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

This season, the 33-19-4 Minnesota Wild have mostly handled their business despite dealing with multiple significant injuries. For the next month or two, they will try and keep the ship afloat without superstar Kirill Kaprizov, while he recovers from surgery. But what about the future? Who is the next big prospect to watch for?

Successfully drafting and developing talent is probably the most important part of operating a professional sports franchise. That includes hockey. As the Minnesota Wild move into an era where they will no longer be cap strapped by bad contracts, raising their young prospects becomes that much more important.

Minnesota Wild top prospect near best in NHL

In recent years, when the Minnesota Wild looked towards what is now the present, guys like (G) Jesper Wallstedt and (D) Brock Faber drew most of the hype. Fast forward and those two prospects have developed quite differently. In 2024, though, it’s last offseason’s No. 12 overall pick, Zeev Buium (University of Denver) who is the new prospect darling in St. Paul.

Although The Athletic’s latest top 100 rankings have Montreal Canadiens winger Ivan Demidov in a tier of his own, Buium follows immediately behind as the No. 2 overall prospect in all of hockey.

“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)

How excited should we be about Zeev Buium?

Wheeler went on to describe Buium as a first-pairing defenseman which should be obvious, being how high he is rated on his list. But really, it’s the “real chance at stardom” comment that should have Minnesota Wild fans excited for Buium’s arrival, which could come as soon as this season, depending on how well his Denver Pioneers finish the NCAA hockey season.

What an unreal pass on Team USA’s golden goal at the World Junior Championships for defenseman Zeev Buium 🤩

Mazel Tov Zeev!🥇

pic.twitter.com/MCUISIIprX

— Jewish ice hockey players 📟 (@JewishHockey) January 6, 2025

With Jonas Brodin, Jared Spurgeon and Brock Faber already on roster — plus the newly acquired David Jiricek also factoring into future top pairings — Buium should give head coach John Hynes one of the best blue line groups in the entire NHL the next few seasons.

For Denver this season Buium has six goals and 26 assists. His 32 points already clear the 25 he posted last season and he has done so on less shots (52 compared to 53.) Buium continues to be among the best things going in college hockey right now, and it wouldn’t be a shock to watch him seamlessly step in for the Wild.

Related: Minnesota Wild Prospects Ranking Skyrockets in Latest Update

Minnesota’s roster construction next year will be interesting. There is the looming payday for Kaprizov, but also a significant windfall of cap space to utilize. Goaltending will be something of a focus as Marc-Andre Fleury moves on to retirement as well.

No matter how general manager Bill Geurin goes about constructing his roster, Buium’s presence when he reaches it will be a welcomed one. The Ryan Suter buyout goes away, and wild fans could soon have the next defensive star to take over.