Can Canucks' Zeev Buium Replace Quinn Hughes? - The Hockey Writers -

Some debuts whisper, and some debuts clear their throat and speak plainly. Zeev Buium’s first night as a Vancouver Canucks blueliner was the second kind. No easing in. No tentative shifts. Two points in his first period, both on the power play, and an unmistakable sense that the game wasn’t moving too fast for him. The result? A surprising 2-1 win for the Canucks over the New Jersey Devils on the road.

That mattered because the timing could not have been more uncomfortable. This was Vancouver’s first game without Quinn Hughes, the franchise defenseman, the tone-setter, the metronome. Buium arrived carrying the weight of that trade, whether he wanted it or not.

As a young player, he might have shrank under that kind of context. Buium didn’t. He played as if things had already been sorted out in his own mind. He was on a new team, and he had the chance to make the most of it.

The most impressive things weren’t the goal or the assist. It was how ordinary it all looked. He ran the power play like someone who expected the puck to come back to him. He didn’t rush decisions. He didn’t hunt for noise. He moved the puck, held his ground, and trusted the next read. That calm isn’t taught quickly, if it’s taught at all.

So, Who Is Zeev Buium?

Buium didn’t arrive in Vancouver with fireworks taped to his stick. He showed up the slower way, which, for defensemen, is usually the better way. Born in San Diego—a place better known for surfboards than slap shots—Buium didn’t grow up surrounded by hockey noise. What he grew up with was structure. His path ran straight through the U.S. National Team Development Program (NTDP) and into the University of Denver, places where you don’t get by on talent alone. You learn habits, or you get exposed to them.

Vancouver Canucks Celebrate — Vancouver Canucks defenseman Zeev Buium celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the New Jersey Devils (John Jones-Imagn Images)

His time with the NTDP tells you more than the raw numbers ever will. The first season was uneven, as happens when a young defenseman is asked to think the game before he’s allowed to control it. The points were modest. The mistakes were visible. But in the second season, things slowed down. He started reading plays earlier, moving pucks cleaner, and trusting his timing. That’s usually the moment when a defenseman’s brain catches up to his hands—and once that happens, the rest tends to follow.

At the University of Denver, Things Settled Down for Buium

Denver is where it really settled in. Two seasons, almost mirror images statistically, and close to a point per game from the blue line both years. That’s driving play. Buium wasn’t freelancing or cheating for offence; he was running possessions, walking the line, and making life easier for the forwards around him. The penalty minutes ticked up, which usually means a player is involved. He was thoroughly engaging in games, not floating through them.

By the time he hit the World Junior Championship, he looked comfortable in responsibility. Back-to-back tournaments, solid production, strong plus numbers, and no sense that the moment was too big. So when he landed in the NHL—first in Minnesota with the Wild, then suddenly in Vancouver after a franchise-altering trade late last week—his debut didn’t look frantic.

Returning to Buium’s First Game with the Canucks

As noted, Buium’s first game with the Canucks was more than solid. He showed himself to be a young defenseman playing within himself. And for a team trying to reset its blue line’s identity, that kind of player and that kind of game tends to matter more than people realize at first.

His skills carried over immediately for the Canucks. On his first power-play assist, he didn’t force the seam. He let the middle open, waited a half-second longer than most young defensemen would, and moved the puck where it needed to go. On his goal, he didn’t try to overpower the moment. The shot was accurate.

It’s worth noting what he didn’t try to do. He didn’t try to look like = Hughes. He didn’t skate himself into trouble trying to prove he was the guy he replaced. That restraint and the skill Buium showed impressed head coach Adam Foote, who called it “swag.” But, more than swag, what it could show is the young blueliner’s comfort with responsibility.

Canucks Fans Should Be Impressed by Buium’s First Game

For Canucks fans still processing the shock of the Hughes trade, that matters. No one should be expecting a one-to-one replacement for the amazing Hughes. That’s not how hockey works. What Vancouver needs instead is a defenseman who can grow into his own shape without fighting the shadows. Buium looks like he gets that.

Quinn Hughes Minnesota Wild — Quinn Hughes scored for the Minnesota Wild in his first game with his new team.
(Nick Wosika-Imagn Images)

There will be rough nights ahead. Every young defenseman has them. The NHL has a way of humbling even the most polished prospects. But one game can still tell you something. It can tell you whether the stage feels too big. It didn’t.

Already, Buium Set a Canucks Record

Buium became the youngest Vancouver defenseman to record a point in his team debut since Hughes did it in 2019. That’s trivia for now. The more important takeaway is this: the Canucks didn’t just acquire a player with upside. They acquired a player who looks comfortable learning in public.

Those are the ones who last. And sometimes, surprisingly, they arrive ready to stay. Canucks fans have to hope that’s Buium.