Joey Daccord

Lore & Background

Daccord grew up in Massachusetts, playing for North Andover High School before spending three seasons at Cushing Academy. He was selected 307th overall in the 2013 USHL entry draft by the Omaha Lancers and later traded to the Sioux City Musketeers. After graduating from Cushing, he played for the Boston Jr. Bruins and committed to Arizona State University in January 2015. He was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in June 2015 and began his USHL career with the Muskegon Lumberjacks, setting a franchise record for most saves in a season (1,344).

At Arizona State, Daccord started all 35 games in his junior season (2018–19), posting seven shutouts, a .926 save percentage, and a 2.35 goals against average—all Sun Devils records. He became the first Arizona State player to sign an NHL contract when he joined the Ottawa Senators in April 2019. He made his NHL debut on April 4, 2019, making 35 saves in a 5–2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Daccord spent the 2019–20 season with Ottawa's AHL affiliate (Belleville Senators) and ECHL affiliate (Brampton Beast), recording his first professional shutout with the Beast on November 8, 2019.

Daccord was selected by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL expansion draft. In 2023, he led the Kraken's AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, to the Calder Cup Finals, losing in seven games to the Hershey Bears. The 2023–24 season marked his first as a full-time NHL player; he achieved the first-ever shutout in NHL Winter Classic history in 2024 and finished the regular season with a 2.46 goals against average and .916 save percentage, both top-10 among NHL goaltenders with at least 20 games played.

The Long Road from Massachusetts to the NHL

Joey Daccord's path to professional hockey was anything but a straight line. Born in 1996 in Massachusetts, he first suited up for North Andover High School before spending three seasons at Cushing Academy, where he eventually earned the captaincy. After a brief stint with the Boston Jr. Bruins, he committed to Arizona State on January 25, 2015, and was subsequently selected 199th overall by the Ottawa Senators that June. Rather than jumping straight into pro hockey, Daccord spent the 2015–16 season with the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the USHL, where he set a franchise record with 1,344 saves.

Three more years at Arizona State followed, and in 2019 he signed with Ottawa. The next campaign saw him split time between the Belleville Senators in the AHL and the Brampton Beast in the ECHL. It was the 2021 NHL expansion draft that changed everything: the Seattle Kraken chose him, and from that point forward, Daccord was building toward a full-time NHL career.

Three Seasons of Grit at Arizona State

Daccord's three years with the Arizona State Sun Devils were defined by extraordinary workload and quiet consistency. In his 2017–18 campaign, he started every game except two and faced a staggering 1,193 shots, the most recorded by any collegiate goaltender that season. He also became one of the rare netminders to contribute offensively, logging assists in multiple games, including a 36-save performance in the Ice Vegas Invitational that helped his team claim the tournament title.

Shutouts arrived in 2017–18 and again in 2018–19, when he recorded back-to-back clean sheets in a series sweep of the Alaska Nanooks, the first such sweep in Sun Devils franchise history. By his senior year, Daccord had accumulated three career assists and multiple franchise-record save totals, including a 54-save effort in a double-overtime tie with Western Michigan. Though his win-loss records reflected a rebuilding program, his statistical output and durability marked him as a goaltender built for the professional grind.

The 2023–24 Breakout and a Historic Winter Classic

The 2023–24 season marked the moment Joey Daccord finally became a full-time NHL goaltender, and he made the leap count in historic fashion. Across the regular season, he posted a 2.46 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage, both ranking in the top ten among NHL netminders who appeared in at least twenty games.

But the season's defining moment came in 2024, when Daccord delivered the inaugural shutout in the history of the NHL Winter Classic. The achievement capped a year in which he had already demonstrated the composure and range that had been building through years of AHL and ECHL development. For a player drafted 199th overall and who had spent the prior season helping the Coachella Valley Firebirds reach the Calder Cup Finals before falling in seven games to the Hershey Bears, that Winter Classic shutout represented the culmination of a patient, methodical climb from Massachusetts prep schools to the biggest stage in hockey.

Gold in 2025: A Legacy Beyond the League

Beyond the NHL, Joey Daccord's most consequential contribution to date came on the international stage. Representing the United States at the 2025 IIHF World Championship, he helped anchor the American goaltending corps as the team captured the gold medal, a title the U.S. had not won in 92 years.

For a player whose career trajectory had been defined by steady, incremental progress rather than overnight stardom, lifting the trophy at the world championship level added a dimension to his legacy that no single NHL statistic could capture. The gold medal also underscored the depth of American goaltending and validated the years of development Daccord had endured, from Cushing Academy ice to the Belleville Senators' practice rink to the Winter Classic spotlight. In a sport where goaltenders are often measured by their individual numbers, Daccord's 2025 World Championship run reminded fans that the ultimate test is how a player performs when the entire nation is watching.

Reader's Guide

Joey Daccord's career is defined by steady progression through multiple levels of hockey, culminating in NHL success and international achievement. His path from Massachusetts high school hockey to the USHL, then to Arizona State University—where he set multiple goaltending records—demonstrates a trajectory of consistent improvement. As the first Arizona State player to sign an NHL contract, he broke ground for the program. His selection by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 expansion draft marked a turning point; after leading the Coachella Valley Firebirds to the Calder Cup Finals in 2023, he became a full-time NHL goaltender in 2023–24.

That season, he made history with the first shutout in NHL Winter Classic history and posted top-10 league statistics in goals against average and save percentage. Internationally, Daccord represented the United States at the 2025 IIHF World Championship, helping the team win its first gold medal at the tournament in 92 years. His career illustrates how late-round draft picks can develop into impactful NHL players through perseverance and performance at every level.