History has not been kind to the Minnesota Wild when it comes to obtaining hardware. Of course, they haven’t been close to the ultimate trophy that is Lord Stanley, let alone the Clarence Campbell as victors of the Western Conference.
The same goes for the NHL’s prestigious individual player honors. A few Wild players have been awarded trophies in the past for their off-ice actions, but the history of those winning trophies for their on-ice achievements is very short.
That list starts and ends with Kirill Kaprizov – the Wild’s lone individual awards winner when he secured the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2021.
But potential breakout star Zeev Buium could join him on that list this season.
Buium’s pursuit of the Calder, rather than solely being a roster hopeful, makes this season particularly interesting for the 19-year-old defenseman from San Diego. It’s why he lands at the No. 1 spot of our annual prospect rankings.
Buium isn’t the favorite to win the Calder Trophy this year. That title belongs to Philadelphia Flyers forward Ivan Demidov. Depending on your favorite sportsbook, Demidov lands as high as +240 and sometimes as low as +180. Regardless of the line, he’s the clear favorite across the board.
According to consensus betting odds, Buium sits anywhere between having the third-best and sixth-best odds to be named rookie of the year in the NHL. But count out Buium at your own peril. Gone are the days of rookie defenseman having a difficult time standing out.
From 2005 to 2014, Tyler Myers was the only defenseman to win the award. But since Nathan MacKinnon won the award in 2014, four rookie defenseman have won the Calder.
Those names are among some of the top defensemen in today’s NHL: Aaron Ekblad, Cale Makar, Moritz Seider, and Lane Hutson. Buium profiles as the type of player who could join that list of names, and the changing landscape of the voters for the Calder Trophy makes it possible that the former first-round pick has a chance to win it.
The reason why defensemen have struggled to find themselves vying for the award is that it’s difficult for a young player to succeed at the position immediately. Most struggle in their own zone, significantly impacting their chances, even if they post completely respectable offensive statistics.
Still, a few recent trends have changed the way we evaluate young defenseman. The past three winners have painted a roadmap for exactly how Buium could find himself in contention by the end of the season.
The recent evolution of offensively-minded blue liners has opened the door for more Calder winners on the back end. But the expectations for a young defenseman have also influenced the recent rise in their winning the rookie of the year award. Voters have started to care less than ever about defensive acumen if they make a significant enough offensive impact.
Between Seider, Makar, and Hutson, only Makar finished as a positive plus/minus player the year he won the award. But all three players were elite in creating offense. Between the three of them, their rookie season numbers average out to be an 8 goal, 47 assist, and 55 point season.
And we don’t have to stop just there. Remember, Vancouver’s superstar defenseman and perennial Norris Trophy contender, Quinn Hughes, only finished second in Calder Voting his year because Cale Makar existed. That year, Hughes finished second with 8 goals and 45 assists.
In reality, one could argue that the best four seasons for a rookie defenseman in the past 25 years have all occurred within the past five seasons.
All that needs to be proven is that Buium doesn’t have to be an all-around beast of a defenseman to win the award. He will have every opportunity to follow the exact blueprint each of those four guys was offered: heavy minutes in a top-4 role and most of the power play time on the first unit.
Buium will undoubtedly have all that in his favor this season as he projects to pivot the Wild’s top power play and produce alongside some of the top offensive talent in Minnesota.
The Golden Age of rookie offensive defenseman has arrived in the NHL. Buium is going to have every chance to join that list and plant his flag as next in line to join that evolution. Perhaps he can even join Kaprizov on the very short list of winners in the history of the Wild.
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