Zeev Buium wrapped up the 2026 pre-season with a goal and an assist for the Canucks.
The Vancouver Canucks are banking on Zeev Buium becoming the guy for them on the blueline.
The eight-year, $9.38M AAV contract extension they signed him to at the beginning of September is the biggest indicator of that.
The Canucks and their fans know that the value of this contract likely won’t be proven until a couple of seasons down the road, after Buium has had more than just a year or two to settle into the NHL and his new home with the Canucks. He may only be entering his second full year in the NHL — on a team that’s projected to finish near the bottom of the league’s standings, too — but already, Buium is relishing the opportunity to become a big-game player for the Canucks.
It’s early, but Buium’s importance to his team has quickly begun to show. In his first game of the 2026 pre-season, a 2–1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday, the 20-year-old logged the most minutes of his entire team with 25:05. Buium spoke to The Hockey News earlier this week about what becoming a big-minute player for the Canucks means to him.
“[It] means a lot. I want to be a guy that plays those minutes, plays 25, 30 minutes or whatever it is, and at a quality level. If I can give my team a chance to win every night, being out there that much, that’s all I can ask for.”
It’s not solely about logging the minutes, however. Buium knows that, as much as playing in a good chunk of minutes matters, what matters more is what’s done during those minutes.
“I think personally, just [want] to fine-tune my game and make sure I’m making the right plays consistently, and not being out there for 25 minutes giving up three or four grade-A [chances], but being out there trying to score goals and help the team win.”
Thursday’s game also saw Buium make a quick move from Vancouver’s second power-play unit to the first. The Canucks scored their lone goal of the game off the defenceman’s shot, tipped-in by Linus Karlsson while on the man-advantage.
Buium continued this run of offensive success on Saturday night, scoring on the power-play during Vancouver’s 4–3 win against the Seattle Kraken, albeit as part of an equally lethal second-unit. As the game progressed, the young defenceman showed more and more confidence with the puck, making aggressive offensive plays and jumping-up to advance play deeper into Seattle’s zone.
On his power-play goal, Buium began the play from behind the Canucks’ net, striding through the neutral zone before feeding the puck to teammate Tom Willander. When the puck ended up back on Buium’s stick, he did what he specified is the best play to make — shooting the puck.
“As a guy who wants to make plays and set guys up, I think sometimes the best play is to shoot,” he said in a media availability. “I think this year, a focus for me will be to shoot more and get more pucks to the net — don’t get them blocked, or if I have a clear lane to shoot, or if I’m coming downhill and maybe I have a pass to the back door but through three sticks, probably better to shoot, right?”
Buium, however, is no stranger to shooting. In his two seasons with the University of Denver in 2023–24 and 2024–25, Buium finished within the NCAA’s top-five in goal-scoring by a defenceman. He scored 11 goals in 42 games during his rookie season, ranking fourth among all collegiate defencemen. The year after, he followed that up with 13 goals in 41 games — good for third among all NCAA defencemen in 2024–25.
Even so, shooting still became a target point in the Canucks defenceman’s off-season training.
“[I] worked on it a lot this summer [...] just trying to shoot a little bit more, trying to create more traffic to the net.”
It’s early — the regular season hasn’t even started yet — but so far, Buium’s shooting mentality is working.
Apr 14, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Zeev Buium (24) handles the puck against the Los Angeles Kings in the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn ImagesMake sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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