First Light - An Exclusive Q&A with Zeev Buium

'On the Horizon: First Light' is a weekly summer Q&A series with select Minnesota Wild prospects.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – It was difficult to find a moment at Wild Development Camp where Zeev Buium did not have a big smile on his face. Whether he was battling fellow draft pick Stevie Leskovar in front of the net or sinking a birdie putt for his best shot foursome at Royal Golf Club, the newly minted Wild prospect was just taking it all in.

Buium, who will be a sophomore at the University of Denver in the fall, was selected 12^th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft. Along with fellow Wild prospect Rieger Lorenz, Zeev and the rest of the Pios will be defending the Frozen Four title they won at Xcel Energy Center this past March.

Wild.com caught up with Buium as Development Camp was wrapping up last week.

Wild.com: With the Draft and Development Camp now over, has the dust settled a little bit? Have you had any time to reflect on the past few weeks of your life?

Buium: “It's hard to wrap your head around it, I think. You continue to try to stay in the moment, continue to work hard, and focus on the next step and next challenge. With all that, though, you have days where you just sit there, take it all in, and think about it. I still don't think it's fully set in yet. I know that it's a special opportunity, and a special moment in my life. I just want to have fun with it.”

Wild.com: What was your impression of Minnesota Wild Development Camp?

Buium: “It's a lot of fun. I feel like I knew a little bit of what to expect with my brother going to past development camps with the Red Wings. Obviously, every camp is different. I wanted to be myself and soak everything in. It goes by quick and you don't know how many of these you're going to get. For me, it's trying to get close with the guys that I could be potentially playing with in the future. Learning the coaching staff, them learning about me and getting familiar with everyone else was most important. I think it's good to start building those relationships now. It really was a fun week.

Wild.com: After winning the Frozen Four with Denver at Xcel Energy Center last March does it look different when you walk by the building this summer?

Buium: “I think when I came here for Frozen Four I saw an awesome rink. The inside is beautiful. It's well designed, so you look at it in that way. Now I'm walking past the rink and thinking, 'Oh my God, this could be my home rink one day.' It definitely has a little bit of a different feel when I walk by it now.”

Wild.com: Outside of hockey, how is your summer going so far?

Buium: “It's been a lot of fun. Being home in California I go to the beach a lot with my friends, and I love playing golf. Anytime I can take a step back and escape the hockey world for a minute, I'll take that chance. I grew up in the Laguna Beach area, which is the midway point between San Diego and Los Angeles. A lot of my friends still live there. My girlfriend lives there too, so I spend a lot of time in that area and Newport Beach. It’s also close to where I train.”

Wild.com: How did the Buium brothers end up in the hockey world?

Buium: “We had a cousin who played five minutes down the road at San Diego Ice Arena. It’s a really small rink. It even has a barbecue in the backyard.  I don’t know how many ice rinks have a barbecue in the backyard. It was a fun place to learn to play the game. There was no AAA or travel teams or anything. It was all club in-house for fun. I loved watching my older brother Shai play. I would wake up at six in the morning to go watch his games. I think my mom's famous words were “over my dead body” to let Shai play, but they ended up letting him play and my oldest brother Ben got into it too. Ben actually went to Shattuck St. Mary’s for a little bit, but ended up leaving and took a different path from hockey. Being the youngest brother, I always tagged along to the rink. I got into it by playing roller at first. I would roll around the rink for hours until they were done. Then I got the urge to get on the ice and I loved it.”

Wild.com: We saw your interview with Keith Yandle at the Draft. Tell us about the tattoos you have on your arm and then do you have any other tattoos besides that?

Buium: “That's my only tattoo, and I did it all at once. My first tattoo. After winning the National Championship, everybody was getting tattoos on their leg of the trophy or whatever. Some guys got one on their ribs--like Rieger (Lorenz) got one on his ribs. With the U-18 World Championships and the World Juniors, I was like, I might as well throw those on there too and do something a little bit more special and more personal for myself. I’ve got those and all the dates we won them. All in Hebrew.”

Wild.com: Do you have room for more?

Buium: “I think so. I mean I’ve got another full sleeve, more of my arm, another arm, and two legs, so hopefully I get more.”

Wild.com: Your family moved from Israel to the US before you were born. Clearly, you’re proud of your Jewish & Israeli heritage. Has what's been happening on that side of the world been on your mind throughout this past season?

Buium: “Yeah, I mean obviously with a bunch of my family living over there. The day it happened (October 7th, 2023) was the first game of (Denver’s) season, so it was pretty tough on my family and me. My grandma, aunts, uncles, cousins, everybody. Everybody's over there. Knowing everyone is safe and seeing a lot of them at the Draft come over from Israel was really awesome. To get to spend time with them, see them, and know everyone's all good--and they're just living their normal lives--is good to hear. As long as they're okay, we're okay.”

Wild.com: What’s it meant to you to be a part of the Minnesota Wild organization now?

Buium: “I think it means everything to me. I really wanted to go to a team that had good people within it. Where it's culture first and you have to put your ego away. It's been everything I've dreamed of in an organization so far.”

Following Development Camp, Buium tells Wild.com that he’ll stay busy throughout the summer.

The Wild’s 2024 First Round Draft Pick plans to head to Hawaii for a little downtime, but when he returns home it will be right back to hockey. “I never really get burnt out or anything in a way where I want to leave hockey,” Buium says. “It’s always good to get your mind off it. Go somewhere and just be a kid for a little bit.”

Zeev also plans on attending the World Junior Summer Showcase in Michigan from July 26-August 3. After that, it will be a mix of relaxing and training at home in California before heading back to Denver to start the hockey season later in August.