The Minnesota Wild have been winning games with guts. Their lines have been shuffled like playing cards at a poker table. Every game presents a problem, and every game there’s a Wild card that steps up. Sometimes that Wild card is a recent waiver claim. But sometimes that Wild card is a prospect Bill Guerin has stashed at AHL Iowa to be a part of the defensive dynasty he’s building.
Without Kirill Kaprizov, the MN Wild have sometimes looked like a house of cards. But the foundation is strong. Marco Rossi has taken a giant leap. Matt Boldy is starting to find it, and Brock Faber has fit right in straight out of college. And there’s another prospect ready to step right in and do the same after the Frozen Four wraps up on April 12 in St. Louis.
Denver’s Zeev Buium propels MN Wild prospect pool
The Athletic‘s Scott Wheeler released his latest NHL prospect pool rankings, and Minnesota is the only NHL playoff team with a top-five prospect pool. In fact, the Wild’s prospects are cumaltively ranked second to only San Jose. Last year’s top pick, Denver Pioneers defenseman Zeev Buium, is the biggest reason for that No. 2 ranking.
The selection of Zeev Buium (who I believe is one of the top prospects in the sport right now) 12th in 2024 and the addition of 2022 No. 6 pick David Jiricek via trade has taken a Wild pool that ranked 11th in last year’s rankings and pushed them into what became a clear-cut top three this year with Montreal and San Jose.
Scott Wheeler, The Athletic (subscription required)
Buium impressed in the 2025 World Juniors, but after posting the best scoring season by a freshman defenseman in NCAA history, he’s taken yet another big leap as a sophomore. He assisted on the game-winning goal in the 2025 World Juniors championship game. And in just two more games than he played last year for Denver, Buium has increased his point total by seven – all on assists.
He has played some very high-level hockey for a while now (two springs ago to finish strong at the NTDP, again at the World Junior Summer Showcase, again at two World Juniors and as a big-time freshman and sophomore in college) and projects as a first-pairing, play-driving, extremely involved defenseman with a real chance at stardom.
-Scott Wheeler, The Athletic
The Wild have shown a need for defensemen with a nose for the net, especially with Kaprizov out. MN Wild head coach John Hynes’ recent line changes have reflected that need. It’s expected that Buium will bring that nose for the net to the NHL this season. According to Puckpedia, the Wild have two left-shot defenseman with expiring contracts: Jon Merrill and Travis Dermott.
David Jiříček trade expected to pay off in a big way for Wild
Wheeler has Jiříček as the third-best prospect in the MN Wild’s pool. A right shot defenseman to potentially pair with Buium’s left shot, eventually. Jiříček has already contributed to the Wild this season, scoring his first goal with the club back on Jan. 18 and getting a big assist in a 3-1 win at Colorado, Jan. 20.
[Hi]s modus operandi is that he’s a confident, active, engaged, talented player who has almost all of the tools you look for in a top defender except for the footwork on his heels…He has a couple of kinks to iron out with his decision-making and footwork, but the rest is there and he’s got legitimate top-four/impact upside.
Scott Wheeler, The Athletic
Jiříček has been increasing the rate at which he scores points in AHL games. He went five games without scoring in late December. That’s down to three games between points most recently. He’s also getting more shots on goal than he has thus far this season. He’s got nine on goal over his last five games.
Danila Yurov tips the scales in Minnesota Wild’s favor
Perhaps the most exciting prospect in the Wild prospect pool is Kaprizov compatriot Danila Yurov. He broke the under-21 KHL scoring record last season, passing Kaprizov and Vladimir Tarasenko along the way. Wheeler has him as the Wild’s second-best prospect and projects him as a second-line forward at the NHL level.
If you were to fill up two buckets with his tools (one for the strengths, one for the weaknesses) and place them on a scale, the bucket with his strengths in it would be overflowing and the one with his weaknesses would be near empty. He plays hard and fast, he pushes tempo, he’s a strong and balanced skater, he’s an excellent give-and-go player who excels at playing in and out of space without the puck, his shot comes off his blade hard in motion…he’s got pro size (6-foot-1 and about 180 pounds) and skill, he’s diligent in all three zones and he’s almost always in the right position or reading the play to get back into it (on offense or defense).
-Scott Wheeler, The Athletic
Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin deserves a ton of credit for filling this prospect pool so full despite the pool of draft picks with which he’s done it. When the Wild selected Yurov 24th overall, he was 12th on Wheeler’s list. Buium was taken 12th overall and has become a top overall prospect.
The Wild enter this year’s NHL draft with very few picks, but it seems Guerin doesn’t necessarily need them. He might not even need to make a move at the NHL trade deadline on March 7. Zeev Buium could be the addition that propels the Wild to postseason success.
Kaprizov, Yurov and Rossi leading the Wild forwards; Faber, Buium and Jiříček leading the Wild defense. That’s a future that has Minnesota Wild fans salivating and dreaming sweet dreams of Lord Stanley’s Cup.
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