The Ottawa Senators have hit on some gems in the later rounds of the NHL Entry Draft.
While most teams are taking flyers at that point in the process, Ottawa management and scouts have been pretty fortunate to find quality players in the 6th round or later.
They picked Mark Stone in round six. They picked Ryan Dzingel in round seven. The best player in franchise history, Daniel Alfredsson, went in the sixth round back in 1994. It’s rare to find NHL players that late but this organization has been truly fortunate to land impact players.
They hope they’ve hit another late round home run with Joey Daccord.
Continuing to make history!
Congrats to @jdac35 on becoming the first Sun Devil to sign an @NHL contract! The @Senators got a good one! #BetheTradition #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/FLFkD5qi7Z
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) April 1, 2019
Fresh off a remarkable third season at Arizona State University, Daccord has signed a two year entry level deal with the Senators.
The 22 year old is expected to join the Senators in Ottawa today. He could make his NHL debut as early as early as Thursday night against the Buffalo Sabres.
Daccord was considered a long shot to make the NHL when the Senators picked him back in 2015 but he has made steady progress in the NCAA. And this past season was by far his best.
He almost single-handedly carried that Arizona State team to their first tournament appearance, posting a remarkable 2.36 GAA, .926 sv% and an NCAA-leading seven shutouts along the way. It was a season that earned Daccord a Hobey Baker nomination along with a Mike Richter Award nomination, awarded to the most outstanding goaltender in college hockey.
According to those that watch him on a regular basis, Daccord has all the skills required to be a quality goalie at the professional level. Great reflexes, technically sound and adept at reading the play. NCAA goaltending dominance doesn’t always translate to pro success but Daccord certainly seems to have the raw talent required to make the transition.
Oh and he also might automatically hold the title of the best puck-handling goalie in Sens history. Mostly by default but still.
Daccord is expected to finish the season with the big team and then join Belleville after that, depending on where the BSens are at in their season..
It’s going to be interesting to see how the Senators handle the goaltending situation next year.
Craig Anderson is under contract for another season and likely returns. Mike Condon has another year on his deal but his health remains a bit of a mystery. Meanwhile Anders Nilsson, who has performed admirably during his time with the Senators, is set to hit unrestricted free agency. Marcus Hogberg has somewhat surprisingly taken the AHL job and run with it this year and also needs a new contract. He’s a restricted free agent but there are already rumblings about a team in Sweden making him an offer this summer.
Pierre Dorion has a lot of work to do this year but coming up with a plan for the team’s goaltending situation might be the trickiest item on his To Do list.
Regardless, adding Daccord to the mix comes as a bit of a relief for the Senators.
Sitting on 49 contracts, it was no secret that they were holding that final spot for Daccord. Once he announced he was leaving school, Daccord would have had an opportunity to test the open market as a free agent. Instead, he’s sticking with the Senators.
Based on some of the initial speculation, it certainly sounds like Joey Daccord will be given every opportunity to win a job next year. He’ll likely start in Belleville but don’t be surprised if he continues to force his way up the team’s goaltending depth chart.
