SinBin.vegas

Praise Be To Foley, Vegas Golden Knights Hockey Website

Tag: Zach Whitecloud Page 1 of 8

VGK Looking To Do With Korczak What They Successfully Did With Hague And Whitecloud

By

On August 22, 2025

In Personnel

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

The Golden Knights do not have a long history of handing over starting positions to young players coming up through the pipeline. One place they have had success though, is the same place they are looking for it again this season, on defense.

Kaedan Korczak has played just 77 games in the NHL, including his career-best 40 games, last year. This summer, he signed a new four-year $3.25 million AAV contract that starts in 2026-27, which has him slated to outearn Zach Whitecloud and be right on the heels of Brayden McNabb, indicating the belief in Korczak is strong. With the departures of Alex Pietrangelo and Nic Hague, Korczak’s spot in the starting lineup appears to be a lock for all 82 games, assuming health.

This isn’t an unfamiliar spot for the Golden Knights, though. In fact, they made moves just like they did this offseason to pave the way for both Hague and Whitecloud to have permanent positions in the starting lineup in 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Hague’s opportunity came first, in VGK’s 3rd season. The trade of Colin Miller to the Buffalo Sabres opened up a spot that was tailor-made for Hague to step into. His entry-level contract helped the newly cap-crunched Golden Knights to fit under the cap after adding Paul Stastny, Max Pacioretty, and Mark Stone the season prior. Hague would go on to play 34 of the first 48 games before Gerard Gallant was fired.

The next year, after reaching the conference final, VGK made the big move to bring in Alex Pietrangelo. That meant Nate Schmidt, who had been Vegas’ top defenseman for the past few years, was off to Winnipeg, and Jon Merrill was allowed to leave in free agency. It left a group of five veteran defensemen (Pietrangelo, McNabb, Martinez, Theodore, Holden) and the two young bucks (Hague, Whitecloud).

Whitecloud had earned the trust of new head coach, Pete DeBoer, quickly. He went from having not played an NHL game the entire season under Gallant to starting every one of VGK’s last 16 regular season games before the COVID pause and then all 20 in the playoffs.

His minute load increased rapidly, too. In his first three games, he played fewer than 14 minutes, which happened just twice in the 20 playoff games later that same year. Heading into the following year, he was a lock to start on Opening Night.

So, heading into Year 4, there was one spot guaranteed for Whitecloud and another spot we later learned they again planned for Hague. It always looked as though Nick Holden was going to hold down the final spot in the starting lineup, but the cap crunch struck again, and the team ended up waiving Holden to open the season, again, putting the faith into the hands of the youngsters. From there, both Hague and Whitecloud took the starting jobs and never let go.

The arc of Korczak is similar, which should allow us to use the first full season in a starting role for both Hague and Whitecloud to project Korczak’s season.

Both players were given limited and sheltered minutes early in the season. As mentioned before, Whitecloud’s minute load rose quickly, the same was the case for Hague. He played fewer than 15 minutes in seven of the first 10 games, but then failed to reach 15 minutes in just three of the next 28.

21-year-old Hague played most of his games on the 3rd pair alongside 25-year-old Shea Theodore, while 24-year-old Whitecloud was given a 3rd pair spot alongside his AHL partner for the previous few years, now 22-year-old Hague.

Both Hague and Whitecloud posted essentially team-average advanced analytics defensively. They were each slightly above 50% in Corsi and expected goal share, which mimicked the team numbers.

So, to project forward for Korczak, he’ll likely find himself needing to earn Cassidy’s trust early to see his minute load increase. He’s likely to play with 28-year-old Jeremy Lauzon, and if he can follow in the footsteps of the last two before him, he should hold up just fine in the 3rd pair role.

The Golden Knights have had success paving the way for young blueliners. They fully expect good things from Korczak this season, and history appears to back them up.

Order Giordano's

Positive Expectations For VGK’s Revamped Defensive Depth

By

On August 13, 2025

In Team Ops

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

This summer TSN has been deep-diving into each NHL roster. While we’ve expressed apprehension about the Golden Knights’ defense without Nic Hague and Alex Pietrangelo, TSN has confidence in VGK’s bottom blueliners.

