Zach Whitecloud (born November 28, 1996) is a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

for the

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. Founded in 2017 as an expan ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). Whitecloud went undrafted while playing for

Bemidji State University Bemidji State University (BSU) is a public university in Bemidji, Minnesota. Founded as a preparatory institution for teachers in 1919, it provides higher education to north-central Minnesota. It is part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Univ ...

. As a college free agent, he signed with the Golden Knights in 2018.

Early life

Zach Whitecloud was born on November 28, 1996, in

Brandon, Manitoba Brandon () is the second-largest city in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the southwestern corner of the province on the banks of the Assiniboine River, approximately west of the provincial capital, Winnipeg, and east of the ...

. Whitecloud is of

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota, a ...

descent and was raised in Brandon, spending time at the nearby

Sioux Valley Dakota Nation Sioux Valley Dakota Nation (SVDN) or Wipazoka Wakpa ('Saskatoon River', named for the abundance of Saskatoon bushes along the river) is a Dakota (Sioux) First Nation that resides west of Brandon, Manitoba Brandon () is the second-largest city i ...

. He considers both Brandon and Sioux Valley as home. Whitecloud began skating at two years old. As a youth, he played for the Sioux Valley team and then the Brandon Youth Hockey Association. During his childhood, Whitecloud's family served as a billet family for

Brandon Wheat Kings The Brandon Wheat Kings are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Brandon, Manitoba. They are members of the Western Hockey League (WHL) since joining the league in the 1967–68 season. Previously, they played in the Manitoba Junior Hoc ...

players. Whitecloud graduated from

Vincent Massey High School Vincent Massey High School is a high school in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, and part of the Brandon School Division. The school opened in 1960 and it currently has more than 1100 students. The school is named for former Governor General of Canada V ...

in 2015.

Playing career

During his second full season with the

Virden Oil Capitals The Virden Oil Capitals are a Canadian junior 'A' ice hockey team based in Virden, Manitoba. The Oil Capitals are members of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. History The franchise was founded as the Winnipeg Rangers in 1956. The Rangers b ...

, Whitecloud announced his commitment to play hockey for

. Following his rookie year at Bemidji State, where he led defencemen in scoring, Whitecloud was invited to the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

development camp before the

2017–18 NHL season The 2017–18 NHL season was the 101st season of operation (100th season of play) of the National Hockey League. With the addition of a new expansion team, the Vegas Golden Knights, 31 teams competed in an 82-game regular season. The regular sea ...

. Following his sophomore year at Bemidji, Whitecloud was named the 2017–18 WCHA Scholar-Athlete and named to the WCHA All-Academic Team. He ended the season with 19 points and a team-best 51 blocked shots.

Vegas Golden Knights

Whitecloud was signed by the

to a three-year, entry-level contract on March 8, 2018. He played his first career NHL game on April 5, 2018, against the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

. He finished the game with a team-best plus-3 in 16:42 of ice time in a 4–3 loss to the Oilers. Although the Golden Knights qualified for the

2018 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs was the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL). The playoffs began on April 11, 2018, after the 2017–18 regular season and concluded on June 7, 2018, with the Washington Capitals winning their fir ...

, Whitecloud was ineligible to be on the roster since he was not on the team's reserve list by the trade deadline. While attending the Knights training camp prior to the 2018–19 season, Whitecloud was re-assigned to their

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

affiliate, the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...

. Late in the 2019–20 season, Whitecloud established himself with

and he and teammate

Nick Holden Nick Holden (born May 15, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Holden began his hockey career in the St. Albert, Alberta area, playing alongside Ryan Stanton wit ...

were one of the best duos in the playoffs in terms of defense and possession. He was signed to a two-year contract extension on March 22, 2020. On October 28, 2021, Whitecloud signed a six-year, $16.5 million contract extension with the Golden Knights. The first round of the Golden Knights' 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs was played against the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

of Whitecloud's home province, with him noting that many in his family had been fans of the team and generally cheered for them when not playing the Golden Knights. The Golden Knights reached the

2023 Stanley Cup Finals #REDIRECT 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs is the forthcoming playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL). The playoffs are scheduled to begin on April 17, 2023, a few days after the 2022–23 NHL season, and wi ...

, with Whitecloud one of two indigenous players in the series, alongside

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been t ...

defenceman

Brandon Montour Brandon Montour (born April 11, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Florida Panthers in the National Hockey League (NHL). Montour was selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the second round, 55th overall, of the 2014 NHL ...

of the opposing

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

. The Golden Knights defeated the Panthers in five games, and Whitecloud hoisted the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

for the first time.

International play

Whitecloud was the youngest skater selected to play for Team Canada at the 2017 Karjala Cup in Finland. He was later named to Team Canada's pre-Olympic roster before the

2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...

but failed to make the final roster.

Personal life

During the 2018 offseason, Whitecloud volunteered as a guest instructor at

Micheal Ferland Micheal Ferland (born April 20, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger who is currently under contract for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Along with the Canucks, he has previously played for the Calgary Fla ...

's Hockey School in Brandon, Manitoba, alongside

Brigette Lacquette Brigette Lacquette (born November 10, 1992) is a Canadian ice hockey player, currently playing for the Calgary section of the PWHPA and the Canadian national team, playing defence. She participated at the 2015 IIHF Women's World Championship. I ...

, Harley Garrioch, Jens Meilleur,

Ryan Pulock Ryan Pulock (born October 6, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). Pulock was drafted 15th overall by the Islanders in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Playing career Ju ...

Tyler Plante Tyler Plante (born April 16, 1987) is an American-born Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who last played with the Lørenskog IK of the GET-ligaen. He is currently the goaltending coach for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL Play ...

, Shaq Merasty, Josh Elmes, and

Joel Edmundson Joel Edmundson (born June 28, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the St. Louis Blues and Carolina Hurricanes. Gr ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitecloud Zach 1996 births Living people Bemidji State Beavers men's ice hockey players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Chicago Wolves players First Nations sportspeople Portage Terriers players Ice hockey people from Brandon, Manitoba Stanley Cup champions Undrafted National Hockey League players Vegas Golden Knights players Virden Oil Capitals players