It's hard to forget your first NHL game as a hockey player. For Arizona Coyotes rookie Josh Doan, his pro debut will be talked about at the family dinner table for years to come. Doan couldn’t ask for a better NHL debut, from the performance itself to who was there to witness it.
Those in attendance included Shane Doan, former Coyotes captain, all-time leading goal scorer and father of Josh Doan. The Coyotes legend was beyond thrilled to witness his son's debut.
Doan scored his first NHL goal in the second period of his debut on Tuesday, slotting a shot past Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikis. His father Shane almost became the front-runner for worst dad of the year.
“I almost missed it,” Shane Doan said, per Scripps Sports. “It's so cool.”
Doan saw both of his son's goals in a 6-2 Coyotes win. The younger Doan was the first Arizona native to play for the Coyotes. He was born in 2002, right in the middle of his father Shane's 21-year NHL career, all of which was spent with the Coyotes.
Getting drafted by the Coyotes had to be a dream come true for Josh Doan and now he's finally got some playing time under his belt. No matter what happens from here on out, he can always say that he played for the same franchise as his father.
Doan family has strong ties
Just as Josh Doan's family had eyes on him all night on Tuesday, so too did Doan on his family. Doan talked about the reaction of the crowd after his first goal and him noticing his family mid-game.
“The reaction was definitely something special,” Doan said, via ESPN. “And hearing how loud the building got for that was cool.”
“I noticed that my younger brother [Carson] was about to come out of the suite at some point. That was one thing that I definitely noticed,” Doan said. “But he's been the best supporter since day one, so I don't expect anything less from him.”
It was a debut right out of a Disney movie, with everything falling into place as Doan etched his name alongside his father's in Coyotes lore. He has a long way to go before matching his father's totals, but Josh Doan is nothing but gold through one game of his NHL career.
Shane Doan lasted 21 seasons in the NHL. If Josh can match that, he'll have a chance to top his father's career numbers. Among those numbers are 402 goals and 570 assists in over 1,500 games for the Coyotes.
Consistency and health kept Doan in the league for so long. His son could take a thing or two from his old man's career. He's already starting with the same team his father did. Why not give Coyotes fans a little more deja vu?
Time will tell if Josh Doan is a family prophecy or just another name in an archived record book.
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