With Alex Pietrangelo on long term reserve and unlikely to play this season, the workload will be increasing for the rest of the Golden Knights and I’m curious to see if depth defenceman Kardan Korczak is a player Bruce Cassidy leans on more. –Travis Yost on TSN.ca

TSN considers the Golden Knights’ defensive depth as second-tier. Beginning with Vegas, TSN’s Tier 2 consists of Buffalo, Florida, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington and Winnipeg. All teams with postseason aspirations, some with deep playoff plans.

Courtesy: TSN.com)

Vegas’ defense is blessed with two high-quality pairings. Veterans Noah Hanifin, Brayden McNabb, and Shea Theodore will firm up three of the top four defensive positions. That leaves Dylan Coghlan, Ben Hutton, Korczak, Jeremy Lauzon, Jacob Megna, and Zach Whitecloud to form the most effective bottom pair. Out of that group, coach Bruce Cassidy will need to find a combination he can trust on a nightly basis.

Read More

VGK Defensemen Giving The Puck Away At Much Higher Rates Than In Season’s Past

By

On April 5, 2025

In Stats

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

This season, we’ve discussed, tweeted, and written about Vegas’ defense’s uncharacteristic inconsistencies. Overall, the Golden Knights’ defensive unit is still considered among the league’s best, but there have been a few more breakdowns this season than in years past. Statistics can only show so much when it comes to blueliners, but this season’s giveaway numbers are head-scratching.

Most Giveaways By NHL Defensemen

1) MacKenzie Weegar: 141 GvA
2) Erik Karlsson: 129 GvA
3) Evan Bouchard: 124 GvA
4) Mikhail Sergachev: 117 GvA
5) Travis Sanheim: 116 GvA
12) Alex Pietrangelo: 105 GvA
13) Noah Hanifin: 104 GvA
35) Shea Theodore: 92 GvA

Even more jarring are VGK’s giveaway numbers this year compared to years past.

24-2523-2422-2321-22
Alex Pietrangelo105405256
Noah Hanifin104675362
Shea Theodore92222458
Brayden McNabb76243028
Zach Whitecloud66232526
Nic Hague53232523

As you can see, some of VGK’s most reliable defensemen have turned the puck over much more than they have in years past. Since 2017, Shea Theodore is 38th with only 2.11 giveaways per game. This season, Theodore has the 16th most turnovers per 60 with 4.21 GvA/60. Same goes for Alex Pietrangelo. Beginning with 2017-18, Pietrangelo was averaging a paltry 1.87 giveaways per 60 minutes. Now he’s handing the puck over to his opponents 4.13 times per game. There’s no way around it; it’s a concern for Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy.

Noah Hanifin, under contract until 2032, has seen his turnover rate slightly increase this season as well. Hanifin turns the puck over 3.86 times per 60 minutes, whereas his career average is 3.33. However, since his arrival to Las Vegas, his average has noticeably gone up.

(Credit: NHL.com)

So, are these inflated numbers enough to worry about come April, May and hopefully June?

Read More

Golden Knights Offense Is Evolving By Involving Defensemen More

By

On January 4, 2025

In Game Analysis

(Photo Credit: @GoldenKnights on X/Twitter)

Zach Whitecloud on the rush. Noah Hanifin in the slot. Nic Hague with a wraparound.

Three Golden Knights defensemen scored goals in the last two games. They are not just goals by defensemen throwing pucks at the net from the blue line, but goals by defensemen being an active part of the offensive in multiple different ways.

With three bonafide stars all selected to represent their countries at 4 Nations, as good of a lockdown defenseman as there is in Brayden McNabb, and arguably the best 3rd pair in the league in Hague and Whitecloud, there’s no question the strength of this version of the Golden Knights is the blue line.

That’s why this summer and into Training Camp Bruce Cassidy set his sights on making sure their impact would not just be felt in the defensive end, but up the ice as well.

Involving the D, which we’ve been doing lately, keeping them involved whether it’s in the O-Zone play by getting pucks through or activating down the wall like Hanifin did on the play to Olofsson last night, or just being up the ice on the rush like Whitecloud’s goal the other night. -Bruce Cassidy

In a tale as old as time for not just the Golden Knights but every team that comes up short the year before in the playoffs, there’s a focus on finding more offense when the games get tighter. Vegas scored just 16 goals against the Dallas Stars in the playoffs last year and failed to score at least three in any of the last five games of the series.

