I have been a fan of the Arizona Coyotes since they first moved here from Winnipeg 28 years ago and became the Phoenix Coyotes.
From the moment they arrived I was captivated by the cast of characters that made up that inaugural Coyotes team. From Big Walt banging home 52 goals to JR always making things interesting, to Teppo Numminen anchoring the defense, to Oleg Tverdovsky dancing up and down the ice, to Kris King and Jim McKenzie slinging leather, to the Boolin Wall tending the goal. But there was one young man who would leave a lasting legacy beyond all of those guys. A quiet, unassuming young lad who would go on to become the Valley’s favorite son. He made his home in the Valley and raised a family and became one of us, in a way that no other Coyotes player ever did. Through thick and thin, Shane Doan was the epitome of Coyotes hockey. He connected with the fans and the community in his own special way and that endeared him to everybody. He is the closest thing to hockey Royalty that we have here in Arizona.
Shane Doan is a working class guy who can relate to most anybody. He’s your next-door neighbor. He’s your kid’s hockey coach. He’s the guy you hoist a beer with at the local watering hole. He’s the guy you shoot the shit with while standing in line at the DMV. If you struck up a conversation with him, you wouldn’t even know he was a hockey star unless you brought it up. He’s just Shane.
Shane has meant the world to hockey fans in the Valley. For twenty odd years he was the one thing that Coyotes fans could count on. Through all of the tumult and chaos of multiple ownership changes, multiple relocation rumours, and multiple work-stoppages, Shane has been the one constant. He stood by the team through thick and thin, even though he could have easily left on several occasions and Coyotes fans wouldn’t have thought any less of him for it. He stayed because he is one of us.
So Shane stayed here in the Valley and raised his family. And what a family. Shane and his wife Andrea are like a modern-day Ozzie and Harriet. They raised four beautiful, very well-rounded children.
One of those children, Shane’s first son, has chosen to follow in his Father’s footsteps. Josh Doan grew up idolizing his Father, as most young hockey fans in Arizona do. He developed his hockey skills in the Junior Coyotes program, wearing his Dad’s #19. He joined a fledgling Division I hockey program at Arizona State and scored the very first goal scored at Mullett Arena. (Foreshadowing, anyone?) He was drafted into the NHL by his hometown team, the first home-grown product drafted by the Coyotes. He began his professional Hockey career down the I-10 with the Tucson Roadrunners. And on Tuesday night, he made his NHL debut with the Coyotes.
This did not feel like a Tuesday night game between two of the worst teams in the league. There was an atmosphere around the game that could only be described as magical. There was an air of anticipation from the moment on Sunday night when it was announced that he would be called up. Josh’s family beamed with pride from the Mullett Arena suite where they gathered to watch his debut. Shane made his way rinkside to watch Josh take his solo skate during warmups. He could not have looked prouder.
Social media was abuzz with Coyotes fans checking in to share their excitement in anticipation of Josh’s debut. I knew the moment that Josh stepped on the ice for his first shift. The crowd rose to its feet and a roar filled the air and I knew that Arizona’s favorite son had strided into the history books. There can be no doubt that Josh is one of our own. He was born in Arizona, played for the Junior Coyotes, played for the ASU Sun Devils, played for the Tucson Roadrunners…and here he was back at Mullett Arena, skating for the only NHL team he has ever loved. He was born for this moment. And his moment has finally arrived.
The fans hung on his every movement each time he stepped onto the ice. Every touch of the puck was greeted with bated breath in anticipation of Josh’s first goal. Would he get it tonight? Would he have to wait until his seventh game as his father had in Winnipeg? He didn’t look at all out of place. Every shift he and his linemates were buzzing, making positive things happen. A collective gasp rose up when Josh came in on a partial breakaway, and a collective groan escaped when goalie Elvis Merzlikins made a remarkable save on a pretty good move by Josh.
Then, at last, the moment we had all been waiting for. At the tail end of a strong forecheck involving Doan and his linemates, Jack McBain and Matias Maccelli, Josh forced a turnover and followed the puck to the front of the net. After the puck jumped into the air off of Merzlikins’ stick, Josh batted the puck out of midair and into the net for his first NHL goal. The Mullett Arena crowd erupted. The game broadcast showed a clip of the Doan family jumping for joy in the suite. It was a cathartic release for all of Coyotes Nation.
Doan would add another goal later in the game, deflecting a shot from the point over the goalie for what turned out to be the game-winning goal. It was the perfect ending to a perfect night. Josh appeared on the broadcast’s post-game show, where Shane presented him with the puck commemorating his first NHL goal. It was a real proud-papa moment.
I think the reason this moment was so powerful for long-time Coyotes fans is because it feels like validation for years of suffering. With all the arena-search issues and subsequent relocation rumours, Coyotes fans have been searching for some feel-good news all season. Aside from a start just good enough to inspire hope for a playoff run, there has been little for Valley hockey fans to cheer about. For Coyotes fans, this was a full circle moment. It was like seeing the torch passing from the elder Doan to his son. Everything made sense. There was a Doan wearing a Kachina jersey being cheered by adoring fans. It felt like, even if for only a moment, all was right with the world. And Coyotes fans have needed that for some time. So thank you, Josh Doan, for carrying on your father’s legacy.
