Arizona Coyotes Rookie Josh Doan Had One Of The Most Full-Circle NHL Debuts Ever

A player making an NHL debut is always a cool occasion, but few first games in the league have had as many unique full-circle moments as Arizona Coyotes rookie Josh Doan.

Doan — as you may have guessed — is the son of Shane Doan who spent more than two decades in the league, all of it with the Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes/Arizona Coyotes organization. His No. 19 is the franchise's only retired number.

So, it was a cool enough moment when the ‘Yotes selected the younger Doan in the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft. He spent two seasons with the Arizona State Sun Devils — even scoring the first goal at the team’s Mullett Arena, which is also the Coyotes current home — before making the jump to the pro ranks with the AHL's Tucson Roadrunners.

This week, the Scottsdale native got the call to make his debut with his dad's old team against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Doan didn't waste a second impressing. 

That was a heck of a goal, and choosing the No. 91 — the reverse of his dad's No. 19 (duh) — was awesome. As you could see the Doan box was going nuts.

But wait, there's more….

The Doan family suite was jumping after Josh Doan's second tally of the night. (© Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports)

Josh Doan Wasn't Content With Scoring Only One Goal

Just past the halfway point of the third period, Doan got a piece of a shot from Matias Maccelli (who I'm pretty sure momentarily thought that goal was his) for the go-ahead goal which also proved to be the game-winner.

If you get people ripping their shirts off in luxury boxes, you're having a pretty good NHL debut. Although, I get the sense that that dude is always on the lookout for a reason to go sans tarp. 

The only thing that would have been better? A bra trick on his debut.

The Coyotes wound up winning this one 6-2.

Believe it or not, the Doans are the fourth father-son pair to lace 'em up for the Jets/Coyotes. The others are Bobby and Brett Hull, Tie and Max Domi, and current Coyote Jack McBain and his dad Andrew.

The Doans are also only the second father-son duo to score points in their debuts with the same franchise.

So, considering this was such a family affair for the Doans there was an extra special moment postgame when Shane Doan got to give his son the puck from his first NHL goal.

With all of those interconnected storylines and moments, you'd almost need one of those corkboards with a red string like you see in movies to keep track of it all.

What a debut for Jack Doan, who it should be noted was playing pretty well down in Tucson where he has 46 points in 62 games.

He can finish out the season with the Coyotes — who are well out of playoff contention and only have ten games remaining — and then rejoin the Roadrunners for a potential Calder Cup run.