Canucks not rushing Zeev Buium's development in sophomore season

PENTICTON — The patience the Vancouver Canucks are preaching for Zeev Buium obviously did not apply to the defenceman’s contract.

Having witnessed the revolution in National Hockey League player economics over the summer, Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson made a huge calculated bet two weeks ago when he signed Buium to an eight-year, $75-million-USD extension — about a million dollars for each of the 20-year-old’s 76 NHL games so far.

That contract is part of the league’s rapidly-changing financial landscape, although Buium was adamant on Friday that it doesn’t change him or his development path.

“I've said this a bunch: every guy in the NHL, every guy that plays professional sports, the most pressure comes from us — ourselves,” he said when asked if the heft of his new contract changes expectations. “I don't really think the pressure from the outside ever gets to me.

“You always want to outplay your contract, and whether you're making $15 million or $2 million, it doesn't matter. I think if I can play to my capabilities and come out every night feeling like, you know, I’ve played my best, I think I will like my results. It has nothing to do with my contract; I want to be the player I want to be.”

That attitude is partly why the Canucks were willing to go all-in on Buium, the centrepiece of the return from last December’s trade of Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild.

When Buium’s contract was announced, Johnson told reporters: “This contract isn't about Zeev the player today or tomorrow. It's where we see him in three, four and five years. This is now a journey and we're going to support him.”

During the Canucks’ pre-training camp press conference this week, both Johnson and head coach Manny Malhotra re-iterated the new regime’s belief that patience is paramount to player development, and no prospect is going to be rushed to the NHL before he is ready.

But Buium is already in the NHL after splitting his rookie season between the Wild and the Canucks, and even in the final season of his original, entry-level contract, the defencemen’s development is going to be conducted in the best league in the world.

“We’ll treat him like we would any other guy,” Malhotra insisted Friday after the second day of camp here. “There’s obviously a great deal of patience that goes into helping a young player develop at the right pace. People will look at the contract and have certain expectations, whereas for us, we continue to talk about building the foundation.

“We recognize he will make mistakes like any other young guy in this league does. But we’re just going to continue to encourage him, support him and develop his game as a whole with the mindset of: What’s he going to look like in two and three and four years?”

What Buium looks like in camp is a super-talented sophomore who can skate and move the puck but still has a lot of growing to do.

Interestingly, after playing most of his five-on-five ice time last season alongside top Canuck defenceman Filip Hronek, Buium has been partnered at training camp with 36-year-old Luke Schenn in what appears to be the third pairing.

Malhotra has cautioned against making any conclusions about deployment based on a couple of days of camp practices, but assigning Buium to Schenn could be one sign of the organization’s patience with their prized prospect and desire to lighten any pressure that might come with signing the biggest contract in franchise history for a defenceman.

“Obviously, we all know how good a defenceman Quinn was and has become in this league, and how special he is,” Schenn told reporters on Thursday. “You don't want to compare anyone, but obviously, Zeev has an incredible skill set and toolbox himself, too.

“Watching him from a distance when he first broke in with the Wild and how he kind of stepped in and ran that power play in the (2025) playoffs, and then watching him a little bit last year and following the trade a little bit, you can just tell how great his upside was. He understands the locker room and gets what it's like to be a pro, and he puts in the work. Just a tonne of confidence. He's kind of proven (himself) at every level, and he's going to make great strides here in the NHL. We're relying on him big time, and yeah, I feel fortunate to get to play with him.”

Incredibly, Schenn was the Canuck defenceman who shepherded Hughes into the NHL in 2019. Schenn then left the Canucks — twice — before signing as a free agent on July 1 for his third stint in Vancouver.

“I guess when I was a young guy, I had a great mentor and guys who I played with,” Schenn said. “I played with Tomas Kaberle for a few years (in Toronto), and then Kimmo Timonen in Philly. I just remember how they treated me, and their wisdom and veteran presence, and how they rubbed off on me. Now, it’s kind of role reversed where you maybe mentor someone else. I feel like I'm the lucky guy who gets to play with these young guys.”

Buium feels lucky, too.

“He is papa bear,” Buium smiled. “He's such an unreal human, you know? Just has so much experience around the league. He doesn't treat me like a young guy; he just treats me like a player and a person. I think that's something we really needed — just a guy with that presence who you can talk to at any time. He's just one of those guys that you're lucky to have on your team if you get to play with him.”

If Schenn does his job well, Buium may not play with him for long.

The 12^th overall pick of the 2024 draft, Buium doesn’t turn 21 until December but possesses a lot of confidence after winning senior, junior and U18 championships with Team USA, as well as a national title at the University of Denver.

The San Diegan said his focus this summer was getting stronger and faster, but Buium also did skills work alongside Geoff Sanderson and Cutter Gauthier at a camp in Wisconsin, and spent two weeks skating in Arizona with Auston Matthews, Clayton Keller, Tage Thompson and others.

“I was just trying to pick up things and learn things from different guys,” Buium said. “I think the biggest thing I learned is, No. 1, conditioning. Everybody that can play big minutes. . . play offence and create offence, they just have a motor. And the other things are the little things. You look at Matthews, he's always tweaking stuff with his stick and trying new things — just little things to try to get that small edge on somebody else.”

Upon his arrival with the Canucks, Buium said he wasn’t trying to be Quinn Hughes and would author his own NHL story.

But given Buium’s path so far, his team, his contract and now his defence partner, comparisons to Hughes probably aren’t going away.

“The kind of person I am, I want to be the No. 1 guy,” Buium said. “I want to be the best I can be, up there with those guys at the top of the league. But I don't compare myself to Quinn. I think Quinn's in his own own class with (Cale) Makar and (Zach) Werenski and those guys. I think every defenceman in my spot is trying to reach that level.

“I guess that's a goal for me: to kind of play my own style, be my own player, and kind of get that narrative (about Quinn) away from me.”

If he can do that, Buium will be worth the patience. And every penny.