Another Doan in Coyotes organization: Josh, son of Shane, starts pro career with Roadrunners

Growing up as a son of Arizona hockey royalty, Josh Doan liked to track the Coyotes’ prospects coming through Tucson.

This week he became one of them.

On Thursday the Tucson Roadrunners added the forward to their roster. The son of former Coyote captain and Arizona’s chief hockey development officer Shane Doan elected to leave Arizona State after two seasons to go pro.

“It’s something that as a kid, even though I grew up watching the Coyotes, I was like a super nerd of hockey and especially the Coyotes,” Josh Doan said. “So I followed all the prospects up through Tucson into Arizona. I’ve been following Tucson just as long as I’ve been following Arizona. So it’s definitely a cool experience.”

The Coyotes selected Doan in the second round of the 2021 NHL entry draft with the 37th overall pick. The Scottsdale native signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Coyotes that starts next season. He joins the Roadrunners on a professional tryout contract.

“We are very pleased to sign Josh to an entry-level contract,” Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong in a news release. “Josh has played very well for ASU the past two seasons and has earned this deal. We look forward to continuing to watch his development the remainder of this season in Tucson.”

Doan said he’s excited to be a part of Tucson’s playoff push. The Roadrunners host the Calgary Wranglers in the second game of a two-game series on Saturday night. The Wranglers had an AHL-high 87 points going into the weekend, though the Roadrunners split with them in Calgary in November.

Doan said there are positives and negatives to having the Doan name on your sweater in Arizona.

“Around the family he’s just dad to me and my siblings, but obviously at the rink he means a little more to some other people. It’s something that’s been a blessing and a curse,” Doan said. “Obviously you’re gonna hear about it because he’s your dad, but there’s things that you gotta do growing up as a kid that benefit you. You get opportunities to be around the locker room as a kid to help you grow.”

The Coyotes retired Shane Doan’s No. 19 on Feb. 24, 2019. Josh Doan wore No. 91 in practice, his college number, which forward Tyson Empey had earlier in the season. Empey is currently wearing No. 83 for the Atlanta Gladiators.

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“He can be very impactful,” Tucson coach Steve Potvin said of Doan. “Guys are excited to see that there’s prospects coming in and that there’s continued growth. So I think it’s very encouraging. I think a lot of guys want to see him do well, and they want to be a part of his growth as well.”

Potvin coached Doan when he was a Junior Roadrunner.

Before going to ASU, Doan played juniors for the Chicago Steel of the USHL for two seasons. In 2020-21, he finished third in the USHL in scoring and led the Steel to the league title.

Doan was named ASU’s captain in August. With the 21-year-old joining forward Colin Theisen, the Roadrunners have the Sun Devils’ last two captains on the roster.

“I think it’s awesome, something special,” Doan said about playing with Theisen again. “We were texting each other already before I got in. He’s someone that I looked up to last year, and he kinda helped guide me as a freshman in college, so I kinda turned to him again throughout this process.”

Slap shots

Saturday’s game is “First Responder Night,” starting with a game between the Tucson Police and Fire Departments at 4:30 p.m. Then, when the Roadrunners face the Wranglers, they will wear special jerseys with the Roadrunners’ cartoon logo over the Maltese cross that fire departments often use and an electrocardiogram line on the bottom. After the game fans can bid on the jerseys, with the proceeds going to First Tee of Tucson and Roadrunners community efforts in Southern Arizona.

The Roadrunners are 2-0-2-0 in their last four televised games, winning the last two. Saturday’s game will air on the CW in Tucson (channel 8/58).