BOSTON — The first person to tell Keegan Kolesar that Rasmus Andersson was going to be his new teammate was Cody Glass.
Glass, the Knights’ first entry draft selection, texted him that the Calgary Flames were sending the coveted defenseman to the Vegas Golden Knights.
That’s all he knew. No other details were given.
Then, he got a call from good friend Zach Whitecloud.
Kolesar was the first person Whitecloud told that his time with the Knights was ending after almost eight years.
“I’m happy that I got him to break the news to me first,” Kolesar said.
Reality then set in.
“I was crying pretty much the whole day,” Kolesar said. “When I drove over to his house, I was crying pretty bad. I got over there, said goodbye to him, we had a Guinness one more time, and that was it.”
Strong Canada connection
The Manitoba connection in the Knights’ locker room is a strong one. Whitecloud was one of four players from the Canadian province, along with Kolesar, Brett Howden and Mark Stone.
Kolesar and Whitecloud have been close since Whitecloud joined the Knights as an undrafted college free agent in 2018.
They developed in the American Hockey League together. They joined the NHL roster at around the same time. They won a Stanley Cup together. Kolesar will be a groomsman in Whitecloud’s wedding this summer.
“He’s a really close friend that you’ve gone through so much with,” Kolesar said.
There’s the excitement a major trade brings. The Knights and Kolesar are itching to see what Andersson can bring to a team that still has strong championship aspirations.
Kolesar said “it sucks” that Whitecloud won’t be part of that journey. He instead goes to Calgary as a 29-year-old veteran defenseman who can be a leader from the get-go.
That’s just part of the business. Kolesar understands that.
“You never want to see a buddy like that go or any teammate like that go,” longtime locker neighbor Ben Hutton said. “But at the end of the day, it’s a business. We’re getting Rasmus to come in and really help us out. That’ll be big, too.”
Know when to fold ’em
Hutton’s and Whitecloud’s stalls at City National Arena have been next to each other for years. There was never a day they weren’t joking or poking fun at each other.
This is the Knights’ first road trip since the trade, and there is weirdness to it. Whitecloud isn’t on the plane playing cards or controlling the music as the team’s plane DJ.
Hutton said Whitecloud is one of the nicest guys: “He was one of those guys who you can’t really say anything bad about.”
Well, maybe one thing.
“The only bad thing I could probably say about him is he’s brutal at cards,” Hutton said.
Waiting on Andersson
Andersson’s debut with the Knights remains on hold. His immigration is still processing, and he’s not expected to join the team for Thursday’s game against the Boston Bruins.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Andersson could join the team in Canada for their three-game trek through eastern Canada, starting Friday in Toronto.
“With that comes the excitement of a player of Rasmus’ caliber to come and help us to get to the goal we all want to go,” Kolesar said. “I’m very excited for what’s to come with the pieces we have coming in.”
Technology helps, at least. There’s still texting and FaceTime to ease the sting of Kolesar not having his friend around.
The group chat with Kolesar, Whitecloud and former teammate Nic Hague suddenly feels weird. Hague, the Knights’ second-round pick from 2017, also came up through development with Whitecloud and Kolesar.
Hague was traded to the Nashville Predators in June for defenseman Jeremy Lauzon and center Colton Sissons.
“I guess now we’re going to have to talk (in the group chat) even more,” Kolesar said.
With Hague, Kolesar had a whole summer to decompress what happened. This was more sudden.
There will be time for more Guinness down the road.
“One of the best guys (Calgary) could possibly get going back their way,” Kolesar said.
Contact Danny Webster at [email protected]. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
Up next
Who: Golden Knights at Bruins
When: 4 p.m. Thursday
Where: TD Garden, Boston
TV: KMCC-34
Radio: KFLG 94.7 FM, KKGK 1340 AM
Line: Knights -140; total 6½