We had a determined effort to be better in the O-Zone, not just the rush game. At the start of the year we were, now we’re a ‘yes and no’ type of team. That’s kind of the area we’ll keep pounding away on to make sure that you can rely on that game when the rush game and the power play dries up. -Cassidy

That has started to unfold with the defensemen becoming a bigger part of the attack.

What we’re encouraging them to do is to play on their toes. I don’t know if you want too many guys leading the rush because then the forwards end up waiting to see what’s going on. It’s more about supporting the rush. Move it, follow it, and be the next wave, or 4th man’s ice as we call it. They are doing a good job. -Cassidy

The key now for the Golden Knights is to find the balance between consistently having the “next wave” of defensemen coming forward and staying as defensively sound as they’ve been over the last month or so. It’s a tricky equilibrium to achieve, especially against teams potent in transition.

VGK haven’t allowed more than three goals in a game in any of their last eight while scoring at least three in seven. So, unleashing the defense is working well right now, making it a staple is the next step.

Order Giordano's

Whitecloud: “We’ve Been Waiting, We’ve Been Itching To Get Back”

By

On October 11, 2024

In Team Ops

(Credit: NHL Network)

Tonight, the undefeated Golden Knights will host Western Conference opponent St. Louis Blues for their second game on the 2024-25 schedule. Vegas’ offense exploded on Wednesday night, including eight points from their defense. Defenseman Zach Whitecloud joined the scoring parade and recorded his first goal of the season in the season opener. Last season the D-man has to wait until mid-December to open his goal-scoring account. Yesterday, the 2023 Stanley Cup champion joined the NHL Network to discuss the lopsided victory over the Avalanche and the season in general.

For 41 games we want to put on a good show for our fans. They come out strong every single night and support us. Being able to put on a good show like that for them is exciting for us. You don’t want to get into a track meet with Colorado too often, but we have a lot of depth that can score and help contribute. It was good to come home with that one. -Zach Whitecloud

Now one of the veteran players on the club, Whitecloud has seen his teammates strengths in practice translate to success on the ice. The d-man is one of three defensemen to dress for Vegas since the 2017-18 campaign.

Now, he’s an established leader and a voice in the locker room. However, he credits his skilled teammates for pushing him hard in practice. Especially, two of Vegas’ top forwards.

We’ve got quite a few weapons up front. Lines one through four each do things that complement each other. The first guy that comes to mind is Eichel. His speed and deception, the way he creates and uses his speed to open up space. Getting to go against him every day in practice, you can see why a lot of D back off and maintain their gap and give themselves extra room going against him. Guys like Barbashev don’t get enough credit for how much offense and the ability he has to create opportunities for the guys on his line. On two-on-ones, I think with Barbie is 30 of 32 on me this year already. He’s been tearing me apart. -Whitecloud

The 27-year-old expects the Golden Knights to be a deep playoff threat this season. Last season’s first-round exit to the Dallas Stars stung Vegas and motivated them to come out with a different outcome in the 2025 postseason. One way to reach that goal is taking care of business at home. Whitecloud admits the players set out to mirror the energy from the fans at T-Mobile Arena.

We always look forward to playing at home and especially in front of the fan base. I have loved my time here since day one. I felt a part of the community the day I got here and it’s just a fun place to play for numerous reasons. More importantly, the team tries to win every single year and that’s the kind of team I like to play for. -Whitecloud

Read More

Hunting Career Highs 24-25: Goalies And Defensemen

By

On August 29, 2024

In Team Ops

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

Every year the hope for each player is to put up a career year. The best teams in the league see many players outplay their contracts by posting statistical seasons better than they ever have before. For the Golden Knights, achieving career highs for many players will be challenging due to age and the successes many have had in their careers. However, that’s not to say there aren’t reachable categories for every guy on the roster.

Today and tomorrow we’ll go through every player on the team to look at which stats they have the best chance to set career highs in. We start with the defense and goalies.

Adin Hill
Stat – Starts
Career High – 35

For the second consecutive season, Hill will be anointed the clear starter with a strong backup behind him. The expectation is that he’ll receive at least 60% of the starts which should have him in line for around 50. Of course, the key to all of this is health. If Hill can stay healthy for the entire regular season, he’ll demolish every counting stat in the books.

