MN Wild Top Pick Just Misses No. 1 Spot in NHL Prospect Rankings

Prospect rankings popularized by baseball, but aren’t limited to the diamond. Development at the early stages of a professional hockey career is integral. As the Minnesota Wild move into an era where they are no longer cap strapped by bad contracts, youth becomes that much more important.

This season the Wild have handled business despite dealing with multiple significant injuries. They haven’t been good at the Xcel Energy Center, but the future doesn’t have to be that way. Their next great talent can be part of that wave.

Zeev Buium just misses top spot for Minnesota Wild

When the Minnesota Wild looked towards the 2024-25 season it was goaltender Jesper Wallstedt drawing the early hype. Selected 12th overall in the latest NHL Entry Draft, it’s Zeev Buium that is now the prospect darling.

Although The Athletic’s latest top 100 rankings have Montreal Canadiens winger Ivan Demidov in a tier of his own, Buium follows immediately behind. The California native, and Denver product, earns glowing reviews.

“Buium put together one of the best seasons by a teenage defenseman in modern college hockey history last year, has been a big part of two gold medal-winning World Junior teams and is having another excellent sophomore season that has continued to solidify his status as one of the top D prospects in the NHL.

He’s a plus-level skater and handler who plays an extremely involved game in all three zones, whether that’s activating into the rush or off the point, shaking pressure on exits or across/off the blue line (which he does extraordinarily well, making opposing players miss), working in and out of give-and-gos, or playing tight gaps against the rush. He’s a very busy player on both sides of the puck and he gets in and out of his transitions and footwork so quickly that he can play that style.”

Scott Wheeler on Zeev Buium (The Athletic)

Wheeler went on to describe Buium as a first-pairing defenseman which should be obvious given his pedigree. Still, it’s the “real chance at stardom” comment that is the attention-grabber.