It’s March 8. The Golden Knights are practicing at City National Arena one day after defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins at home.

Practice started at 11:30 a.m. It was designed to be a short session with a 5 p.m. game against the Los Angeles Kings the next day.

Most of the Knights got that memo. They were off the ice within a half hour, ready to head home.

Everyone except Zach Whitecloud.

The Knights defenseman was the one request for the small media contingent that day. The locker room was almost cleared out by the time he entered.

Turns out, Whitecloud stayed an extra 25 minutes working with skills coach Sean Ferrell on his play in the offensive zone.

“It’s something that I enjoy and something I have a passion for,” said Whitecloud, after apologizing to everyone for the wait. “For me, it’s fun.”

Whitecloud’s work ethic is nothing new. Undrafted players like him have to work harder to keep their spot on an NHL roster.

Not that Whitecloud hasn’t proven himself worthy to be an NHL regular since signing with the Knights out of Bemidji State in 2018.

He grinded in the American Hockey League before becoming a mainstay on the Knights’ blue line at the end of the 2019-20 season. He was a vital part of the franchise’s first Stanley Cup championship in 2023.

Whitecloud played his 300th game, all with the Knights, on March 2. He jokes he could’ve gotten there sooner if not for injuries, but it’s not lost on him how grateful he is to be doing what he loves.

“I’ve been a guy that didn’t exactly have a ton of skill in the world,” Whitecloud said. “I had all the opportunities and things like that, but I had to work to sharpen my toolbox a little bit in every aspect and work my way up at each level.

“Being undrafted and things like that, you don’t necessarily get the first looks with an organization, whether it’s college, the American League or the NHL. (I) just had to have that attitude of, ‘You’re not going to get an opportunity, so you’ve got to create one yourself.’”

Continuing to get better

Whitecloud, 28, hangs onto that mentality even in his fifth full NHL season.

He’s always mindful that nothing is guaranteed, even though the six-year extension he signed in October 2021 runs through the 2027-28 campaign.

Whitecloud was healthy scratched for three games only last season.

He was upset at the time, but continued to work. He was on the ice 20 minutes before practice began the day after he was first taken out of the lineup.

Whitecloud, once he got his spot back, had six assists his final 11 games.

“I think that’s part of creating that mindset yourself, digging into that and just being true to yourself,” Whitecloud said. “Always work hard and understand that you’re never going to perfect this game, and I don’t think anyone ever will. That’s what you keep chasing.”

Longtime defense partner Nic Hague, who was also scratched with Whitecloud during that stretch, has seen his teammate through it all, dating back to their days in the AHL.

“It’s all credit to him and the work he’s put in. I’ve been there with him for all 300 of them,” Hague said. “Zach just took advantage of opportunity when he first got here. He’s a guy who works religiously. He deserves every second of it and he’s a hell of a player.”

Answered the bell

The Knights hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs three days after Whitecloud’s 300th NHL game.

He started the game. So did Maple Leafs left wing Matthew Knies.

Whitecloud, in the first meeting between the two teams this season, delivered a bone-chilling hit on Knies near the benches. The hit kept Knies out of Toronto’s next two games, but it was clean. No penalty was called.

Still, Knies approached Whitecloud looking for a fight when the sides met again.

“He asked for one, and I said, ‘Sure,’” Whitecloud said.

Whitecloud and Knies dropped their gloves after the opening faceoff. The tilt only lasted a few seconds. Whitecloud got the worst of it, but the bout got the crowd going for what he said felt like a playoff game.

“That’s not exactly in my toolbox, I guess you could say,” said Whitecloud, reflecting on his third NHL fight. “I’m not going to back away or shy away from any of that.”

The consensus among Whitecloud’s teammates was that he didn’t need to drop his gloves. But he was willing to do so to give his team a jolt.

The fight set a tone for the Knights. They scored three times in the first period on their way to a 5-2 win.

“I always say half the battle is be willing to drop your gloves and stand in there,” Hague said. “There’s a lot of guys that wouldn’t do that.”

Whitecloud said he spent time putting himself in Knies’ shoes. What would Whitecloud do in that situation? What would happen if he was the one that got leveled and had to miss time?

He said he might have felt the same way as Knies.

“He’s coming into the game wanting to spark his team and, in a sense, defend himself. I got no issue with that,” Whitecloud said. “If you’re going to give some, you’d have to be willing to take some. But after that, we played hard and we eventually came out on the right side.”

Productive season

Lately, injuries on the Knights’ blue line have led Whitecloud to play with defenseman Noah Hanifin.

The two were put together Feb. 4 and have arguably been the team’s best pairing since. The Knights have outscored opponents 13-8 with the two on the ice in that span.

Hanifin said Whitecloud reminds him of his former Calgary Flames teammate Chris Tanev, another undrafted defenseman who carved out a role for himself. Tanev, 35, has used the chip on his shoulder to play in 856 NHL games.

“He was such a hard worker and just played the game so honestly,” Hanifin said. “I feel Whitey does the same thing. Every day he shows up and he’s one of the hardest workers here. You can tell it means that much to himself.”

Whitecloud, after skating in his 300th NHL game, went out to dinner with his girlfriend Maddy and her family to celebrate.

It was the perfect time to reflect on an eventful journey.

“Just grateful to play 300, especially with one team,” Whitecloud said. “More grateful for that, obviously, having started my career here and to keep getting to be on good teams such as this and keep trying to win every single year is something I have a passion for.

“I’m really grateful to have been with the team for so long, and hopefully I can keep it going and try and get the next 300.”

Contact Danny Webster at [email protected]. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.