 NHL draft. “But, yeah, all around I thought it was good.”

Playing on the third defensive pairing with veteran Zach Bogosian, Buium said the speed of the NHL game was a noticeable adjustment. Case in point: With the Wild trailing by a goal late in Game 1 and goalie Filip Gustavsson off for an extra attacker, Buium attempted a pass that William Karlsson intercepted, which forced Matt Boldy to take a penalty to deny Vegas an empty-net goal.

“It’s just that one step quicker,” Buium said. “You’re playing with people who are so skilled and can make plays so quickly.” He added that “just trusting myself a little bit more” will bring better results.

Early in the third period of Game 4, Buium took a double-minor for an errant stick that drew blood from Golden Knights captain Mark Stone and led to a Vegas power-play goal. Coach John Hynes didn’t play Buium in overtime of the Wild’s 4-3 loss, citing Buium’s lack of experience.

“I felt like that game was almost on me just because you take a penalty like that at that kind of time,” said Buium, who was replaced by Jon Merrill in the lineup for the final two games of the series.

Buium’s offseason goal is to get bigger and stronger while honing his game. He is confident he can take the next step and become the type of offensive defenseman the Wild’s brass envisioned him as when they moved up one spot via a trade with Philadelphia to select him.

“The biggest thing is getting ready for an 82-game season,” he said. “That’s why I want to be up here. I’m trying to build my body up to make sure I’m ready for that. … I’m still at the stage of my life where I can really develop physically and improve my strength all around. And, obviously, I’m working on my skills on the ice.”

Wild veteran forward Mats Zuccarello noted that he was still playing in Norway when he was 19, so Buium’s development impresses him but still has a ways to go.

“You get a taste of how good of a league it is,” Zuccarello said. “… Every night is a battle; it doesn’t matter who you play. Everyone works hard. Everyone can skate. Everyone’s heavy. Everyone’s good at something. So, I think it will help him realizing going into the summer that: ‘OK, this is a step up. … This is the NHL. It’s the best of the best.’ ”