The pride of Sioux Valley

Opinion

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This article was published 05/06/2023 (853 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It is approximately 2,500 km from the Sin City Strip to Sioux Valley Dakota Nation. Vegas Golden Knights defenceman Zach Whitecloud managed to bridge that sizeable gap with one wicked wrist shot heard ‘round the hockey world on Saturday night.

Whitecloud, 26, brought scores of fans in both locales out of their seats as he broke a third period deadlock and scored the winning goal in an eventual 5-2 triumph over the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.

“It was amazing,” his father, Tim Whitecloud, told me Monday afternoon. The longtime councillor at SVDN had a somewhat obstructed view at a raucous, sold-out T-Mobile Arena.

“It happened so quick. I saw him shoot and then people jumped up. I heard them cheering and looked up at the Jumbotron and saw the puck hit the back of the net and then come out,” he said.

If there was any doubt his baby boy had lit the lamp, it was quickly erased by the father of Nic Hague, Whitecloud’s blue-line partner, screaming in his ear right beside him.

The stuff of sporting dreams, for sure. It’s even more incredible when you consider the long and winding route the undrafted Manitoba product took to the NHL, starting with the Virden Oil Capitals of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League followed by two years of college at Bemidji State.

Whitecloud is more than just a terrific athlete. He’s a role model, especially for Indigenous youth back home who are now flocking to the SVDN Veteran’s Hall every time he hits the ice to cheer on the first player to ever hit the big leagues from the community of 2,500 located west of Brandon.

“There was a huge turnout on Saturday, and they’re planning another one for (Game 2 on Monday night),” said Tim. “Just so much excitement. I got like 30 or 40 messages right after he scored. I couldn’t view them and return them all until I got back to the room later that evening.”

There was food, drinks, homemade T-shirts and plenty of noisemakers to be found, and Chief Jennifer Bone said having Whitecloud play such a prominent role was the icing on the cake.

“It’s nice to see him playing at the level at he is and how well he’s doing in the playoffs,” she said Monday just prior to puck drop for Game 2, in which an even bigger crowd was expected.

Last week, SVDN issued a news release wishing the Golden Knights good luck, with a special nod to Whitecloud who was described as “an inspiration to our young people and a shining example of what can be done if you work hard, are determined, and love what you do.”

“He’s definitely an inspiration for all kids. Not just within our community. Indigenous people in general,” said Bone. “There’s a limited number of people from First Nation communities who have achieved such a high level of hockey.”

Standing in the way of a Stanley Cup is a pesky Panthers club led by former Jets coach Paul Maurice. Like Vegas, they are also chasing their first championship. They, too, have an Indigenous defenceman on the roster in Brandon Montour, who hails from Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario.

As pivotal as Whitecloud’s Game 1 goal was, it says here it’s actually just his second biggest accomplishment of these playoffs. The first occurred off the ice after ESPN announcer John Anderson mocked his last name during a second-round broadcast of the Vegas series against the Edmonton Oilers.

“A great name if you’re a toilet paper,” he said of Whitecloud.

Anderson was rightfully roasted and quickly issued an apology, which Whitecloud graciously accepted. The young man also showed off tremendous leadership qualities with his own statement that followed, noting he contacted Anderson.

“I’m proud of my culture, I’m proud of where I come from, where I was raised and who I was raised by,” he said. “I carry my grandfather’s last name and nothing makes me more proud than to be able to do that. I was raised — and our culture is raised — to be the first ones to reach out and offer our help. So, that’s why I reached out to John.”

Whitecloud’s father said an important lesson was learned, including for those back in SVDN, which feeds into the core principles of truth and reconciliation.

“I was quite proud of him. I think it shows the younger generation and even some of the older generation how to handle those types of situations,” he said.

“A lot of the older generation was very upset at the comments and they wouldn’t have responded the way he did. But I think he showed them that there’s another way of dealing with matters. We’ve been held back long enough as Indigenous people so I think that the way he handled it is going to move us all forward.”

Whitecloud has always been a deep thinker, going all the way back to his decision to forgo the Western Hockey League to go to Bemidji State to combine hockey and his studies.

“I’ve always thought he was a late bloomer and he didn’t get any interest from the WHL until he was 19. He said to me it was a no-brainer. He could get up to four years of college rather than maybe just a few months of the WHL,” said Tim.

The decision paid off, especially when longtime Brandon Wheat Kings owner, coach and executive Kelly McCrimmon joined the expansion Golden Knights in 2017 and brought a Manitoba kid he was quite familiar with on board as a free agent.

Whitecloud has skated in 244 NHL regular-season and playoff games, with 20 goals and 37 assists on his resume. He signed a three-year, US$4.475 million deal with Vegas in 2018, followed by a six year, US$16.5 million extension in 2021 that now carries through to the summer of 2028.

Now, he’s chasing hockey’s Holy Grail, along with several other Manitobans including forwards Mark Stone, Keegan Kolesar and Brett Howden.

It’s quite a story, one that might just end with a championship celebration that begins in Las Vegas but stretches far and wide — including a Manitoba community hoping their local hockey hero might bring a shiny visitor with him when he returns for a visit this summer.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg