On Tuesday afternoon (Jan. 7) the Seattle Kraken activated netminder Joey Daccord, who had spent about two days on retroactive injured reserve (IR). Furthermore, the club made new moves concerning support from its American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, by sending some recent call-ups back to the AHL and calling another Firebird up.
The #SeaKraken have recalled Mitchell Stephens from the Coachella Valley @Firebirds. Seattle has reassigned Cale Fleury, Ales Stezka and Ben Meyers to Coachella Valley. pic.twitter.com/oz8v5tyjrn
— Seattle Kraken PR (@SeattleKrakenPR) January 7, 2025
Daccord Returns From Injury
Daccord, Seattle’s regular starter, was last in action just before Christmas on Dec. 22 in an away game versus the Colorado Avalanche. There was a moment in the match when he displayed visible signs of pain on his upper body. He finished the contest but had not played or practiced since. The team officially announced on Sunday (Jan. 5) that the 28-year-old was on a retroactive IR to Dec. 22.
In the interim, the Kraken called upon the services of Firebirds netminder Ales Stezka to back up veteran Philipp Grubauer. That said, Grubauer started all five games since then from Dec. 28 to Jan. 6.
Related: 3 Takeaways from Kraken’s Frustrating 3-2 Loss to Devils
Despite that Seattle has experienced a trying campaign overall, Daccord sports a 12-9-2 tally, a 2.51 goals against average, and a .912 save percentage.
Stezka and Company Back to Coachella, Stephens to Seattle
Stezka has logically been sent to rejoin his Firebirds teammates. Joining him back in Coachella Valley are blueliner Cale Fleury and forward Ben Meyers, who had been recently called up.
One Firebird is making the trip northward, that being forward Mitchell Stephens. The 27-year-old from Peterborough, Ontario has already partaken in nine contests with the Kraken this season, making him something of a known quantity in the locker room. He has registered one assist, has a minus-2 rating, and has averaged 9:45 of ice time.
The Kraken finished a home stand on Monday (Jan. 6) with a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the New Jersey Devils, making it three consecutive defeats (two in regulation.) They begin an extended road swing on Thursday in Columbus versus the Blue Jackets.
