Daccord’s October Festivity
Kraken goalie Joey Daccord dreamed about playing an NHL game in October pretty much his whole life, particularly once he realized his father, Brian, who is a goalie coach (currently at NCAA power Boston University) and mindset guru to goaltenders across the NHL, college ranks and even Europe where he won a German pro league title as a player.
Saturday night wasn’t Daccord's first-ever start in the NHL – he notched two wins for the Kraken last season and backstopped American Hockey League affiliate Coachella Valley to within one overtime goal of a championship. The 27-year-old has appeared in 19 NHL games with Seattle and Ottawa but in five training camps (three with the Kraken) Daccord has never made the NHL roster to start the season.
Dave Hakstol was vocal during training camp about Daccord’s work in the preseason and never failed to mention his outstanding season for the AHL Firebirds. GM Ron Francis called Daccord the best goalie in the AHL last year. Daccord showed Saturday night why both Kraken leaders were supportive of Daccord, who was selected in Seattle’s expansion draft from Ottawa.
Daccord held off St. Louis when needed in the first period and cranked it up in the second period when the Blues brought the heat with 12 shots on goal and racked up more offensive time. He finished the game with 25 saves. Kraken fans learning more about Daccord’s talents also got a taste of his puck-moving skills, which are impressive and will be fun to watch. Daccord even recorded one clear during a penalty kill.
Daccord looked “comfortable” and “in position all night,” said Kraken analyst, J.T. Brown on ROOT Sports during the third period. One shift later, Daccord made what until then was his save of the night, stopping a Grade-A chance backhand shot by Blues forward Sammy Blais. Daccord made five big saves in the final five minutes, plus a Grade-A save on St. Louis captain Brayden Schenn mid-overtime.
Joey was rock solid, said Dave Hakstol, who didn’t blame Daccord for the regulation goal allowed. “He made some good saves at the right time, including one or two late in the game, as well as OT."
‘Special’ Report, Part 1
While the Kraken applied most of the offensive pressure in the first period, the Seattle penalty killers snuffed out two St. Louis power plays, which happens to be the eighth and ninth straight times in seven periods that alternate captains Yanni Gourde, Adam Larsson and the rest of the PK crew has been “zeroed in.”
Gourde was his usual stellar self, same for Larsson, and Jamie Oleksiak might have been the best of the lot. Oleksiak was even more impactful during the third STL powerplay late second period, getting his long stick on a puck heading into an empty net behind Joey Daccord.
“Rig has been good all year, right from the first day of camp,” said Hakstol. “He's played extremely well. He doesn't get a ton of accolades. But he's a guy playing big minutes for us. And he wears those minutes pretty well.”
When former STL defenseman Vince Dunn was whistled for his second penalty of the game (the first one slashing, second was for tripping), the PK units faced their most vital test of the night. Newcomer Pierre-Edouard Bellemare won the opening faceoff of what turned out to be a fourth successful “kill.” Dave Hakstol was vocal last year about winning that first faceoff in the defensive zone to potentially send the opponent all the back to the other end.
This week, he complimented Bellemare (who played for Hakstol in Philadelphia) on his PK work, adding that is his job for us. Overall, Bellemare was a standout with his fourth-line mates Tye Kartye and free agent signee Kailer Yamamoto playing solid defense and generating choice scoring chances (Yamamoto nearly scored on a wraparound and Kartye continues to get off at one threatening shot in pretty much every game he plays for Seattle.
‘Special’ Report, Part 2
On the Kraken’s first power play, the first minute and 18 seconds weren’t fruitful to end the opening period. To change it up, Dave Hakstol and assistant coach/power play leader Paul McFarland decided to start the middle 20 minutes with the so-called second unit (its quarterback is Vince Dunn, who number-one’d it last year). The strategy paid off when Dunn, the former Blue, started a scoring play by patiently holding the puck while traversing the blue line (not finding a shot he liked).
Dunn found Oliver Bjorkstrand rather shoot at all. The Kraken winger, who GM Francis has offered will have a more productive first half this season, did what he did so well all last season. He put a quality shot on net, which turned out to be redirected by Jaden Schwartz past STL goalie Jordan Binnington, who posted his second quality start in two games and made some pivotal saves in the first period when Seattle was controlling pace and offensive pressure.
