Is it time for the Arizona Coyotes to call up Josh Doan from the Tucson Roadrunners of the American Hockey League. 20240216_Villalta_Postgame In his first full season with the Roadrunners, Doan has been phenomenal as he’s tallied 21 goals, 14 assists and 35 points in 47 games. He was named an AHL All-Star which just shows the kind of impact the young forward is making. Meanwhile the Coyotes have been struggling. They have lost their past eight games and continue to slip further and further down in the Western Conference standings. With the team falling out of the playoff race, it’s very possible that general manager Bill Armstrong takes a selling approach at the March 8 trade deadline, hence prioritizing playing their young players later on in the season. This is where we may see Doan called up and given his first opportunity to provide a glimpse of what he can do for the Coyotes in the future. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2rgLtrqjz0[/embed] Is this really the smart thing to do though? Despite playing exceptionally well in Tucson, it may not be beneficial for his development to just call him up to the Coyotes just yet. The 22-year-old currently serves a valuable role with the Roadrunners and is playing heavy minutes. At this point the Roadrunners will most likely be competing in the AHL playoffs, so it may be better for Doan to play in more meaningful games as opposed to jumping in with the Coyotes where his role will be a diminished form of what it is right now and he will be playing useless games that just won’t be important in the long run. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1pygQ6d8uk[/embed] The ultimate goal is to make the NHL and Doan certainly wouldn't be disappointed to get the promotion to the big leagues. His presence would add an extra element of excitement for Coyotes’ fans. This is a topic that’s going to be discussed with the Coyotes continuing to lose games. Whether it’s this or next season, Doan will be playing for the Coyotes eventually.
