Wild trade to select defenseman Zeev Buium at 13th overall – Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild had a player go in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft and took full advantage. Announced just before the 12th overall pick, the Wild made a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers to move up exactly one spot 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 who was projected to move from third overall to anywhere else in the top 10 selections – and the Wild took him at 12th overall.

Buium was simply one of the most electric defensemen in college hockey last season, as one of the youngest defensemen in the NCAA. He scored 11 goals and 50 points in just 42 points as a freshman, which is very, very rarely seen. Truth be told, he’s a special talent and the Wild almost immediately knew how to take full advantage of his slide – just like they did with goaltender Jesper Wallstedt a few years ago.

How exactly does Buium perform on the ice? We turn to our friends at Elite Prospects:

“Zeev Buium was the best draft-eligible defenseman in all of college hockey this year – maybe one of the best in the country, period. The counting statistics tell this story quite well, but a closer look only confirms it more strikingly. Because it’s one thing for a defenseman to lead the country in scoring well over a point per game at the age of 17 and 18; it’s another thing to do it while still carrying out the tasks assigned to it.

“Buium started the year atop Denver’s depth chart, and that’s where he ended it. Overall, he played 1,084:55 all-situation minutes, the most of anyone in college, 18 clear of second place with two games in hand. He faced the opposition’s best night in and night out and came away with a plus-32 goal differential tied for third-best in the country, while scoring 50 points in 42 games — the most ever by a first-time draft-eligible defenseman, for many, watching Buium this year was reminiscent of Quinn Hughes in 2018, a perfectly reasonable response given how similar their profiles are.

This is praise.

Next, the Wild will begin their second day of the 2024 NHL Draft with the 45th overall selection in the second round.

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