Seattle Kraken's Joey Daccord gives enterprising fan a special souvenir

Kate Shefte, The Seattle Times on Mar 28, 2025

Published in Hockey

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SEATTLE — During the past few years, handmade signs along the glass at NHL games have become less encouraging and more enterprising. A night out at the rink needs a game-worn, or at least pregame-worn, souvenir.

It started humbly, with young fans offering to trade their favorite players candy for a puck. Now it’s escalated to asking for a stick, either through services already rendered — it being their first Kraken game, or having traveled a long distance to be there — or maybe a challenge, like a game of rock, paper scissors.

Adorable kids have more success, but adults can give it a shot. With so many, increasingly outlandish requests for their carefully taped sticks, the player has to be feeling particularly generous, or the offer has to be too good to refuse.

During Thursday’s morning skate, a fan offered Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord a LEGO Speed Champions Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 F1 Race Car Model Kit, which retails for about $30. The KCI fan did their research and added to Daccord’s collection. He borrowed an idea that worked during warmups in Calgary two nights previously. A fan tossed Daccord a Ferrari LEGO set over the glass and received a puck in return.

Daccord likes LEGO and is a huge Formula One fan. He borrows the Kraken social media department’s mini microphone and occasionally records recaps of the week’s F1 action. The most recent one featured a guest star, Kraken center Shane Wright, who wasn’t stumped by any of Daccord’s trivia questions and said British driver George Russell was his favorite. Daccord is a self-described Lewis Hamilton supporter.

Without a stick, Daccord couldn’t exactly continue morning skate, which was wrapping up anyway. Daccord headed back to the locker room to continue his preparation, box in hand. He had been picked to play later that night against the Edmonton Oilers, his third straight start.

He made 36 saves as the Kraken beat the Oilers 6-1 at Climate Pledge Arena and staved off elimination from playoff contention. The St. Louis Blues won their eighth straight game in Nashville, which eliminated the Predators. Paired with a regulation loss against Edmonton, the Kraken would have followed suit.

Edmonton’s Jeff Skinner had a goal disallowed with less than a minute left in the first period. The Kraken challenged the goal, saying there was a missed stoppage just before Skinner scored. Connor Brown’s stick appeared to be well above the crossbar when he batted down the puck in front of Daccord, and the officials agreed.

The Kraken proceeded to score five times in the next 14 minutes of play and set a franchise record for the most in a single period at home. Seattle’s Jaden Schwartz scored back-to-back in a span of 2:06, giving him four goals in three games. First he redirected an Andre Burakovsky power-play shot, then fired another past Oilers goaltender Calvin Pickard from the bottom of the right faceoff circle.

Twenty-year-old Kraken prospect Jani Nyman scored his third NHL goal and first at even strength. On the same shift, linemate Matty Beniers scored on a snap shot 16 seconds later.

Kraken captain Jordan Eberle had his goal disallowed as the play was offside. That disappointment lasted a few seconds. Burakovsky scored the Kraken’s fifth goal of the period, all in the first 13 minutes. Nyman, Beniers and Burakovsky scored in 1:51, the fastest three goals in franchise history.

The Oilers ruined Daccord’s shutout in the third. Jared McCann later restored the five-goal lead.

The Kraken hadn’t beaten the Oilers in their past nine tries. They improved to 3-11-1 all-time against Edmonton, which didn’t have the services of superstars Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl.

All it did really was delay the inevitable elimination and potentially cost the Kraken a chance to move down in the standings and up in the draft order. But at least the home fans were happy, whether or not they took home some free swag.

Among the signs along the glass Thursday night: “It’s my birthday, stick or puck?” “Best birthday ever would be better with a stick” (with a selection of four candies for trade), and “Ebs I was named after you, can I have a puck?”

Where does this trend end? Hopefully well short of offering noted dog lover Adam Larsson a puppy in exchange for a twig.