After signing an eight-year, $75.04 million extension in early September, Vancouver Canucks defenceman Zeev Buium has had a slow start.

Through 11 games this season, the nifty defenceman has just two assists and eight shots on goal in 20:38 minutes of average ice time. He began the season on the top pairing with Filip Hronek, consistently averaging over 20 minutes per game through the first seven. He’s made some defensive mistakes along the way, but that’s to be expected for a 20-year-old defenceman with under 100 NHL games under his belt, still learning his game at the highest level in professional hockey.

Over the last four games, head coach Manny Malhotra has moved him down the lineup to the third pair. As a result, Buium’s ice time is decreasing, but his analytical numbers are increasing. So while it may not have been the most ideal start for Buium, he’s beginning to see an improvement in his game:

“It’s growing,” Buium told Daily Faceoff Vancouver when asked where his confidence level is at this point of the season. “I mean, at the start of the year, I just felt like I was almost like hesitant with everything. It didn’t matter what line I was playing against; it was just like a thing within myself. I think the last couple of games I’ve started to find my game, use my legs, try to create offence, and try to break pucks out cleaner and stuff like that, and join the rush when I can. Just all those little details that I think make my game who I am.

“Like I said, just try to find that consistency in my game,” Buium continued. “It’s nice having these older guys around. And even over the course of one season, you’re gonna have games where you play like absolute sh*t; you’re gonna have games where you play amazing, and you have games where you’re just average. So just trying to find consistency. I hate being a player who’s up and down. I feel like I got here by being kind of more like this [motioning his hand in a steady straight line]. So just trying to find this [motioning his hand on an incline] and really only go here. And sometimes you’re going to dip, but I think I’m starting to kind of find that confidence and that level of playmaking that I want to make.”

Sometimes, all a player needs is a bit of a switch-up to spark something in their game. We see it all the time: players get a reset in the press box for one game, then bounce back to their normal level. And what’s working for Buium right now is getting shifted to the third pair, which has given him increased puck touches against competition lower in the opposition’s lineup.

But for now, it’s not about where he’s playing. Buium is willing to play in any role his coach deems the right fit for him on any given night:

“Obviously, you never want to get your ice time taken away,” Buium admitted. “But you know, for me, like I said, it’s not my choice of where I play or who I play with. So just gotta do my job. I think for me, the last couple of games, it’s just clearing my head and playing my game. I think just trying to find what makes me click and what makes it work for me, whether I’m playing 25 or 15 minutes, and you know, being a good teammate and supporting the guys, and making sure I’m doing my job whenever I’m out there. So, whatever role they have me in, whatever they need me to do, that’s what my job is to do that night.”

Now, on that third pair, Buium has reconnected with Luke Schenn, whom he spent all of training camp paired with. Many observers quickly drew the easy comparison to when Schenn played on a pair with Quinn Hughes early in his career, and what role he would play on a potential pair now with Buium.

So far this season, Schenn has mostly watched Buium from afar, playing just over 30 minutes of 5v5 ice time together. But when paired with Schenn, Buium is able to flash a bit more of his offensive side, which will only help build his confidence.

Having Schenn as a partner, who acts as a defensive safety valve, is valuable for a budding defenceman like Buium. More important, however, is his veteran, calming presence, who’s been in a similar situation to what Buium faces today.

“I think he’s no different,” Schenn said to Daily Faceoff Vancouver when asked what he’s seeing from Buium this season. “I mean, I was obviously in the same position as a young guy in the league, and you know, sometimes it’s tough. I mean, from my own experience, you come in, you kind of get away with a lot of things, and you’ve got a lot of good energy and excitement, and you get a long leash, and then next thing you know, sometimes the second season’s tougher. And I personally experienced that, and I just had good veterans around me that helped me, and obviously coaches. You rely on your family and everything like that. But in terms of [Buium], I think he’s such an elite skater and puck mover and great character guy. He’s going to have a great long future for sure.”

While Buium may be suffering a bit of a sophomore slump at the start of the season, there is a reason he was drafted with the 12th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. He is one of the most decorated NCAA defencemen in his age group for a reason. There’s going to be some growing pains along the way, especially in a rebuilding environment. But with his confidence emerging after a difficult start, and veteran leaders like Schenn around him, Buium believes he is starting to play like the player he knows he can be.