Rasmus Andersson joins the Vegas Golden Knights on current road trip

BOSTON — Rasmus Andersson’s debut with the Vegas Golden Knights could be on the horizon.

The defenseman, who was acquired from the Flames for Zach Whitecloud, two draft picks and a prospect on Sunday, was spotted outside the Knights’ locker room following their 4-3 loss to the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Thursday night.

Coach Bruce Cassidy did not commit to the possibility of Andersson joining the Knights for their game Friday in Toronto, but the fact that he’s with the team makes it a possibility.

Andersson arrived before the game, but there are still unclear hurdles that need to be crossed through immigration in order to allow Andersson to play games in the United States.

But he is with the team and is set to travel with them to Canada.

“He’s here, so that means there’s a chance,” Cassidy said.

Andersson’s immigration issue is a very common one for international-born players, especially ones making the move from Canada to the United States.

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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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.

Practice time won’t be easy to come by for Andersson, who has 30 points in 48 games this season. The Knights play Sunday in Ottawa after the back-to-back, then have another travel day before playing Montreal on Tuesday.

The waiting game, for now, continues, but Andersson is nearing his debut.

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.