First round steal? Wild trade surge, stopping NCAA champion Ze’ev Byum at 12

LAS VEGAS – That’s how much the Minnesota Wild loved University of Denver freshman defenseman Zeev Buim, who fell into their lap in the first round of Friday night’s draft.

For the past few weeks, ever since it was revealed that University of Michigan standout Rutger McGroarty did not want to sign with the Winnipeg Jets, who drafted him at No. 14 two years ago, the Wild have put up the No. 13 pick. His division rival’s face as a potential trade bait to trap him.

But this trade should depend on what names were on the board for each team when round 13 were reached.

As first round picks fell out of the top 10, the Jets saw increased activity at the table, despite the fact that they did not have a first-round pick. Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, flipping through his draft binder, began whispering into the ears of executives to his left and right. His right-hand man took out his laptop and put a privacy filter on top. Cheveldoff twice walked to the other side of the table, got down on one knee and hugged the three scouts.

She picked up her phone twice to call another table, once before number 11 and once before number 12.

Both calls ended quickly.

There was probably only one player left on the board who could prevent Minnesota from pulling the trigger on the Jets, and that was Buiam, a dynamic 18-year-old blueliner in an organization that was hungry for offensive-minded, puck-moving defensemen. . Who can quarterback on the power play.

In fact, earlier this week, Wild president of hockey operations and GM Bill Guerin said on KFAN that the Wild were going to take Buim if he was somehow there for them.

Well, the Wild took no chances letting another team overtake them. Director of amateur scouting Judd Brackett called for the Wild to use their 2025 third-round pick to move up one spot to 12th in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers so they could select Bynum, the top-rated American. The origin is likely. NHL Central Scouting.

“I think the Wild got a total steal in the 12,” Pioneers coach David Carle said. “I think five years from now you’ll see that proven even more in all those re-drafts that everyone loves to do.”

athleticDraft experts, Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler, agreed. Pronman gave the pick an A+ grade and Wheeler called it “one of the best picks of the night”.

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Buiam, who plans to attend development camp in Minnesota next month, called having the Wild select him “the best feeling in the world.”

“Seeing them do business gave me a really good feeling that it could be me,” he said. “I couldn’t be more honored that they decided to get me.”

Pronman called Buiam “one of the best draft-eligible defensemen I have ever seen” at the college level and a player with “game-breaking ability” who “looks like a potential star No. 1 defenseman in the NHL going forward.” big number.”

“At 13 years old, we knew a lot of the draft was going to be about us,” said Brackett. “You sit there anxiously watching the players we are interested in, coming off the board, trying to gauge whether it is time to back off or hold tight. We were there with bated breath. But when he was there and there was a chance to secure that player, even if it was the one spot we really wanted, we had to do it. It was not a big decision.”

Buim recorded the first 50-point season by a Denver freshman in 40 years, led the team with 39 assists and added 11 goals as the second-youngest player in college hockey in 2023–24. His 50 points ranked second among the Pioneers and marked the sixth time in the program’s 75-year history that a defenseman has reached the 50-point threshold and the third such instance by a freshman rear guard.

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Buim described Carle as the best coach he ever had and what a great year the two had together.

With Carle as his coach, Buim scored the winning goal in the championship game to lead the United States to a gold medal at the World Junior Championships.

At the Xcel Energy Center, an arena in which he had never lost, Buim won two championships in the spring: the first, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference Frozen Faceoff, in which he scored an overtime winner against St. Cloud State; And then the NCAA Frozen Four, in which he was the best player on the ice in both sports, including No. 1 pick Maclin Celebrini and Boston University.

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“It already feels great to win two championships in that building,” said Buim, a San Diego native who spent two years playing in Faribault at Shattuck-St. Marie and once spent an entire summer on Lake Minnetonka.

At the NCAA Championships, it was Buim’s beautiful assist on now-fellow Wild prospect Rieger Lorenz’s goal that extended the Pioneers’ lead to 2–0.