Other options: Wins (19), Saves (890), Shutouts (2), Quality Starts (19)

Ilya Samsonov
Stat – Quality Start Percentage
Career High – 67.5%

The former Maple Leaf has played at least 40 games each of the last three seasons which will make all of the counting stats difficult. An injury to Hill could easily thrust him into the spotlight and see him start 50+ games, but that’s not the plan going in. So, defeating wins, saves, starts, shutouts, and anything else that requires a bunch of starts will be tough. The 67.5% quality start percentage is there for the taking though. Neither Hill nor Thompson have reached that number in either of the last two seasons, but with a limited number of starts playing behind a great defense, maybe Sansonov can do it.

Other options: Shutouts (4)

Noah Hanifin
Stat – Points
Career High – 48

The moment Hanifin stepped foot in Las Vegas he dominated for the Golden Knights. He scored two goals and had 10 assists in 19 games in the regular season and then upped his production in the playoffs with five points in seven games. It’s kind of surprising he’s never reached 50 points in his career, nor has he ever scored 15 goals. With the job as 1A defenseman on a stacked blue line, he has a chance to shatter all of his scoring numbers this season.

Other options – Goals (13), Power Play Points (13), Blocks (129)

Read More

Eichel & Hanifin Take Team Massachusetts On The Road For Seven Hypothetical Canadian Matchups

By

On August 15, 2024

In Team Ops

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

The other day we lightly played off of NHL.com’s crafted All-Massachusetts vs. All-Michigan starting lineups. With very little analysis, Vegas’ Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin led their home state past Michigan and Minnesota in hypothetical matchups. Well, we figured we’d try the same scenario and compare the commonwealth’s starting lineup to All-Canadian province lineups. This mock bracket didn’t go as well for MA. Nothing Eichel or Hanifin can do when several of the world’s best players grew up in the same Canadian regions.

Manitoba Starting Lineup: Mark Stone, Max Domi, Seth Jarvis, Travis Sanheim, Zach Whitecloud, James Reimer

You might as well call Manitoba the Nevada of the North. The Golden Knights have had no shortage of players from MB, including the franchise’s first overall pick and first-ever captain. Like Massachusetts’ starting lineup, Manitoba consists of two veterans from Vegas. Mark Stone leads his Keystone Province teammates offensively, while VGK teammate Zach Whitecloud covers the backend. Bottom line, Manitoba lacks scoring. Their three forwards combined for 58 goals in 2023-24, Eichel, Kreider and Boldy combined for 41 more. That differential is too wide to close. MA wins with ease.

Saskatchewan: Jordan Eberle, Brayden Schenn, Chandler Stephenson, Brayden McNabb, Luke Schenn, Connor Ingram

Here’s another province with several Golden Knights ties. Former VGK Cup winner Chandler Stephenson compliments Saskatchewan’s offense, while original misfit Brayden McNabb holds down the blue line. Overall, the Breadbasket of Canada has produced many impactful NHLers over the years. Heck, Gordie Howe was born in Floral. Saskatchewan’s starting lineup has enough offense, solid defense and a goaltender coming into his own. This is a close contest, but it comes down to scoring and I can’t imagine the Canadian province keeping up.

Quebec: Jonathan Marchessault, David Perron, Nic Roy, Kris Letang, Thomas Chabot, Marc-Andre Fleury

Okay, it’s starting to heat up. Sure, maybe the Bay state knocks off MB and SK but what about Eastern Canada’s provincial territories? Of course, we had to loosen the rules to fit as many active or former VGK players as possible. However, only carrying one 40-goal scorer hurts the Quebec lineup so Marc-Andre Fleury will need to turn the clocks back to 2021. It’s another tight battle but Massachusetts survives.

Alberta: Taylor Hall, William Nylander, Brayden Point, Cale Makar, Josh Morrissey, Stuart Skinner

The run for Eichel and Hanifin was impressive, but it ends with Alberta. Frankly, their streak would have ended against any of the remaining provinces. AB’s three forwards combined for 87 goals, oh, and Taylor Hall only had two goals in ten games last season. Alberta also dresses Cale Makar and Josh Morrisey on their blueline. Good luck with that.

Read More

Page 1 of 8

Next

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén