How new Kraken coach ‘Disco’ Dan Bylsma could dance into Seattle’s hearts
SEATTLE – Break out those bell-bottoms.
“Disco” Dan Bylsma – just Disco to friends and colleagues – is the new Seattle Kraken head coach, and he’ll be ready to boogie just as soon as the Coachella Valley Firebirds’ playoff run ends in elation or agony.
His promotion was announced Tuesday but he’s not available yet. The Kraken’s top minor -league affiliate, which Bylsma has guided for two years, has a 1-0 series lead over the Milwaukee Admirals in the Western Conference Finals.
His groovy nickname originated late in the grunge era. Bylsma played the 1994-95 season with the Phoenix Roadrunners of the now-defunct International Hockey League, a minor pro league with NHL affiliates. Hockey nicknames are usually just cutesy versions of surnames, and improbable as it sounds for someone with such a unique one, someone already had Bylsma’s moniker. Goaltender Byron Dafoe was already called “Bysie.”
So he fell into “nickname limbo” and an audition period began. Teammates pelted him with new ones, hoping they picked the winner. Thanks to his dance moves, he earned himself a reputation as Danny Disco, and eventually Disco Dan.
“It just kept following me,” Bylsma, 53, said. “I don’t mind it.”
He was known to cut a rug, and still does. The musical genre isn’t important.
“I’m not picky. I have an adaptive dancing style,” he said.
Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord, who backstopped the Firebirds’ playoff run last season, was delighted at the news Bylsma was the Kraken’s pick to replace Dave Hakstol.
“I saw firsthand how hard he works, how detailed he is, how great of a person he is,” Daccord said. “He’s a top professional, and he’s an outstanding coach. I thought he deserved it. I thought he earned it.”
Daccord recently wrapped his first season as an NHL regular, and was the Kraken’s starter during its most successful run of the 2023-24 season. It was a long time coming. Already in his mid-20s, Daccord felt pigeonholed as the Kraken organization’s No. 3 goaltender while playing for Bylsma in Charlotte and Coachella Valley. He and Bylsma discussed, several times at length, what he needed to do to make the jump.
“He was very helpful in giving me advice based off of his experience and the excellent goalies that he’s had play for him,” Daccord said.
“His wisdom and his advice definitely helped me get to where I am today.”
Like his dancing style, Bylsma’s adaptive coaching style was a point of emphasis during Tuesday’s introductory news conference in the Kraken locker room. After general manager Ron Francis and owner Samantha Holloway said their piece, the team screened a short video set to Jay-Z’s Public Service Announcement: “Allow me to reintroduce myself,” it began. Bylsma appeared bemused during the highlight reel and had his response ready when it finished.
“Being able to find a clip of me scoring a goal is evidence of the great work that’s already happening here in Seattle,” he said.
Bylsma, a defense-minded winger, was drafted in 1989 by the Winnipeg Jets but made his NHL debut in 1995 as a member of the L.A. Kings. He went on to play parts of the next eight seasons, all in Southern California, and scored 19 times in 429 games.
He had a sense he’d be behind the bench soon enough, he said. He knew what he needed out of a coach – someone who would tell him what to do and how to improve, no uncertainty. That informed his style.
“He works and strives to build relationships with his players,” Francis said. “He’s still firm with them, but I would say fair in his approach to doing that.”
Armed with firsthand knowledge, Daccord confirmed that.
“He does a really good job of knowing when to give us a kick in the butt, and also know when to take the gas off a little bit and let the guys play, let our skill come out,” Daccord said. “Let us do what makes us great.
“He knows how to have fun too, and make every day at the rink a great time.”
No slow dancing at Kraken Community Iceplex. Break out the platform shoes.