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What's Zach Whitecloud Ceiling?; Why the 4th Line Matters

March 9, 2018, 4:56 PM ET [0 Comments]
Sheng Peng
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Yesterday, the Golden Knights inked Bemidji State defender Zach Whitecloud to a three-year entry-level contract.

The 21-year-old was hotly pursued by many teams; the Kings, who invited Whitecloud to their development camp last summer, were thought to be the favorites.

Just a guess, but it wouldn't surprise me if Vegas offered Whitecloud some NHL games to end this season as an incentive to sign with them. The Knights, unlike the Kings, are comfortably in playoff position.

I spoke with one scout who said Whitecloud does a lot of things well, but nothing great. He projects the 6'2" rearguard to be a solid #4-6 blueliner in the NHL.

"He's got a lot of really raw tools. Size. Can skate. Moves the puck," said the scout. "A lot of okay in his game that teams probably feel they can mold."

He also said Whitecloud wasn't memorable, which he didn't mean negatively; it sounds like Whitecloud is a more defensive defenseman who you shouldn't notice if he's doing his job.

This echoes George McPhee's description of Whitecloud as "safe," which seems to be a curious description of your exciting new prospect. But on second thought, it makes a lot of sense.

Gary Lawless spoke with McPhee about the signing, here's the transcript, courtesy of the Knights' communications staff:

Thoughts on signing Zach Whitecloud…

He’s a very well-rounded player. A highly sought-after defenseman by a lot of clubs and we are delighted to acquire him as our first college signing. It should be a very good fit for the Vegas Golden Knights.

Thoughts on when he’ll join the team…

He’ll join us in the next couple of days. As soon as we can get him on a plane.

Thoughts on if he could play in the lineup as early as this season…

He could. The benefit of having him here is he can really learn a lot.

Thoughts on what type of a player he is and what attracted you to him…

He’s a mobile defenseman. He moves the puck real well and he’s a safe player right now. We think he plays conservatively and we believe he can give us a lot more offensively. He has lots of room for growth. He’s good and safe and conservative. He’ll build the offensive in his game.

Thoughts on where he plays next year being a result of how he plays in camp…

He’ll do all of those things and we’ve agreed to terms as soon as we could get him to the club.

Thoughts on how he came on to his radar…

Well our scouts identified him. Kelly McCrimmon knew him from his time in Manitoba. We’ve looked at him for a few years here. He’s really developed well and he wants to be a pro now. We’re really delighted to have him.

***

The Golden Knights excavated some scoring from some unlikely sources in their 4-0 shutout of the Red Wings last night, as Cody Eakin and Alex Tuch each notched a pair of goals. Eakin had scored one goal in his last 25 games; Tuch had one in his previous 14.



Winning Play

If anybody tells you a fourth line doesn't matter -- show them this clip:



For a Vegas squad which had lost four of five, in part because of looser-than-usual defensive coverage, this is a letter-perfect example of a return to form.

To begin with, I love the layers of defense. First layer Pierre-Edouard Bellemare angles Tyler Bertuzzi toward the wall. Second layer Ryan Reaves in on the same wavelength. His long stick helps force a dump-in.

View post on imgur.com


Brad Hunt gets to the dump-in first, but a forechecking Evgeny Svechnikov is able to hurry his pass. Dylan Larkin recovers.

But now, watch the tight, timely Knights defensive rotations.

View post on imgur.com


Larkin finds a seam between Tomas Nosek and Jon Merrill to Trevor Daley in the slot. Looks dangerous, but Bellemare is right there. Daley tries to curl at the corner to get a bad-angle shot on Marc-Andre Fleury. Bellemare blocks.

Svechnikov recovers in the corner, but Merrill is with him step for step. Svechnikov drops it off to Larkin at the point, but Nosek gets a stick in. Mantha jumps on the puck, but Hunt harasses him up to the blueline.

The big winger essentially gives up on this play, throwing it off the wall for Svechnikov to recover. However, the Russian is surrounded by Bellemare and Merrill -- easy recovery, Vegas possession.

Down the ice, Reaves and Nosek stayed on, and their forecheck would lead directly to Eakin's second of the night, making it 3-0. 50 seconds later, Tuch would make it 4-0.

Especially for a team like the Knights, which rolls four lines, every shift from every line matters.

Pluses

The goals are nice, but it's the hunger for the puck, winning the one-on-one battles, which was most encouraging about Eakin's play last night.

View post on imgur.com


This is a 3-0 game, but watch how Eakin separates Danny DeKeyser from the puck. The pivot has generally been playing better the last couple weeks, even if the production hasn't been there.


This kind of doggedness on the puck will go a long way in the postseason. The centerman showed well during his last trip to the playoffs in 2016; I think that kind of work is what George McPhee was banking on when he took on Eakin's fat contract during the Expansion Draft.


Speaking of puck pursuit, I showed a scout this William Karlsson highlight, and he exclaimed, "That edgework!"


While I'm not fully on board the local Karlsson for Selke train -- he's been a wonderful two-way player, but not top-five in the league caliber -- this might be the starring clip of his "For Your Consideration" reel.

Minuses

Krispy Kreme doesn't offer free donuts for road Golden Knights shutouts, I guess.

***

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