The actual answer to the question posed is “Zero.” But for the second time in two weeks, media covering a Canadian team has run a headline claiming their goalie was “snubbed” in favor of the Seattle Kraken’s Joey Daccord
We just got done hearing wails of protest from Calgary about how Daccord shouldn’t have been one of four goalies invited to Team USA’s orientation camp held Aug. 26-27. The 44-man list from which USA will choose its 2026 Winter Olympic roster should have instead, y’see, included Flames backstop Dustin Wolf.
Now, Toronto’s EditorInLeaf.com is picking on Joey, too, weighing in on behalf of their favorite American goalie, Anthony Stolarz. “Daccord’s stats just don’t compare to Stolarz’s performance in the 2024-25 season. The Toronto goalie finished the season with a .926 save percentage, the highest in the league, while the Seattle Kraken netminder finished with a .906 save percentage, which ranked him 15 places below Stolarz.”
Stolarz’s advanced metrics were outstanding, too – even better than Daccord’s. But Daccord played 57 games to Stolarz’s 34. The Toronto goalie played behind a vastly superior team, one that took eventual Cup champion Florida to seven games in the 2nd round of the playoffs. Joey, not Anthony, in May helped USA to its first IIHF World Championship since 1933.
As Daccord told Geoff Baker of NHL.com’s Kraken site, “Wearing the USA for the first time, it was quite emotional for me. I was just very grateful to be there and just try to take it all in. I remember I was pretty nervous and excited. I just couldn’t wait to get on the ice. The first time you see your Team USA jersey with your name on it is really special and meant so much to me. So, I just tried to be as grateful for the moment as I possibly could and try to take advantage of it.”
And crucially, EditorInLeaf suggests this about Stolarz. “The goalie’s history of injury could be the main concern and reason Team USA overlooked him. Stolarz suffered a knee injury in 2017, which came back to bite him in December of last season. He required surgery and was out for over two months.” Yeah, that.
So Flames fans, your goalie is good. Leafs fans, so’s yours. Ditto U.S. netminder Thatcher Demko in Vancouver. Maybe Canadian media is also miffed that Joey chose Team USA over Team Canada (and Team Switzerland). Daccord’s dad is Canadian, his mother Swiss. With some diplomatic maneuvering, he could have been eligible for either of those squads, too.
But he choose the country of his birth, and Team USA has chosen him. Joey Daccord earned his invite, he’s a worthy selection, so everyone else, give it a rest.
Oh… Oh… Oh… and when the league wanted to promote “NHL Goalie Week,” who did they turn to? Right.
The Risk Of Teammates Becoming Friends
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Staying with the goalie theme… and updating a previous story. We told you how a social media post of Mason Marchment in a Kraken uniform had given Dallas Stars fans a case of the sads.
Add to that list Stars goalie Jake Oettinger. “That was really tough,” Oettinger was quoted by @DLLS_Stars. “It’s no secret how close he and I are. That’s one you never really get over. Just as good as it gets as a guy and a teammate. Someone that doesn’t wear a letter but the guys in the room look up to.
“Mush is one of my best friends, and that’s not going to change. It’s a tough part of the job when you get really close with someone. I mean, my wife and his wife are like best friends, and they’re having a baby really close to when we are, too. That whole part of it just sucks. It feels like right when I start calling someone my best friend, they get traded.”
Maybe Oettinger will also be long-distance pals with Joey Daccord. They, along with Boston’s Jeremy Swayman and Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck were the goalies invited to the Team USA orientation.
Kraken Rental Center Could Be Taking Orders Next March
One prominent Canadian sports website doesn’t have much love for the entire 2025-26 Kraken squad. John Matisz, TheScore.ca senior NHL writer, places Seattle in the sixth of his eight tiers, labeling them a “notch below playoffs.” They’re joined in tier six by the Bruins, Sabres, Flames, Predators and Flyers.
Matisz writes, “Seattle lands in Tier 6 because of the many what-ifs circling its playoff case.
“What if youngsters Matty Beniers, Shane Wright, and Kaapo Kakko all make enormous developmental leaps? What if second-line center Chandler Stephenson lives up to his inefficient contract? What if starter Joey Daccord plays at a Vezina Trophy-caliber level? What if new coach Lane Lambert squeezes every bit of value out of a decidedly mid roster? Fat chance all, or even most of, these what-ifs hit for the Kraken.”
Not that fat, John. Matisz hints that for the second straight year, the Kraken might be holding a clearance sale at March’s trade deadline. Attractive rentals for contenders – otherwise known as players who will be pending free agents – could include Jaden Schwartz, Mason Marchment, Eeli Tolvanen, Jordan Eberle, and Jamie Oleksiak.
The rest of the Pacific Division: San Jose (Tier 8); Calgary (6); Anaheim, Vancouver (5); Los Angeles (4); Edmonton, Vegas (1).