Zach Whitecloud spent all eight of his NHL seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights, but the 29-year-old is excited to return north of the border.
Despite the day being a whirlwind for him, Whitecloud is eager to join the group on Monday.
“Excited is an understatement,” he said. “Growing up in Manitoba, I watched the Flames, Leafs, Oilers and Canucks and all those teams, and I never envisioned myself playing in the NHL for one.
“Really excited to join the group there and play in an atmosphere where hockey is No. 1.”
Calgary currently sits near the bottom of the Pacific Division with 46 points, but the right-handed defenceman believes the team is going in the right direction and he’s looking forward to making an impact.
“The team has been playing well. I think they have a lot of guys in place that have had really good careers, really good goaltending, good D corps, good forward groups, and playing in that atmosphere; it’s always a tough building to come in and play in Calgary throughout my career.
“I’m excited to be part of that now and make Calgary a continued spot where it’s difficult to come in and play and keep trying to push forward a winning tradition here.”
Whitecloud’s next chance to make his debut for the Flames will be on Monday when Calgary hosts the New Jersey Devils (Sportsnet, Sportsnet+, 9 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. MT).
