Zach Whitecloud was born on November 28, 1996. He is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who plays as a defenceman for the Calgary Flames in the National Hockey League (NHL). Before joining the Flames, he played for the Vegas Golden Knights. Whitecloud was not selected in the NHL draft while he was a student at Bemidji State University. After college, he signed with the Golden Knights as a free agent in 2018.
Early life
Zach Whitecloud was born on November 28, 1996, in Brandon, Manitoba. He is of Dakota heritage and grew up in Brandon, spending time with the nearby Sioux Valley Dakota Nation community. He considers both Brandon and Sioux Valley as his home. Whitecloud began skating at age two and joined the ODR team by age eight. As a child, he played for the Sioux Valley team and later for the Brandon Youth Hockey Association. During his childhood, his family hosted Brandon Wheat Kings players as a billet family. Whitecloud graduated from Vincent Massey High School in 2015.
Playing career
During his second full season with the Virden Oil Capitals, Whitecloud said he would play hockey for Bemidji State University. After his first year at Bemidji State, where he had the highest scoring among defense players, Whitecloud was invited to the Los Angeles Kings development camp before the 2017–18 NHL season. After his second year at Bemidji, Whitecloud was named the 2017–18 WCHA Scholar-Athlete and added to the WCHA All-Academic Team. He finished the season with 19 points and a team-high 51 blocked shots.
Whitecloud signed with the Vegas Golden Knights to a three-year, beginning contract on March 8, 2018. He played his first NHL game on April 5, 2018, against the Edmonton Oilers. He had a team-high plus-3 rating in 16:42 of ice time in a 4–3 loss to the Oilers. Even though the Golden Knights qualified for the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, Whitecloud could not be on the roster because he was not on the team's reserve list by the trade deadline.
Before the 2018–19 season, Whitecloud attended the Knights' training camp but was sent to their American Hockey League team, the Chicago Wolves.
Late in the 2019–20 season, Whitecloud became a key player for the Vegas Golden Knights. He and teammate Nick Holden were among the best defense pairs in the playoffs for their performance in defense and possession. He signed 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.
In the first round of the Golden Knights' 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, they played against the Winnipeg Jets, Whitecloud's home province team. He noted that many in his family had been fans of the Jets and supported them when they were not playing against the Golden Knights. The Golden Knights reached the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, with Whitecloud being one of two Indigenous players in the series, alongside Mohawk defender Brandon Montour of the Florida Panthers. The Golden Knights won the series in five games, and Whitecloud held the Stanley Cup for the first time.
Whitecloud was traded to the Calgary Flames on January 18, 2026, along with prospect Abram Wiebe, a conditional 2027 first-round pick, and a conditional 2028 second-round pick, in exchange for Rasmus Andersson.
International play
Whitecloud was the youngest skater chosen to play for Team Canada at the 2017 Karjala Cup in Finland. He was later added to Team Canada's pre-Olympic team before the 2018 Winter Olympics but did not make the final team.
Personal life
During the 2018 offseason, Whitecloud worked as a guest instructor at Micheal Ferland's Hockey School in Brandon, Manitoba, with Brigette Lacquette, Harley Garrioch, Jens Meilleur, Ryan Pulock, Tyler Plante, Shaq Merasty, Josh Elmes, and Joel Edmundson.