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‘He’s got the swagger, the vision and ability. It’s managing the clock, his opponents and teammates. He’s a pretty bright guy.’ — Canucks head coach Adam Foote on Zeev Buium
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Published Apr 02, 2026 • Last updated 27 minutes ago • 4 minute read
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Fleet-footed Zeev Buium of the Vancouver Canucks goes on the offensive during against the New Jersey Devils on Dec. 14, 2025, in Newark, N.J. Photo by Andrew Mordzynski /Getty ImagesArticle content
Zeev Buium is getting rave reviews as the next big thing on the Vancouver Canucks’ transitioning back end.
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He plays with a certain swagger. He loves to joke and discover the city with young blueliners Elias Pettersson and Tom Willander. He has won it all at three significant development levels — Under-18, world junior, world championship — and is making major progress in master-class instruction in first-pairing minutes with veteran Filip Hronek.
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And he’s only 20 years old.
Buium’s motor will be running hot Thursday when he faces his former club and Quinn Hughes in St. Paul, Minn. They were key components in the massive Dec. 12 trade that sent the Canucks’ captain to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren and Buium, plus a 2026 first-round draft pick.
“This whole year has been a lot of ups-and-downs and some games it’s like that, but we’ve pieced better games together,” Buium told Postmedia News of the decision-making progress that’s led to being fourth in rookie blueliner scoring with 23 points (5-18) in 67 games, but also struggling with a minus-25 rating.
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“There’s no more (trade deadline) nonsense or craziness and we can just focus and not worrying about the guy next to you being gone tomorrow. That’s definitely a factor. We’re trying to prove ourselves and show what we can do at this level.”
Defenceman Zeev Buium gets a leg-up to elude Chandler Stephenson of the Seattle Kraken during a March 14 meeting at Rogers Arena. Photo by Derek Cain /Getty Images
Buium is aware of Hughes’s electric and intimidating game and the 2024 Norris Trophy winner tops the list of blueliners he has often watched and wanted to emulate.
“There are a few guys, and obviously, Quinn was one of them,” said Buium. “A guy like (Josh) Morrissey is someone I like to watch. He’s similar to me and uses a shorter stick as well. Just the way we skate is similar. And there’s Roman Josi. Every team we play, there’s a No. 1 guy like Rasmus Dahlin, who you grew up watching and it’s cool to play against them.
“When I played Cale Makar earlier this year, you can pick things up and try them out.“
However, there’s only one Quinn Hughes.
His willingness to listen and learn, constantly improve a dynamic game, set a high standard for success, and Hughes responding to constant scrutiny by excelling against elite opposition is something Buium admires. Hughes had just five NHL games on his resume when Canucks defensive partner Chris Tanev gushed about his potential.
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“He’s so mobile and he can escape a lot of trouble by spinning out of things and making plays — a lot of little plays that people don’t even notice — that are incredible and pretty special,” said Tanev.
As for Buium, he’s been a pretty quick study in 68 career NHL games.
“He’s going to learn there are times when he’s feeling it, but I like how he’s not intimidated by the traffic,” said Canucks head coach Adam Foote. “He’s got the swagger to do it and the vision and ability. It’s managing the clock, who his opponents are, and who his teammates are for line changes.
“He’s a pretty bright guy and picks up on things to create separation. And his positional play in his own zone is pretty good.”
Buium has another year left on his entry-level contract, but there’s already buzz of a long-term commitment to the 6-foot, 183 pound San Diego native, the 12th overall pick in the 2024 draft by the Wild. As he gets better, he’s going to attract more forechecking attention.
Hughes plays hard, he plays hurt, and has the will and want to win, and set franchise production records in the process.
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He also became targeted and took heavy hits in a 2024 first-round playoff series against the Nashville Predators that reached a painful point in Game 5. Hughes was pounded in the defensive zone by Anthony Beauvillier and then jammed up hard between forecheckers Jason Zucker and Colton Sissons. He winced and was doubled over in discomfort and missed his next shift.
Hughes was hit five times in the first two periods and was drilled on more than a dozen occasions in the series in which the Canucks prevailed in six games.
“I felt good enough to play my best and that’s what I tried to do,” reasoned Hughes.
What also set Hughes apart was getting to the point where he wasn’t a kid anymore. He passed on waffles with all the fixings at Breakfast Club. He ate better, trained smarter and learned to avoid getting immersed in the trappings of social media. He put down his iPhone, got to movie theatres and started reading books. It helped to shut out the constant noise in a hockey-mad market.
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Buium is obviously younger and open to discovering Yaletown or Gastown, but there will come a time to find the balance between fun and focus.
That’s what Hughes did.
“Whatever I want to eat I will, but I try to feel as good as I possibly can,” Hughes told Postmedia. “I just wanted to feel better and not grind through games. The changes I made I’m still feeling now. You can get two points and not play great, but six shots and creating and playing well defensively, that’s the process.
“Over the course of 80 games, things will even out.”
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