Arizona State goalie Joey Daccord signed on Monday with the Ottawa Senators, becoming the first ASU player to sign an NHL entry-level contract.

Daccord was a seventh-round draft pick in 2015 by Ottawa, which had until this year to sign him before losing his rights. He will join the Senators for the rest of the season and is expected to play in a game perhaps as soon as Thursday.

This season as a junior at ASU, Daccord started all 35 games and helped to lead the Sun Devils (21-13-1) to their first NCAA Tournament berth. ASU lost 2-1 Saturday to Quinnipiac in an NCAA regional semifinal.

Daccord is a finalist for the Richter Award, given to the nation's most outstanding goalie. He had seven shutouts, the most nationally in the regular season, and had a .926 save percentage and 2.35 goals against average.

"We couldn't be more proud of Joey," ASU coach Greg Powers said. "Joey came here to set a standard and he did that and more. He is a Sun Devil for life and we cannot wait to support him on his journey in the National Hockey League."

In three years at ASU, Daccord finished with a 32-40-7 record, .913 save percentage and 3.07 goals against average.

Evan DeBrouwer, just finishing his freshman season, is the leading candidate to replace Daccord next season. He played in just one game this season but was one of the top goalies in the British Columbia Hockey League in 2017-18 for the Prince George Spruce Kings.

Reach the reporter at jeff.metcalfe@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8053. Follow him on Twitter @jeffmetcalfe.

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