Kraken Tab Joey Daccord For King Clancy Award

Kraken goalie Joey Daccord considers it “a privilege” to give back to the community around him, a goal he’s had since growing up a rabid Boston-area hockey fan with a father who coached professional netminders. 

That’s why Daccord never wasted time waiting for his career to become more established, wanting to help as soon as possible, whether as an AHL goalie giving back through his Arizona State University alma mater, or with the Kraken via a Brooks Running partnership and clinics organized by the team’s One Roof Foundation philanthropic arm. That Kraken work has now earned Daccord a team nomination for the NHL’s annual King Clancy Memorial Trophy, given to a player exemplifying leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to the community.  

“I honestly remember being a kid and…you hear stories of guys that would sneak up into hospital rooms and, and go visit kids, privately without anyone knowing,” Daccord said. “And I don't do it just for the recognition of it. You know, there's plenty of work that I do as well that isn't publicized, and I just think it's incredibly important. I think it's vital.

“I think it's an absolute privilege that we get to play hockey and play a game and make an amazing living and take care of our families,” he added. “And the communities that we play in essentially support that and provide that for us.” 

The Kraken teamed with Brooks Running in September 2024, making the Seattle-based company their Official Off-Ice Performance Partner. At the same time, Daccord joined forces with Brooks as a Player Ambassador to highlight the connection between physical and mental strength in both hockey and running.  

The multi-year partnership connected One Roof Foundation (ORF) with Brooks’ Future Run program, which supports youth runners and community partners through school team grants, sponsorships, and investments in coaches and mentors. Together, Brooks and Kraken have worked to increase youth access to sport. 

And working with local youth is where Daccord derives his greatest joy. 

Last September, Daccord was out with Brooks to stage a combined ball hockey and running clinic at Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic in the city’s Othello neighborhood. Kids checked in to receive an event t-shirt and a new pair of Brooks running shoes before heading to the Odessa Brown facility’s indoor gymnasium, where they participated in shooting, stickhandling, and passing drills led by the Kraken community activation team and Daccord. 

Two months later, Daccord was back out with ORF at the Family First Community Center in Renton, for the latest Kraken Power Play Takeover Clinic. Though injured in a Kraken game the prior night, Daccord was still actively cheering on the young participants and helped put them through various drills.  

Daccord said at least some of the kids he helped at the clinic seemed to have already been exposed to the sport and the Kraken. But there were still plenty of newcomers taking it in for the first time, and Daccord said he tried to make it a positive experience for all. 

“It was just so fun, like, I felt, I honestly felt like a little kid again,” Daccord said of his experiences at the clinics. “I was playing ball hockey with the kids, I was running around, it was, it was awesome, it was an absolute blast, and. I think the goal for those things is, is, you know, multiple different things, right?  

“It's showing kids it's OK to chase after whatever you want to do. To chase after it. Whatever sport it is, it's OK to try something new, put yourself out there. Not be so good at something, and realize, hey, I want to get better at that.” 

During one clinic, a young girl mentioned that meeting Daccord and mascot Buoy had been her top experience of the day. She was so enthralled that her parents signed her up for Learn To Skate classes, but they didn’t have enough money to pay for them. 

The Kraken stepped in and paid for the classes, and she’s now learning to skate. 

“Truthfully, it's the coolest thing in the world to hear a story like that,” Daccord said. “That's why you do it, right? You want to inspire kids to chase after their dreams and chase after what they want to do. I mean…I would have loved to be on the ice with an NHL goalie when I was 8,9, 10 years old. Now, I was lucky, like my dad, who was a goalie coach and still is a goalie coach, and he's worked with so many NHL goalies, college goalies, and European pro goalies that I did get to spend time with and be on the ice with.”

Daccord added, “Those guys inspired me to chase after my goals. And to be able to get to do the same thing now is just really special. And to hear about that (little girl) is just amazing and another example of, of why the Kraken are so amazing and the One Roof Foundation is so amazing.  

“By them taking care of her and her family and giving her the opportunity to play, now she's going to learn to play. It is so cool, and maybe one day we'll see her out on the ice.” 

Hockey Hall of Famer Francis Michael “King” Clancy, the man the award is named after, had a legendary 16-season NHL career with the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs, winning three Stanley Cup titles. Known as a prominent humanitarian throughout his playing days, he later became an NHL referee and then a Maple Leafs coach and executive until his death in 1986 at age 84. 

In nominating Daccord for the award, the Kraken mentioned that his community work has inspired other teammates to get more involved as well. Daccord hopes others in hockey, a sport where it’s long been ingrained to put the team ahead of individuality and personality, realize it is possible to “be yourself,” and “put time and effort into things you believe in” and “still not make it about you.”