The Anatomy of a Kraken Goaltender
In celebration of NHL Goalie Week, we’re breaking down exactly what makes the Kraken starting goaltenders Like That
By Miracle Lucketti, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - Welcome to the most wonderful time of the year– the ‘ber months! The weather is cooling off, we’re officially in a month where NHL hockey will be played (preseason counts!), and the league announced yesterday, via video featuring the Kraken’s own Joey Daccord, that this week is designated as the second iteration of Goalie Week: a whole week in celebration of goaltenders.
If you’ve ever watched more than just a few minutes of hockey, it should come as no surprise to you that goalies have a reputation of being a little… different. It takes a special type of person to be willing to put themselves in front of frozen chunks of rubber, flying directly at head level, from anywhere between 70 - 90mph, after all.
What makes our starting goaltenders so unique? Let’s break it down.
Personality & Off-Ice Interests
You would be hard-pressed to convince any Kraken fan that Joey Daccord has ever met a stranger. Outgoing and happy to talk to anyone, it’s no surprise that Joey has turned his love of hockey, talking, and being everyone’s favorite social media darling into a successful YouTube channel. With compilations of mic’d-up videos, training shorts, and gameplay advice, Joey has begun posting videos with firsthand commentary about what it’s like playing in the NHL. It’s an exciting new way to connect with the netminder, while still accessing all the knowledge and love he has for the sport directly from the source.
Joey is also no stranger to social media; often lurking on X (previously and more superiorly known as Twitter) and interacting with funny fan tweets and the official Kraken account, or his BFF, the Kraken mascot, Buoy. Turning his love for Formula 1 racing into yet another way to connect with fans, Joey shares video recaps for the sport via the recurring video series F1 Daccording to Joey on the Kraken’s social media accounts. His online presence has introduced fun, new ways to connect with fans, and it’s clearly been a hit.
Although he may appear a bit more socially reserved than his counterpart, Philipp Grubauer also has a niche interest that fans online often associate with the netminder: horses. Grubauer has been vocal about his love for the animals, dedicating many hours to volunteering with local Seattle rescue, SAFE: Save a Forgotten Equine. The non-profit rescues abused and abandoned horses, rehabilitates them, and then helps them find new, loving homes. "Our goal is to give the horses a better life so that they can be horses again," Grubauer said. "That's why they go through a program with us, because it takes time to rebuild trust between humans and horses."
Fans online have obviously taken note of the goaltender’s fondness for the animals, affectionately sharing horse memes and finding ways to relate them back to the goaltender. An X (again, previously and more superiorly known as Twitter) account dedicated to posting horse photos is often shared with corresponding Grubauer pictures, creating some very wholesome images.
Custom Gear
Goalies are also the only players on the team who get to sport some amazing custom gear. Their pads are customized with team colors, in fun and unique designs that really make them stand out on the ice. The masks, though, tend to steal the show. Goaltender masks feature some of the most intricate works of art, and are just one more unique way that goaltenders showcase bits of their personalities on the ice.
It’s not unusual for goaltenders to stick with one artist to design most of their custom masks, and Daccord seems to have found his artist. Shifty, an artist from Bakersfield, California, has been designing Joey’s masks since his Arizona State days. Some subjects often incorporated in Joey’s designs include the Swiss, Canadian, and American flags for the goaltender’s heritage, the Arizona State logo, and a House of Stark crest from Game of Thrones, which Daccord claims is a bit of an “inside thing.” The one thing included in all of Joey’s masks? Sparky, the Arizona State mascot. Always in a different location, Sparky is hidden somewhere on all the goaltender’s masks.
Seattle Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord throughout the course of the 2024-25 season. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo for Circling Seattle Sports)
Once again, differing from the typical standard, Grubauer has a few different options he frequents for mask design. His most used artist is one that many goalies in the league swear by– the lauded DaveArt. The masks Dave creates for Philipp often feature Seattle scenes like the skyline, the Space Needle, or mountain and water scenes, with bright blues and silvers. Grubauer’s most commonly incorporated items in his masks include the Bavarian and German flags, pawprints from his pup, the initials of his parents and partner, and, of course, his beloved horses. The horses serve as a reminder to control his emotions, Grubauer adds, “If you're having a bad day and are upset, so is the horse,” he said. “That's a positive counterpoint to hockey: everything is very fast and emotional.”
A newer design option for Philipp’s masks comes from someone within the Kraken organization– art director Drew Hamlet. They’ve been able to work together on ideas for Grubauer’s masks, designing them in real-time on a computer before sending them off to Dave for his input and to create the finished mask.
Grubauer also often commissions special masks for theme night games, and last season saw one of his best so far. For Indigenous Peoples’ Night, Philipp wore a custom mask born from a collaborative effort by two Indigenous artists: Preston Singletary designed the overall mask featuring a Killer Whale motif, and Ty Juvinel, a member of the Tulalip tribe, painted the mask.
Seattle Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer wearing his “Indigenous Peoples” mask during the 2024-25 NHL season. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo for Circling Seattle Sports)
Mental Health & Game Play
Goalies may get to show the most personality and uniqueness on the ice, but they also often shoulder most of the blame when teams aren’t winning. With both Kraken goaltenders active on social media, they’d be hard-pressed to miss some of the less-than-stellar things “fans” have said about the team in the past. Both Grubauer and Daccord have spoken up about the importance of mental health in hockey and the ways in which they prioritize their own mental health during the season. Therapy, journaling, meditating, and spending time outdoors are common ways both men help to unwind and stay mentally fit and ready to shake off a bad goal or a bad game. As Daccord says, “I am a hockey player, but at the end of the day, I’m a person.”
Hockey is many things, but it’s definitely not always a sport that celebrates men sharing their feelings and worries about their own mental state. Kraken fans can feel incredibly proud that both of our starting goaltenders are using their “goalies are weird” privileges to help lessen the stigma around such an important topic.
Our Kraken team has no shortage of personalities on and off the ice, but our goaltenders are fan favorites for a reason. They’re unapologetically themselves and fans of all ages can relate to and celebrate that. So while the NHL may only deem one week a year devoted to celebrating goalies, in Seattle? Fans will be here celebrating those beautiful, talented, weirdos for all 52 of them.
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Check out our previous Seattle Kraken articles here.
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