Armstrong: Coyotes draftee Doan ‘has grown up with pressure his whole life’

In an eventful weekend for the Arizona Coyotes franchise, the most intriguing move may have been a second-round pick.

With the No. 37 overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Coyotes selected forward Josh Doan from the USHL’s Chicago Steel.

Does the last name ring a bell?

That’s because Josh is the son of legendary Coyotes captain and now chief hockey development officer, Shane Doan.

“I’m so proud of him, today was a day he’s worked hard for,” Doan said Saturday when asked about the newest member of the Coyotes, his son.

Living up to a legend

Doan certainly left large skates for his son to fill, as every time he skates in Gila River Arena, he will see his dad’s jersey in the rafters.

There is no shortage of pressure surrounding Josh and his selection

However, those within the organization believe he’s ready for it.

On Tuesday, Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong joined 98.7 Arizona Sports’ Doug and Wolf  to talk about the selection and the draft.

“He’s grown up with this pressure his whole life,” Armstrong said. “There’s always going to be pressure because of the name on the back of the jersey.”

With that being said, Armstrong’s selection of Josh had nothing to do with his last name.

He said that everyone in the organization was confident in the pick because of Josh’s abilities as a player.

“If I was really good at my job I would’ve taken him in the seventh round last year,” Armstrong said.

Throughout the draft process, Shane said the Coyotes scouts did a great job not discussing Josh as a prospect in front of him.

Doan himself said he wasn’t too involved in the scouting of prospects, but he knew where Josh stood on the board.

“I didn’t want to have any bias,” he said. “I didn’t expect the Coyotes to do it.”

As for Josh, he got the news coming off the ice from practice.

Hockey in the Desert 

An Arizona State hockey commit, Josh was already set to return to the Valley.

But now he’s not only a Sun Devil, but also a Coyote.

“Being around the rink my whole life as a kid, it just makes it that much sweeter,” Josh said.

Arizona fans may have to be patient in seeing another Doan take the ice.

When asked about this year’s draft class, Armstrong said it could take up to three years for guys like Josh to make it to the NHL.

“We have to have some patience in developing our players and make sure they are strong enough, big enough and fast enough to go into the NHL and play,” Armstrong said.

Should Coyotes fans want to get a sneak peek at Josh, they can watch him play for the Sun Devils in the meantime.

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