VANCOUVER, B.C. — At just 19 years old, Zeev Buium already has paraded around the ice at Xcel Energy Center hoisting trophies from the conference tournament and NCAA championship he and University of Denver teammates won a few weeks apart last season. Starting this week, he will start a quest to s omeday hoist a Stanley Cup on that same ice sheet. Early Sunday, the Minnesota Wild announced that Buium had agreed to terms on a three-year entry-level contract and would be joining the NHL team in time for their regular season finale on Tuesday. Originally from Southern California, Buium (pronounced “BOO-yum”) will likely make his NHL debut versus the Anaheim Ducks. He comes to the Wild after they picked him in the first round, 12th overall, in the 2024 NHL Draft, and following a sophomore college season where he was named the most valuable player in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, the most outstanding player in the NCAA’s Manchester regional and helped Denver return to the Frozen Four. On Friday, Buium was one of two runners-up for the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to college hockey’s top player, behind Michigan State forward Isaac Howard. Buium, a prototypical puck-moving defenseman, averaged better than a point per game for the Pioneers last season. “Zeev’s played really well. You can see how much of an impactful player he is for Denver,” Wild coach John Hynes said, citing Buium’s international hockey success as well as his work on the college rink. “To his credit, he’s been able to play in multiple World Juniors as well as NCAA tournaments and NCAA (Frozen) Four champions, so he’s got that experience.” The addition of Buium, who will wear number 8 for the Wild, comes at an opportune time with Minnesota on the verge of clinching a playoff spot and facing manpower shortages on the blue line. They played Saturday’s 3-2 overtime win in Vancouver without veterans Jake Middleton and Jared Spurgeon, and lost defenseman Declan Chisholm for part of the game after he took a hard hit in the second period. To make roster room for Buium, the Wild sent defenseman Cameron Crotty down to AHL Iowa after Crotty played 5 minutes versus the Canucks in his Minnesota debut. Playoff clincher could come soon With the Wild getting two points in Vancouver on Saturday, and St. Louis was losing in a shootout in Seattle, Minnesota is back in the drivers’ seat for a finish in the top Western Conference wild card slot. Per PlayoffStatus.com, the Wild had a 97 percent chance of making the playoffs on Sunday, and a 76 percent chance of grabbing the top wild card slot. Calgary has two games in hand on both Minnesota and St. Louis but would need to win its three remaining games and get help to overtake either the Wild or Blues. If the Wild are able to get one point in their finale versus Anaheim on Tuesday, or if Calgary loses any of its three remaining games — in regulation or in overtime — the Wild are in the playoffs. Winnipeg, which has clinched the top spot in the Western Conference for the first time in franchise history, will host the second wild card finisher in the opening round of the playoffs. If the Wild are able to clinch the top wild card spot, they would open the playoffs at Vegas, which is tops in the Pacific Division. The arenas in Las Vegas and in Winnipeg both have events booked for Saturday, April 19, meaning the playoffs in those buildings will likely start one night later. Related Articles Cornered Wild come out fighting, get two points closer to clinching Career winding down, Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury feels the love Wild’s once-clear playoff road charred by Flames Isaac Howard bringing the Hobey to Hudson With playoffs on the line, Wild bracing for intensity in Calgary ...read more read less