“He cares about winning as much as any player I’ve ever coached, and he’ll do whatever it takes to win,” said Carle, who will again be a sophomore at Denver. and will coach Buim at the 2025 World Junior Championships. “Look what he did at the World Juniors. He didn’t play much power-play time. But he led our team in plus-minus, did what was asked of him, helped our team win the gold medal, scored the game-winning goal in the game and he was excellent throughout the tournament. And then he plays a big role with us in Denver and helps lead us to a title.

“He’s a winner of a person, and that helps him be a winner on the ice, and I couldn’t be happier for him.”

Buim also won the Under-18 World Championship in 2023, was first team All-American and made the Frozen Four All-Tournament Team. He was also recognized as NCHC Rookie of the Year, NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year, was a finalist for the Tim Taylor Award as National Rookie of the Year and a Hobey Baker nominee.

He tied for the team lead with his brother Shai and finished fourth in the NCAA with a plus-33 – the highest rating for a Pioneer since it was first tracked in 2005–06. He finished second on the power-play at DU with 14 points and was third on the team with 41 blocked shots.

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“A lot of guys with his skill set will come in and say, ‘Yeah, I’m comfortable putting up points and doing that,'” Carle said. “But Ze’ev wanted to work on his defense. He wanted to work on his gaps and close plays and finish plays in the corner and become a better defender. And I think that’s their mentality. That’s what makes him so special. Ze’ev is a competitive kid. He will work on his shortcomings, but this will keep his strengths growing.

“That’s what we saw this year. We saw a player who wanted to work on that side of the game, and it made his offensive game even better because when you defend well, you don’t have to defend for very long. , and this is something that Ziv is really capable of overcoming.

It was a busy day for Guerin on Friday, as he met with the agents of defenseman Brock Faber to begin preliminary contract talks for a potentially lucrative extension this offseason. He indicated that he has also been involved in trade talks. The Wild have expressed interest in Columbus Blue Jackets winger Patrik Laine if half of his $8.7 million cap hit is retained for the next two years.

The draft resumes Saturday morning (10:30 a.m. CT) with Rounds 2 through 7. The Wild currently have picks at 45, 110, 140, 142 and 174, but Guerin was apparently already satisfied after landing Buieum on Friday.

Guerin doesn’t think Byum is too far away from becoming a professional. They’ll see how his sophomore year in Denver goes, but Guerin said his staff thinks Buim “will play a long time in the NHL and make a big impact on our team. There’s a lot to like about him. His skillset. “The ability to move the puck, the hockey sense, the character.”

Bayam comes from a tight-knit family, whose parents, Sorin and Miriam, immigrated to Southern California from Israel before Ze’ev was born. His mother played professional basketball in Israel. The draft included 80 of his family members and friends, including a handful who came from Israel.

Funnily enough, Carle said he unofficially committed to DU when Buim was 14 or 15 years old by tagging along on older brother Shai’s official visit.

“I mean, Zeev must have been 5-1 at that time,” Carley said, smiling. “You could tell his eyes were big and he loved everything, he had a smile on his face, just like he does today. I mean, he loves coming to the rink. There is always a smile on his face. And when we offered it to Shai, Shai presented it in a calm manner and said, ‘Give me a day or two, I want to think about it.’

“Z’ev looked at him and said, ‘What are you waiting for?'” It was really special for us to then go through the official recruiting process with Ze’ev, and you couldn’t script a better year for him and for him Were. Both brothers together will win the championship.”

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Carley said family means everything to Buim.

“It teaches him a level of selflessness and that you’re a part of something bigger than yourself,” Carley said.

“It felt very special,” Byum said. To hug my mother. To hug my father. He made a lot of sacrifices for my brothers and me. It was very special to hug him. Then it feels even better to hug my two brothers who have guided me this whole time. It’s a moment I can’t fully explain. it was awesome.”

(Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)