Minnesota Wild top prospect Zeev Buium made his NHL debut with the team last night, earning a fine in the process.
Zeev Buium is arguably the Minnesota Wild’s top prospect right now.
This is especially true as fellow defenseman David Jiricek remains out for the season.
The 19-year-old defenseman is coming off back-to-back excellent seasons in the NCAA with the University of Denver, which included a national championship.
In 83 games with the school he put up 24 goals and 98 points. He also has a career rating of +50.
Those are video game like numbers for a defenseman at any level, let alone the highest level in the NCAA.
Unfortunately, his debut was rather unspectacular other than the fact that it came in a playoffs game.
Buium registered two hits and a single shot on in goal in 13:27 of ice time as the Wild dropped game one to Vegas by a score of 4-2.
The rookie defenseman also got himself into trouble with the league before the game even started as he took his rookie solo lap without wearing a helmet.
This is grounds for an automatic fine from the department of player safety as all new players entering the league are required to wear helmets during warmups.
Often times the team offers to cover these fines for their players just to let them enjoy the moment, but it is not clear if that will be the case for the Wild with Buium.
Considering Buium’s notoriety it would certainly seem reasonable for the team to do him the favor.
Buium was drafted 12th overall in 2024, going immediately after the San Jose Sharks took fellow defenseman Sam Dickinson.
Dickenson had 29 goals and 91 points in 55 games in the OHL this season, but is unlikely to make his NHL debut next year.
Regardless, it will be interesting to see how the two of them pan out in the long run as they are likely to be compared to each other for years to come.