After a connecting flight in Detroit, he arrived in Seattle around midnight Sunday. None of those logistics has tempered his excitement to be back in Seattle with the Kraken.
"Anytime you get called up to the NHL, it's awesome," Daccord said. "You know what I mean? There's nothing quite like it. I'm just really, really excited, ready to go … at the end of the day no one really cares if you've got a lot of sleep or not. You just gotta go play your best."
Daccord had been called up earlier in the season and appeared in four NHL games with the Kraken. Those call-ups were to fill in for Chris Driedger, who was dealing with a minor injury. This call-up is a reward for great play.
"He's had a real good stretch down in Charlotte and he's done a great job for the group down there and earned the opportunity to be up here," Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said Monday. "In terms of a start, absolutely we'll plan to and would like to. Which one that'll be, we'll have that on game day."
Having "a real good stretch" indeed: With the Checkers, Daccord appeared in 34 games with a goals-against-average of 2.28 and his .925 save percentage is second in the league and set a Charlotte franchise record.
"[The record] is nice, but at the end of the day I'm really glad that we clinched first place and we've got a bye through the first round and right to the full-length playoff series," said Daccord, who gave up two goals or less in 11 of his last 15 games with Charlotte.
"That's what's really most important. Obviously, it's a nice little side accomplishment but you know, for me, I feel like if we win a lot, then the stats will come with it. I don't really look at those too much or put too much stock into those. I just try to win games."
The Kraken selected Daccord from the Ottawa Senators during the NHL Expansion Draft and he has given them valuable organizational goalie depth.
Daccord grew up in Massachusetts but played college hockey in the desert at Arizona State University after being drafted by the Ottawa Senators in 2015. In his final season with the Sun Devils in 2018-2019 he was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award (NCAA player of the year) and the Mike Richter Award (top goaltender). He signed with the Senators that same year, becoming the first Arizona State player to sign a pro contract.
His father, Brian, played goalie, has written books on goaltending and is the goaltending coach at Boston University. Joey grew up around the game and the position. He has mastered the mental aspect of putting on the pads.
"I think the biggest thing is just always falling back to what makes me play well, and what makes me successful and through all the chaos," Daccord said. "I always come up with some sort of performance statement.
"Which [means] three things I like to kind of recite to myself during the game. The mind likes to wander, whether you're working at a desk or playing hockey, it doesn't really matter. The mind likes to wander. For me, anytime I can just have a little performance statement to reset during the game and just re-focus, that's usually what I try to do."
With Daccord, the Checkers won the AHL's Atlantic Division and earned a bye in the Calder Cup playoffs. He plans on soaking up the NHL experience for a week, hopefully, getting a start in one of Seattle's remaining four games, and then returning to Charlotte for a playoff push.
"I'm just really excited that I'm here and getting more opportunities," he said. "I'm super excited for playoffs in Charlotte. I've been saying that for a while now. We were pushing really hard to get that first place [finish] and get that bye. It opened up the opportunity for me to come here.
"It all worked out really well. I'm excited for this week here and being with the group for another week, then heading back to Charlotte and hopefully going on a long run there."
