Josh Doan: Move To Utah ‘Has Chance To Be Something Special’, Talks Favorite Team Names
May 15, 2024, 3:23 PM | Updated: Jun 3, 2024, 7:45 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – Former Arizona Coyotes right wing and new Utah hockey player Josh Doan said the NHL team’s relocation from Arizona to Utah “has the chance to be something special.”
He also told fans his personal top four potential team names for the franchise.
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Josh Doan talks move from Arizona to Utah
The son of Coyotes legend, Shane Doan, joined Jay Stevens on the Utah Puck Report podcast to discuss the team’s relocation from Tempe to Salt Lake City. The budding NHL forward also discussed his role on the Utah’s team.
RELATED: Utah Puck Report Podcast
Like the rest of Utah’s roster, the move from Arizona to Utah was a big change for the future. However, Doan’s story is different after growing up in the greater Phoenix area and spending most of his life in the Grand Canyon State.
PERFECTLY STORYBOOK 🏜️
The Mullett is rocking for @JTDoaner19’s first @nhl goal #BeTheTradition pic.twitter.com/KYIobTmsQ4
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) March 27, 2024
The Utah right winger grew up watching his father play for the Coyotes and seeing the game of hockey grow in Arizona. Aside from playing two years in Illinois for the Chicago Steel of the USHL, Doan is Arizona through and through.
During his youth, Doan said that rumors of the Coyotes moving was something he heard.
“It’s one of the things where growing up in the valley, I kind of heard about it for 15 years of my life that there’s a chance they’re gonna move,” Doan told Stevens.
However, shock still came after the rumors became a reality in April.
Like father, like son. 🔥
Right, @JTDoaner19? pic.twitter.com/0vBrSHd9hR
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) July 16, 2022
“it was a little bit of a shock that it was happening,” Doan shared. “There was a lot of excitement to go with it about an opportunity to play in a new location and to play with a group of guys still that you’ve been with and you’re gonna go as one.”
He added that one of the reasons why he was excited was because relocating was a “different and unique” experience that “not a lot of people get the chance to do it.”
Doan said that during the years of rumors, he’d heard of the possibility of moving to Salt Lake City and thought that was an exciting opportunity for the franchise.
“I think of all the cities, that was the top choice,” Doan told the Utah Puck Report.
#Yotes 22 year old Josh Doan is as home grown as it gets. His dad Shane had his jersey retired after 20 seasons with the Coyotes. Josh grew up in AZ, played at ASU and was a Coyotes draft pick in '21. Yet on Wednesday night, Josh expressed gratitude for SLC.@KSLSports pic.twitter.com/yX7CZw9nP3
— Sam Farnsworth (@Samsworth_TV) April 18, 2024
Doan Family reaction to relocation
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“It was a weird conversation to have,” Doan told Stevens about the conversation he had to inform his family of the Coyotes’ move to Utah.
Arizona was on the road when the right winger learned that the team would move to Salt Lake City and called his family to let them know the news.
Doad said that his dad’s reaction was that of both excitement and disappointment. Shane Doan was the only former Coyote player to have his jersey retired by the franchise.
While the Doans felt sadness that hockey was leaving the desert at least temporarily, the new Utah player pointed out that the NHL relocation wasn’t a first time thing for the family.
Coyotes legend Shane Doan shares his feelings during the team’s final game in Arizona.#Yotes #NHL pic.twitter.com/pI1sTPxkBM
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) April 18, 2024
Doan’s father went through “the exact same thing when he was my age,” Josh shared with Stevens.
After getting drafted No. 7 overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1995 NHL Draft, Shane Doan played one season and 74 games in Canada before the franchise moved to Arizona.
He went on to play for the Coyotes until 2017.
The younger Doan said that the move to Arizona was one of the best things that ever happened to his father.
Like his Dad’s move from Winnipeg to Arizona, Doan says the relocation from Tempe to Salt Lake City “has the chance to be something special.”
He's just 25 years old, but Clayton Keller already has 8 years of #NHL experience, all with the #Yotes. Led the team this year with 33 goals. I asked him (2nd) and Josh Doan (1st) what kind of impact an NHL team can have on the communities of Utah.#YotesToUtah @KSLSports pic.twitter.com/xF6cpWNeHI
— Sam Farnsworth (@Samsworth_TV) April 18, 2024
Role on the team
Doan is a young player on Utah’s roster and has only played 11 games at the NHL level. However, Doan recorded five goals and four assists for the Coyotes last season.
The former No. 37 overall pick out of Arizona State said that he plans to bring energy next season for Utah’s NHL team.
“As a younger guy, a high-compete kind of player, I think that my competitiveness is my strength and has allowed me to get to this point in my career so far. [I’m] Someone who’s gonna be on the forecheck and be around the net and try to make things happen. I think my goal is to be a guy that can kind of bring energy next year and that’s kind of what I’m working towards right now.”
Josh Doan’s Top Four Team Names
During the interview, Doan said his top four potential team names are Yeti, Venom, Outlaws and Mammoth.
Who is Josh Doan?
Doan, 22, is a native of Scottsdale, Arizona. The 6′ 1″ 185 lbs. right wing was drafted by the Coyotes in 2021.
The moment Shane Doan found out his son @JTDoaner19 was drafted. 🥺 pic.twitter.com/pco4Va6EoJ
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) July 24, 2021
Before his time in the NHL, Doan played for the USHL’s Chicago Steel from 2019-21. After his time with the Steel, the right winger spent two seasons at Arizona State University. He scored 28 goals during his Sun Devils career.
In 2022, Doan joined the Coyotes’ minor league franchise, the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL. During the past two seasons, Doan recorded 39 goals and 23 assists for the Roadrunners and was named an AHL All-Star in 2024.
For more of Doan’s conversation on the Utah Puck Report podcast, check out the video player above.
Kyle Ireland is a Sports Producer and Locals in the NFL Insider for KSLSports.com. Listen to Ireland on Yards After College: An NFL Podcast. Follow him on X (@kyleireland), Threads (@kyleirelandksl), and Instagram (@kyleirelandksl).
