Zach Whitecloud had an eventful day on Sunday, being informed that he was being traded from the only National Hockey League franchise he’s ever been a part of.

He had a hectic Monday, too, starting the day with an early flight from Las Vegas to Calgary, and ending the day holding court and introducing himself to the local media contingent in the Flames locker room following a 2-1 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils in his debut with his new team.

A Manitoba product who played three years of college hockey at Bemidji State University, Whitecloud’s tenure with the Vegas Golden Knights began in March 2018 when he was signed as a college free agent. His tenure ended on Sunday, just shy of eight years (and won Stanley Cup win) later, when he was part of a package traded to the Flames in exchange for Rasmus Andersson.

Whitecloud admitted that he wasn’t expecting to be traded.

“I won’t lie to you, it’s tough,” said Whitecloud. “Your world kind of gets turned upside down and, you know, you’re trying to answer as many phone calls you can from the people that care about you. And no one’s ever going to say it’s easy and it definitely isn’t, but at the same time you’re feeling all these emotions and you gotta let them hit you and experience them as as they come, right? You can’t just tell yourself, ‘alright let’s go to Calgary, let’s just get on a plane and go,’ you have to acknowledge those emotions and go through it. And that’s part of you know playing in the league and that’s part of the business.”

When he spoke with Flames general manager Craig Conroy after the trade, Whitecloud indicated that he would like to play in Monday’s game. Arrangements were made to get him on a morning flight.

“Surprisingly I honestly went in with zero expectations on how I was going to feel,” said Whitecloud. “Obviously busy transition for my fiancee and I so, you know, just kind of hit the ground running. Got in, got a little nap in the day, which was nice, then was able to come here a little earlier and get to know everyone introduce myself and and kind of get into a regular game day routine which helped a lot and the guys were great.”

Whitecloud admitted he had some familiarity with the Flames and their systems from seeing them often during his tenure in Vegas, and he received a quick crash course from the team’s coaches and jumped into the game.

Paired with Andersson’s usual partner, Kevin Bahl, Whitecloud played 22:33 and had an even plus/minus rating along with two shots. The Bahl/Whitecloud pairing was used pretty much exactly as the Flames coaching staff deployed the Bahl/Andersson pairing, with plenty of shifts with Mikael Backlund’s line against Jack Hughes’ group.

Flames head coach Ryan Huska was complimentary regarding Whitecloud’s first outing wearing the Flaming C.

“I thought he actually played well, considering the circumstances,” said Huska. “I thought he skated well, I thought he made some smart plays with the puck. I was very impressed with this first one.”

Whitecloud’s only significant connection to the Flames is via former teammate turned current teammate Brayden Pachal. Whitecloud was roommates with Pachal during their tenure with the American Hockey League’s Chicago Wolves in 2019-20, and they later won a Stanley Cup together with Vegas in 2023.

Thankfully – or not, depending on how good a roommate Pachal during their AHL days – Whitecloud is staying at a hotel to start his tenure with the Flames.

The Flames are back in action on Wednesday night when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins.