AHL Belleville Senators

Daccord Reflects on Sun Devils Career

January 23, 2020 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Belleville Senators News Release


Joey Daccord describes his three years at Arizona State University pretty simply.

"It was the best time of my life."

Now playing his first professional season, the rookie netminder is grateful for the memories he created at ASU.

"It was the best," Daccord said. "I loved my time there. I'm incredibly grateful to Coach Powers and Ray Anderson, the athletic director.

"They took a chance on me and gave me a great opportunity. It was three years I'll never forget."

The sun is something Daccord will never forget too. He ironically got his first call from Powers while driving home from a tournament in a blizzard - "he said you want to come to Arizona and I said 'yes for sure' as I'm in the middle of a snowstorm" - but said that the heat is something that you take for granted, especially when wearing shorts to the rink.

"It's so nice out and every day you walk outside and you never have to check the weather," Daccord said. "It was a pretty nice lifestyle but for me it was an awesome experience and I loved that lifestyle."

When Daccord stepped on campus in 2016, it was ASU's first season as an NCAA Division One school. The team had a small following on campus as they had won a national title as a club side but stepping into the NCAA was a different beast. Especially on the west coast.

But Daccord notice a shift after he completed his junior year with the Sun Devils: people noticed.

"After I played my first NHL game, I came back and I was walking through one of the dorms and I saw a kid wearing a #34 Daccord Ottawa Senators t-shirt so that was pretty cool," he said.

Helping lead the team to its first ever NCAA tournament appearance last season as the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region (the team lost 2-1 to Quinnipac) certainly caught the eye of those in the hockey world. Add to that the national recognition ASU got through its partnership with Adidas where the Sun Devils stretched the limits on jersey imagination only added to the team's hype.

"We were always debuting new jerseys and doing cool different things," Daccord said. "They are really pushing the boundaries. It's just another reason why kids would want to go there. You're adding all that stuff on top of it and a new rink coming soon so it's exciting times coming to hockey in Arizona."

Outside of the rink, Daccord enjoyed going to class like a regular university student. He took Sports Business as it felt like "the right fit for me" and said walking around the university's 632-acre campus and feeling like a college student every day was a "pretty fun experience."

As for juggling school and a 35-game schedule, plus daily practices and travel, the Massachusetts native said it got easier with time.

"The first year was tough as you're trying to learn how to do all of that," the 22-year-old said. "Once you kind of figure out that it's not as daunting as it seems. There's a lot of resources that ASU provides to help you succeed and get you the assistance that you need to do well in school.

"It takes a little bit time to figure out how to get started but once you do, you settle in and it becomes routine."

Daccord can often be seen wearing Sun Devils apparel still. The proudness he has of his alma mater is very clear. And so is ASU's appreciation of their former goaltender.

It's simple: Daccord helped put Sun Devils hockey on the map.

Since then, he's become the first graduate to play in not only the NHL, but the AHL too. He's been impressive too, going 8-3-1 with a shutout in 14 games with the Sens this season after making his NHL debut in Ottawa's final game of the 2018-19 season.

And for that success, he fully credits his three years at ASU.

"I took a little bit of time to figure out if I thought it would be a good decision for me to go to ASU and in the end I'm really glad I decided to go to school there."

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