Kraken Officially Select Joey Daccord
With multiple veteran skaters available, the Seattle Kraken opt to kick off their franchise with Ottawa netminder Joey Daccord.
Farewell, Joey
In what should have been a momentous evening for the Seattle Kraken, sources from around the league turned must watch television into yeah-I-guess-I’ll-tune-in television as the entire Kraken roster was slowly leaked on Wednesday.
If I’m the NHL, I’m annoyed. As a fan, I’m annoyed. But if I spent the last weeks and months planning this event as an employee of a brand new National Hockey League franchise, I’m livid. The amount of effort and coordination that went into this event, particularly in the current climate, was likely pain staking. The Kraken brought in big names with ties to the city and all eyes were supposed to be on the team. Instead, I’m certain viewership plummeted as the day went on and hockey media slowly announced the entire team.
Nonetheless, we must turn our attention to bidding farewell to Joey Daccord.
The Ottawa Senators made a number of intriguing players available to the Kraken. From a veteran centre in Chris Tierney to a known goal scorer in Evgeni Dadonov, Seattle opted to pluck a goaltender from Ottawa’s relatively deep pile.
As the person who covers the Belleville Senators for this blog, it’s fitting that I’m the one who was tapped, long before the list was leaked, to write this reaction piece. I’ve had the pleasure of watching every single AHL and NHL game in which Daccord appeared, compiling 15-8-3 record for the BSens along the way. At age 24, most consider Daccord an older prospect but since he played a full four years in the NCAA, he seems fresh and young to most Sens fans.
For the Senators, this is the loss of a fantastic person and player - but not necessarily a giant hole in the prospect chart. With Filip Gustavsson, Mads Søgaard and Kevin Mandolese in the system - and a few rumours the Sens might be interested in taking one of Jesper Wallstedt or Sebastian Cossa 10th overall - there is still plenty of hope between the pipes in Ottawa.
Let’s take a moment to thank Joey for his time in the organization and wish him all the best in Seattle. I know I’ll be watching closely, crossing my fingers that Daccord gets a full-time gig with the Kraken.