BOSTON — Rasmus Andersson has been a member of the Vegas Golden Knights since Sunday but his debut remains on hold.
It’s very common as to why.
Andersson is still waiting for his work visa and immigration to process, a situation that is common among players that have had to make the move from Canada to the United States.
Andersson, who was acquired from the Flames for Zach Whitecloud, two draft picks and a prospect, is not with the team in Boston for their game Thursday against the Bruins.
The Knights begin a three-game trek through eastern Canada starting Friday in Toronto. There’s a chance that Andersson, still in Canada, could join his new team this weekend.
“Whether he can play in Canada, I don’t know yet,” coach Bruce Cassidy said Thursday. “He’s been in Calgary so that might be easier, but that’s all I know on it.”
Players apply for a P-1 visa for those temporarily coming to the United States, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website. This lasts for five years.
If an international player is traded from one American team to another, that’s easy. The only action to take is changing the player’s “employer” line on their visa 30 days from the date of the trade.
But when players move from a Canadian team to the United States — especially when they’ve never lived in the United States before — that’s where delays can happen.
Andersson, a native of Sweden, was a second-round pick by the Flames in 2015. The only places he’s ever lived are his home country and Canada.
He not only has to go through the process of getting the proper visa, but also meet with an American consulate. The turnaround could take days.
Whitecloud, though living in Las Vegas since 2018, is a resident of Brandon, Manitoba. That’s why he was able to play for the Flames one day after the trade.
The Philadelphia Flyers went through the same issue last season when they acquired forwards Jakob Pelletier and Andrei Kuzmenko from Calgary.
Neither player had lived in the United States before. Pelletier (Quebec) and Kuzmenko (Russia) had to wait a week before officially joining the Flyers. They also had travel issues on top of immigration delays.
This happened to the Pittsburgh Penguins in December when they acquired goaltender Stuart Skinner and defenseman Brett Kulak from the Edmonton Oilers.
The Canadian-born players were traded Dec. 12, but didn’t make their Pittsburgh debuts until Dec. 16. Like Pelletier and Kuzmenko, they only ever played for Canadian teams.
Andersson’s wife Tessa shared on Instagram that she and their children have arrived in Las Vegas. They can obtain a P-4 visa to accompany Andersson, according to USCIS.
Andersson could join the Knights on Friday against the Maple Leafs, but it would be baptism-by-fire for his Knights debut.
Practice time won’t be easy to come by, either. The Knights play Sunday in Ottawa after the back-to-back, then have another travel day before playing Montreal on Tuesday.
For now, the waiting game continues.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.