Wild sign Zeev Buium to three-year, entry-level contract

One of the best prospects in college hockey has inked his first NHL contract.

On Sunday, Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin announced that the team has signed defenseman Zeev Buium to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The deal begins immediately, as Buium is set to join the Wild for the final few games of the regular season, and their hopeful run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Buium became available after his NCAA season ended on Thursday night, when he and his Denver Pioneers were knocked out of the Frozen Four by Western Michigan in a double-overtime thriller.

The 19-year-old joins a D-corps in St. Paul that has a healthy mix of youth and experience, featuring captain Jared Spurgeon and budding star Brock Faber. Some believe Buium can have a similar impact to the Wild as Cale Makar when he came out of UMass to join the Colorado Avalanche in the 2019 postseason.

There are many aspects of Buium’s game that can translate from the college game to the NHL. He’s a smooth skater, which helps him evade forecheckers and quickly get the puck out of his zone. He has great vision offensively, with the knack of putting the puck in the net himself.

Buium was originally taken by the Wild in the first round, 12th overall, of last year’s NHL Draft. He somehow stumbled down the board despite posting an incredible 50 points as a freshman blueliner, helping the Pioneers win the national championship. That season, he was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team and was a First-Team All-American.

The former U.S. National Team Development Product star was exceptional once again in his sophomore campaign, leading all college blueliners with 48 points in 41 games. His play earned him the title of Hat Trick Finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.

Along with an exceptional career at DU, Buium has had success on the international stage. He won back-to-back gold medals with Team USA, under Denver head coach David Carle, as the 2024 and 2025 IIHF World Junior Championships, as well as taking home the title at the 2023 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship.

The Wild (43-29-7) is fourth in the Central Division, holding the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, five points ahead of the ninth-place Calgary Flames. Minnesota has one game remaining, while Calgary has two games in hand.