The season is quickly approaching, which means it’s time to look towards the future. We do that every year with the Five For Howling 25 Under 25, ranking the Coyotes’ best players under 25. For this year’s rankings, I am joined by James Reeve (@JamesRJReeve), Mike Gould (@miketgould), Haynes Evans (@HaynesPEvans), and Matthew Jacobson (@TheAZSportsGuy).
Josh Doan
2022-23 League: NCAA (Arizona State University), AHL (Tucson Roadrunners)
Games Played: 39, 14
Goals: 16, 3
Assists: 22, 3
AHL Playoffs Games Played: 3
AHL Playoffs Goals: 0
AHL Playoffs Assists: 1
Highest Rating: 10
Lowest Rating: 17
At the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, the Arizona Coyotes had three picks in the second round. With their first pick of the round, which they acquired from the Ottawa Senators, they selected Josh Doan, son of former Coyotes’ captain Shane Doan.
Doan was in his second year of draft eligibility and coming off a strong season with the Chicago Steel in the USHL. He had gone from scoring five goals and nine assists in 45 games in the 2019-20 season to an excellent 31-goal, 39-assist season in 2020-21.
After being drafted, Doan went to the NCAA to play for his hometown team, the ASU Sun Devils. In his first season, he finished third on his team in points with 12 goals and 25 assists, and Doan followed that up with a team-leading 16-goal and 38-point season the following year. His second year also saw him wear a “C” for the Sun Devils.
Many people thought that Doan would need another season in the NCAA, but instead, he decided to make the jump to professional hockey. Doan finished his season in the AHL with the Roadrunners, finishing with six points in 14 games.
After a good NCAA season and a strong finish with the AHL, Doan has a genuine chance of hitting the big club sometime soon. He played with Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther in the first game of the Rookie Faceoff Tournament, and even after his linemates left for Australia, he impressed on a line with Conor Geekie.
Doan likely will start the season with the Roadrunners next season, but he could end up in Tempe for a cup of coffee at some point. If he does, he will be the first player to go from an Arizona college to the Tucson Roadrunners to the Arizona Coyotes, which would be huge for hockey in Arizona.
When the Coyotes selected him, some people may have thought that Doan was going in the second round just because of his name. But the more time has progressed, and the more he continues to develop and grow, he looks like he could be a steal at 37th overall. He still has a ways to go, but he is definitely doing what he can to prove the doubters wrong.