Zach Whitecloud had quite the summer.
But as this abbreviated Flames training camp rolls on, the veteran defenceman is laser-focused on helping the team grow as he begins his first full season in Calgary.
The Manitoban was traded north by the Vegas Golden Knights in January and immediately emerged as a leader both on and off the ice, a role he’s keen on building upon as we draw nearer to opening night, Oct. 1 at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
“Throughout my career, I’ve have had some really good leaders on some pretty good teams and being able to learn from those guys and see what they do on a day-to-day and how they treat people and how they conduct themselves on the ice and off the ice and and, you know, just kind of what their roles are, right? And having good role models for that is something I've been very lucky to have.
“Obviously, Backy's (Mikael Backlund) been doing a good job of that for many years now and that's obviously the biggest sign of a group is what is a team. I think we have a good grasp on what our identity is as a group and being able to move forward, and trying to win hockey games as a team.”
For the second straight day, Whitecloud was paired with Yan Kuznetsov as the Flames continued their preseason preparations, fine-tuning their details ahead of a four-game exhibition campaign that begins on home ice Sunday against the Kraken. GET TICKETS
The duo played 125 minutes together at 5-on-5 following Whitecloud’s arrival from Vegas, and their .958 on-ice save percentage as a pairing was the best of any Calgary twosome with more than 45 minutes of total 5-on-5 ice-time.
Whitecloud relishes that shutdown role, but in examining the Flames’ pairings - which have stayed consistent day over day to begin camp - he sees growing cohesion, and a sense of balance, too.
“I think we’ve got three pairs that can play almost in every situation. It balances every pair which is nice and we've got nine or 10 D that can play good quality minutes in the NHL. So, I think we're very well balanced.
"We’re deeper, I think, than it's been in the past. And obviously we're a little bit younger, but I think with being younger, it gives guys, you know, more chance to find their game and find out who they are in the NHL, which is really exciting too.”
But Whitecloud, too, finds himself in a good place in the lead-up to his first full Flames season. He represented Canada at the World Championship in the spring, then afterwards, he and his wife, Madison, got married in the Okanagan, all while getting settled in here in Calgary.
“A lot of travelling,” smiled Whitecloud when asked about the off-season. “It was a really busy summer, but everything leading up to it was, I think, everything that my wife and I had had imagined and planned. She was a trooper throughout the whole year and getting things in order, so everything went over smooth the day of the wedding.
“We were able to get on our honeymoon, which was great. Just her and I, and then we went up to Scotland and played a little golf and that sort of stuff. Amazing wife to let me golf on our honeymoon. Everything worked out really well.”
But has he’s done on the ice since joining the Flames, Whitecloud is making sure to embrace the city, too, from his work in the community to enjoying those simpler moments that we all take for granted.
“I haven't experienced a fall in Canada for 10 or 11 years,” he said. “So for me and my wife, it's really exciting because we got to take the dogs to the park, down to the river, and experience all that Calgary has to offer when the snow isn't here.”
On the ice, it’s a sprint to the start of the regular season. A crash course in cohesion that Whitecloud is looking forward to.
And while the new, shortened format is unfamiliar for he and his fellow NHL vets, Whitecloud is welcoming the change.
And welcoming, too, the dawn of a new campaign.
“This is something that a lot of us players want,” he said. “I just want to get to the regular season, but there are obviously things within your group and within your game as an individual and as a team that you have to hammer away at and make sure you're dialled in before game one hits.
“So it’s about making sure you're ready to take those on full steam and make sure you're dialled in, both yourself in your game and as a team.”
