Daccord pursuing AHL championship, enjoying ride with Kraken affiliate

PALM DESERT, Calif. --Joey Daccord caught a break when he was chosen by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft.

Now the 26-year-old goalie is creating his own breaks with Coachella Valley, their American Hockey League affiliate. He's helped the Firebirds move within two wins of an AHL championship with a 2-1 lead against Hershey (Washington Capitals). Game 4 of the best-of-7 series is at Hershey on Thursday.

Like the Kraken in Seattle, Coachella Valley has quickly built a strong relationship with its fan base. Hockey is new to many in the area, where Daccord has become very popular. Fans chant his first name and he's become a common sight when the three stars of the game are announced.

"It's been really special here," Daccord said. "It's never happened before in my career, and it'll probably never happen again the way I've been supported this year, and I'm just super grateful and appreciative. I think our whole team is. The support, I think, has blown us all away right from the beginning and now these playoff games have been absolutely bananas."

Daccord became the first goalie with back-to-back shutouts in the first two games of the Calder Cup Finals since Moe Roberts of Cleveland in 1939 when Coachella Valley won Games 1 and 2 by a combined 9-0 on home ice. He's 14-8 in a playoff-high 22 games with a 2.26 goals-against average that ranks fifth and .926 save percentage that's tied for fourth.

Coachella Valley had to win four playoff rounds to reach the finals, including a division final series against regular-season champion Calgary (Calgary Flames). The Firebirds also had to play 18 of their first 22 games on the road (four home games were played in Seattle) while awaiting completion of Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, California. They finished 48-17-5-2 (103 points), second in the AHL during the regular season. Daccord was 26-8-3 with a 2.38 GAA, .918 save percentage and three shutouts.

"I feel good," Daccord said after Game 2. "I feel like I'm seeing the puck well. The team's playing great, and I think no matter what, it's a full team game. We played so well, and our guys are doing a really good job just making my life easy and letting me see pucks. It's been awesome."

It has been a long path to this point for Daccord, a seventh-round pick (No. 199) by the Ottawa Senators in the 2015 NHL Draft. He played three NCAA seasons at Arizona State before turning pro and as a junior was a finalist for the Mike Richter Award, given to the top goalie in NCAA men's hockey. He won 21 games, had an NCAA-best seven shutouts and became the first Arizona State player to play an NHL game April 4, 2019, when the Senators lost 5-2 to the Buffalo Sabres.

Daccord split 2019-20, his first full pro season, between the AHL (Belleville) and ECHL (Brampton) and played eight games for Ottawa in 2020-21 before a lower-body injury ended his season March 17, 2021. He went 2-1-1 with a 3.14 GAA and .900 save percentage in five games for the Kraken this season.

Veteran goalie Martin Jones can become an unrestricted free agent July 1, which could give Daccord a chance to compete with Chris Driedger, his backup for Coachella Valley, for an NHL roster spot next season.

Today, Daccord is focused on Hershey, and he's frustrated the Bears with his excellent puck-handling skills, and ability to swiftly move pucks out of danger and activate his defensemen for quick zone exits to disrupt a strong forecheck. He's also enjoying the road to what he hopes ends with the Calder Cup. The Firebirds have sold out four consecutive games and postseason attendance is an AHL-record 117,879, breaking the mark set by the 2009 Manitoba Moose (116,095).

"I've had some friends that have started tuning in more frequently to the games now that we've been making around here deep into playoffs, and they're like, 'Wow, that arena sounds crazy,'" Daccord said. "I'm like, 'Dude, it's like that every game,' so it's been super special, and I think we're all just grateful for the support."