'First NHL game and it's in the Stanley Cup playoffs': Zeev Buium spends 13 minutes and 27 seconds on the ice
(Image via Getty: Zeev Buium)
13 minutes and 27 seconds on the clock for a 19-year-old rookie ice
hockey defenseman
,
Zeev Buium
! In that 13:27 of ice time, he had only one shot! But that moment? That NHL moment? For him? Meant everything. In Zeev Buium's words, 'It was a dream come true to play in the NHL, to play in a game.' Talking about his
Minnesota Wild
team's loss to
Vegas Golden Knights
, 'Sucks to lose, but you know, move on.'
Minnesota Wild took to their X and shared the first moment of Zeev Buium on the ice hockey rink, traditionally called a rookie lap, though, in Zeev Buium's case, it's a
Stanley Cup Playoffs
rookie lap! The Minnesota Wild captioned their X post, 'This is where it all begins, take your lap Zeev.' An X user commented, 'First NHL game and it's in the Stanley Cup playoffs!!', another compared Zeev Buium to Rick Tocchet, current head coach for the Vancouver Canucks, '@RussoHockey Zeev's flow looks like a 90's Rick Tocchet and I love it.'
First time in the NHL, and it's straight into the Stanley Cup Playoffs for 2024 NHL draft defenseman Zeev Buium
First-time jitters for the NHL, you must have heard. But first-time jitters for the NHL and the Stanley Cup Playoffs? That you might not have heard! It happened with a 19-year-old rookie defenseman for the Minnesota Wild who goes by the name Zeev Buium! What did he have to say at the post-game conference about the first-time jitters at the playoffs? 'After my first shift, the nerves completely went away. It wasn't. Actually, less nerves than I thought there was going to be(chuckles). After my first, it was just like you're playing hockey, so definitely up to it, definitely in the lap, but after the first shift.'
Minnesota Wild head coach John Hynes sent Zeev Buium late in the game against the Vegas Golden Knights. Talking about this, Buium said, 'I appreciate the opportunity for that, and I want to help the team win it. And, if that's my job to try to dish it out on the power play or whatnot, I wanna do that, and obviously, we couldn't find one tonight, but hopefully, we can get back to work, and we can find a way to get it back next time.'
Zeev Buium's family watched him play from the NHL stands, and he had dreamed of that moment his entire life
Zeev Buium's family was present in the NHL stands. It made Zeev Buium feel 'Just special. I don't really know what else to say. It was just pretty amazing, and you know, it was something. I have dreamed of my entire life and, you know, to see my family there. Obviously, I thought I wouldn't be here, so yeah, it was unreal.'
A reporter at the post-game conference asked Zeev Buium, 'What will you remember of tonight's game?'
The 2024 NHL draft, first-round, overall No. 12 pick said, 'Everything. The crowd is pretty amazing. You know, playing a game like that, and you know those are the crowds you dream of playing in, and those are the games you get up for the most. I think just being out there and seeing the atmosphere was pretty amazing.'
Also Read:
'Genius marketing': Vegas Golden Knights uncalled cross-check against Minnesota Wild raises questions about penalties - The Times of India
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