However, Doan, who played 1,540 NHL games, has found his happy place on the bench for the Arizona Junior Coyotes, who won the 2018 USA Hockey Rocky Mountain District Youth Tier I 15-Only Tournament with a 5-2 victory against Dallas Stars Elite on Sunday.

Coaching his son, Josh, a forward, was something Doan has been looking forward to.

“I always wanted to coach my son for sure. My dad coached me,” he said. “I was definitely excited. When I retired, that was the first thing I wanted to do.”

When he’s not coaching, Doan works for the NHL’s Hockey Operations Department, a job where he communicates with coaches and general managers on play and rules, all from his Arizona home.

Doan brings a player’s perspective and enjoys his new position because of the “team environment.”

Junior Coyotes head coach Mike Deangelis has worked alongside Doan for a short time, but they have quickly built a great relationship.

“It’s been beyond amazing,” Deangelis said. “There’s a reason he’s one of the most respected guys to have ever played in the NHL, and one of the most respected captains, ever. He was special to me this year. I enjoyed every minute with him and learned so much, as the kids have.”

In Sunday’s championship game, Arizona was tied 1-1 with Dallas Stars Elite late in the first period, and the Junior Coyotes needed a spark.

Arizona received one in truly unexpected fashion as Riley Stuart and Matthew Knies scored back-to-back shorthanded goals, giving Arizona a 3-1 edge at the first intermission.

“Yeah, we work on our penalty kill being a little more aggressive than some of the other times might be, but it was wide open there at the beginning. Both teams were wide open,” Deangelis said.

Arizona went on to prevail 5-3.

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