Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud has been with the franchise since its establishment in 2017.
The 25-year-old is now being tasked with adapting to a new system.
So far, Whitecloud has been happy with the way in which Coach Bruce Cassidy is running this year's training camp.
"I think getting the pace up early, getting guys touches in early, -- lots of touches -- defending right away, one-on-ones ... I think that's good for everyone," Whitecloud told the media after practice on Friday. "And I think, obviously, for the goalies, playing real-life situations helps too -- one-on-ones, two-on-twos, three-on-twos, three-on-threes -- even in the five-on-five on the first day, right? So for me, personally, that's exciting. You get to go in and battle, get a little bit of bumping going and play some real-life situations."
Whitecloud said the biggest difference he has noticed in Cassidy's system is the "simplicity of the defensive zone."
"Everyone knows where they're supposed to be," Whitecloud said. "Every guy has a certain job. We're keeping things to the outside, which is nice for our goalies. And obviously, communication's a big thing for us, so for a guy like me who likes to communicate in the D-Zone, it's nice to kind of direct traffic and be the eyes for forwards who are doing the work, whether they're up high or our centermen doing a lot of work in the corners. So everything's smooth from our zone out, and the forward group we have keeping things to the outside, turning pucks over, get going north, and then let those guys do what they do best and get creative."
Whitecloud said he has enjoyed learning from new defensive coach John Stevens.
"He's a great -- I think the best way I can describe it is -- teacher," Whitecloud said. "On the first day, we went over a few things defensive-wise: certain angles, how to take guys into the wall, just utilizing my feet a little bit better, and making those changes and understanding kind of where to incorporate those moves is helping a lot.
"And obviously, defending. He's played the game for a long time, he's coached a long time, he's seen a lot of different scenarios. So having him being able to teach and on the first day, basically hit the ground running, is something that I -- I've always liked coaches that are willing to come and grab you and direct you in certain directions and tell you what you're doing wrong and what you can do different and what can make the game easier on you and help your teammates."
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