When the Vegas Golden Knights parted with Zach Whitecloud in a deal to acquire Rasmus Andersson from the Calgary Flames, they didn’t just lose a good player– they also lost a man with deep roots in the Las Vegas community.
On Thursday, Whitecloud will take the ice at T-Mobile Arena wearing road whites. After playing 368 games in a Golden Knights uniform, he had one word to describe how it feels coming to Las Vegas as a visitor: weird.
“It’s a little weird,” he admitted. “It’s just weird, right? I spent seven or eight years here, created a lot of lifelong relationships here, not just with the team but in the community. I’m mainly excited to get back, see everyone, play in front of that building, and have some fun with it.
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“It’s going to be weird going through the gameday routine and being on the other side of it,” continued Whitecloud. “Yeah, it’ll be different, and it’ll be weird. But it’ll be exciting for my friends and family, and exciting [for me] to play against those guys.”
The trade caught Whitecloud by surprise, but he’s thriving in Calgary. He has been a rock and a pillar of stability for a young Flames team in the midst of a rebuild. He has six assists through 23 games and plays over 24 minutes on most nights.
“It’s been good,” said Whitecloud. “First and foremost, the guys and everyone in the organization did a fantastic job of making me feel at home pretty quickly… The coaches and players made me feel pretty comfortable coming in, made me feel part of the family.
“It’s a business on the other side of it, too, and we all get that,” Whitecloud continued. “I’m excited for my opportunity in Calgary. I’ve made a good adjustment here, met a lot of new guys, and the new fanbase has been great too.”
In 2017, the Golden Knights signed Whitecloud as an undrafted free agent out of Bemidji State University. He went on to spend the next nine years of his life as a part of the organization. In 2023, Whitecloud helped the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup, playing in all 22 games and scoring a game-winning goal in the Final.
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“I’m obviously grateful for my time here,” Whitecloud began. “There’s not one bad thing to say about Las Vegas, its people, its community, the fans, the organization, everyone that helped me get to the NHL and be a regular here and try to help the team win.
“Every time I come back here in the future will be exciting for me,” finished Whitecloud. “This will always be home in my heart. It’s the place I first broke into the NHL and learned how to win, and eventually won with this group.”
Because the trade happened so suddenly, Whitecloud didn’t have the chance to say a proper goodbye to all of the people in his day-to-day life. Now, he has that opportunity.
“It was pretty quick when the day came,” said Whitecloud. “Being Canadian, I was able to get on a plane and jump right out [to Calgary]… I didn’t really get to say goodbye to a lot of the staff and the people behind the scenes who really make all these things go around and keep us playing. Being able to see a lot of them today was pretty emotional, to be honest with you. [There are] a lot of guys that take care of the players and make sure that we can be ourselves and be the pros that we are, and people don’t really see that… Just being able to give them a hug and see them was really great.”
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Whitecloud went to dinner with a group of his former teammates on Wednesday night.
“All the guys have been great,” said Whitecloud. “They were all excited to see me, and me likewise. I got to catch up and see how everyone’s families are doing, how all the kids are doing, and make sure everyone’s good.”
As is tradition, Whitecloud knows that there’s an emotional tribute video in store for him, and he’s ready for it. But he’s also ready to continue processing the emotions stemming from the trade.
“I think, once this game goes by, I can kind of let everything go a little bit,” he said. “Not that I’ll forget everything… I spent a lot of time here and built a lot of roots here. Everything’s weird, everything’s exciting. There are a lot of emotions. Happy, sad, grateful, appreciative– a lot of words come to mind.”
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