10 players who will define Calgary Flames' 2026-27 season: Zach Whitecloud
From the moment he arrived in Calgary back in January, it felt like Zach Whitecloud just fit.
Intelligent and articulate off-the-ice, composed and experienced on it, Whitecloud relished the opportunity to play bigger minutes for the Flames after he was acquired in the deal that sent Rasmus Andersson to the Vegas Golden Knights.
That alone would make him one of the most important players on the Flames roster heading into the 2026-27 season.
That he seems primed for a crucial role playing as 20-year-old Zayne Parekh ’s partner only adds to his significance to what the team is looking to accomplish.
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Here, we’ll look at Parekh’s role last year, how it could evolve in the season ahead and why he’s so important to the Flames’ future — whether he’s around for all of it or not.
Fans in Vegas were openly upset about losing Whitecloud in the Andersson trade in January and it didn’t take long for Flames fans to understand why. While he hadn’t been playing first-pairing minutes with the Golden Knights, he was effectively thrust into that role once he arrived in Calgary.
The numbers speak to that. Only Kevin Bahl played more than the 22:40 per-night that Whitecloud was asked to play and the newcomer also led the Flames in shorthanded ice-time over the final three months of the season, averaging 3:02 per-night.
In the time between his arrival and the end of the season, Whitecloud also led the Flames in blocked shots with 77, was third in hits with 51 and contributed on the offensive end with 10 assists.
He stepped into a leadership role as well, which was pointed out by GM Craig Conroy at the end of the season. Whitecloud further cemented his status as a guy who was easy to root for by embracing charitable work off the ice, particularly with Indigenous communities surrounding Calgary.
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on calgaryherald.com — the content belongs to Calgary Herald.
