"SAY WHAT?!" Long Before Zach Whitecloud Became A Beloved Member Of The Golden Knights, He Wasn't Allowed To Visit Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS -- Long before Zach Whitecloud became a member of the Vegas Golden Knights and a beloved fan favorite inside T-Mobile Arena, there was one city his mother, Donna, wouldn't let him visit.

"My dad had played in a billiards tournament down here in Vegas, and for as many years as I was able to go and kind of handle my own, my mom would never let me go," Whitecloud revealed during a recent chat with The Hockey News. "Going down with my dad, he'd be playing, and what's a kid gonna do, right? But I wanted to follow my dad and travel a little bit and mom never let me.

"Even when I was 18, 19 years old, she still wasn't on the side of me going."

So, when Whitecloud was able to sign as a professional out of college, and he decided on the Golden Knights, he knew the first call he'd make.

"I phoned her first and told her she didn't really have a choice anymore - she had to let me go to Vegas," Whitecloud said.

A member of the organization since the inaugural season, Whitecloud made his professional debut in Edmonton on April 5, 2018, shortly before the Golden Knights would make their incredible run to the Stanley Cup Final, and would play in 16 games his sophomore season in Vegas.

Since then, he's never played in less than 51 games for the Golden Knights and has appeared in 24 of the team's 31 games this year.

Spanning 271 games, he has 60 points, with a career-high 19 coming during the 2021-22 season.

During the playoffs of Vegas' championship run in 2023, the 28-year-old who just enjoyed a birthday on Nov. 28 scored two goals and six assists and finished tied for second on the team with a plus-14.

As part of our "SAY WHAT?!" series, here is a little more with Whitecloud:

THN: What's been your favorite part of Las Vegas outside of hockey?

ZW: That would be the golf for me. I think there's a lot of things that go into this town. I've met so many great people, restaurant owners who, you know, you go into little neighborhood spots and you get to sit down, have a nice meal - a nice quiet meal. And so I appreciate all that sort of stuff. Having accessibility too, for my family to get here is super easy, and I'm really grateful for that. My mom doesn't enjoy the nine o'clock starts in central time too often. So that would be the only downside, I think, to being in Vegas.

THN: What's on your playlist?

ZW: My playlists are kind of over the place. I like to listen to listen to Mike Stud a lot. Saw him up at Calgary Stampede this past summer for the first time and I've always enjoyed his music. On the plane, I'm an earmuff guy just because of the noise. Pregame I'm usually an AirPod guy, just because of how small and versatile they are, usually. Just a little bit everything, a little bit of rap. And depending on the day, sometimes I'll play AC/DC. I'll play whatever, I'm just kind of going with the flow.

THN: It's game day, pre-game meal for Zach Whitecloud. Take me through game day.

ZW: When we're here at 11, usually get up, depending on the schedule, sometimes you need more sleep than other nights, especially with us being on the West Coast, we get in late and you're falling asleep, times are kind of all wacky. So try and get as much sleep as you can. I try to get up around 8:30 am, and try and take the dogs outside, get a little sun and get moving, Then get to the rink for about 9:30. That gives me 45 minutes until our meeting. So that gives me time to eat, go get treatment, see some of the guys, see the equipment staff, get my skates ready, get my sticks ready, check my gear, and then usually don't need too much time to prepare for that. Go upstairs, move around a little bit, and then go out and skate, hot tub, cold tub after grab my pregame meal, which is chickpea pasta with chicken breast and then some pesto in there. And then usually chicken noodle broth, just like a big cup of it.

THN: Who's the biggest prankster in the room?

ZW: We don't have too many pranksters. We just have a lot of guys that grind some gears. I would put (Keegan) Kolesar and (Jack) Eichel in that conversation, they're kind of competing for the top spot. Hutty (Ben Hutton) likes to get in there a little bit, get into people's heads. Other than that, those are the two that mainly stirred up.

THN: What about you? Do you like to get involved?

ZW: I get right in the fire. I'm probably target number one or two. The first thing I was told in pro is if they stop making fun of you then you're not a very well-liked teammate. I love taking the heat, that means guys love you and you're part of the group, right? So that's always something I've looked at, and it's always fun. We got a group that likes to joke around, but when it comes time to get the work done, we always do that.

THN: Who's your No. 1 target?

ZW: (Nic) Haguer and I like to go at it. Go back and forth at it a little bit. We've been together for a while, so we know how to get under each other's skin a little bit and have some fun with it. I kind of go after everyone. I mean, even the medical and equipment staff isn't off-limits. The strength staff isn't off-limits.

THN: Favorite cheat meal

ZW: Anna Marie's, Grandma's Pie, Sicilian Cut. Really good pie. Nice, deep, deep crust, not too much sauce, really good pizza

THN: Even though you've played with some of the greatest players that this league has seen, you've matured right along with the franchise. What's that been like?

ZW: I think the main thing I always try to reflect on is just being grateful for being with one team for so long. Obviously, not a ton of guys can say that. And I'm, I'm proud of where this team's come from and the adversity we've gone through. Because obviously there's an expectation here in Vegas, and even more so on ourselves, but with our fan base, our ownership, our GMs, our staff, is to win games, and go deep in the playoffs every year and make a push for the cup every year. Being in that environment is always exciting, and also having a hand in developing the culture here, I think is something I'm really proud of, too. Obviously, being a younger guy, you're more so following the footsteps of ... a lot of those older guys, a lot of guys that have been here for a long time and helped create that culture and instill that within this group. We've had core guys that have been here for quite a while, and guys that have grown up in the organization, and guys that will be here for a long time to be able to keep that culture alive. And honestly, without culture and the winning, and the way we treat people, and how we play, and the way we like to play, and the resilience we have, - we're a team that's going to win consistently. That's part of our identity and our culture.