Bob McManaman – AZCentral Sports
If you want to talk to Max Domi after a typical Coyotes practice at Gila River Arena, you usually have to wait until Shane Doan steps off the ice, which could take forever. Doan is always the last player to leave and Domi isn’t that far in front of him.
“Yeah, we do that just to keep you waiting,” Doan says with a hearty laugh.
No, they do it because they’re one of a kind, these two western Canadian-born wingers who have a lot more in common than you might think. Domi, the Coyotes’ star-in-the-making rookie, hails from Winnipeg. Doan, the Coyotes’ venerable captain, began his NHL career in Winnipeg and followed the franchise to Arizona when it relocated in 1996.
If you want to talk to Max Domi after a typical Coyotes practice at Gila River Arena, you usually have to wait until Shane Doan steps off the ice, which could take forever. Doan is always the last player to leave and Domi isn’t that far in front of him.
“Yeah, we do that just to keep you waiting,” Doan says with a hearty laugh.
No, they do it because they’re one of a kind, these two western Canadian-born wingers who have a lot more in common than you might think. Domi, the Coyotes’ star-in-the-making rookie, hails from Winnipeg. Doan, the Coyotes’ venerable captain, began his NHL career in Winnipeg and followed the franchise to Arizona when it relocated in 1996.
They’re rink rats. They’re intensely competitive and hate to lose. They come from heavily sports-involved families. And they have engaging personalities and infectious smiles.
“You know it’s amazing you say that,” a Coyotes employee said Wednesday. “We talk about that all the time amongst ourselves. Max is like Doan Jr. He’s like mini-Shane.”
Told of that comment, the 39-year-old Doan shrugs the shoulders that have carried the burden of an oftentimes boundless franchise for years now and says, “Well, the newer version is way better than the old one.”
Time will tell, but Domi, a son of former longtime scrappy NHL enforcer Tie Domi, shares another characteristic with Doan: There seems to be a bit of a captain-in-waiting inside of him. That honor likely will bestowed upon star defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson whenever – and if ever – Doan decides to retire.
But even he sees the quality in young Domi.
“He has the personality that everyone gravitates towards,” Doan said. “He loves to play the game. He’s inclusive. He has that trait to always include, encourage and make everybody feel comfortable.”
Wonder where that came from?
“Good parents,” Doan said.
Domi will tell you it has a lot to do with Doan, too. There’s a reason, the rookie said, he shadows Captain Coyote whenever possible.
“I think everyone in this room looks up to him and wants to be like Shane,” Domi said. “I mean, he’s a special guy. As you know, he’s a leader on and off the ice. The stuff he does, he’s just a special human being.
“To have him with us 24/7 and being able to learn from him every day is pretty cool. We’re all definitely extremely lucky to have him. … All the young guys, we’re all trying to take notes, learn as much as we can, and soak it all in.”
Doan almost blushes when he hears this, but he knows his place now more than ever is to pass down knowledge and eventually hand the baton to someone else.
“I don’t think you try and do it for any one player; you try to do it as much as you can,” Doan said. “When anyone runs into somebody, everyone’s going to leave one way or the other better or worse after they meet them. Hopefully, after they meet you or talk to you or spend time with you, they leave better than when they came in.”
Doan and Domi. They represent the past, the present, and the future.
And here’s something else they have in common: They’re on the verge of reaching impressive milestones. Doan is five goals shy of becoming just the fourth 39-year-old in NHL history to record a 30-goal season. Domi, meanwhile, needs just nine points, five assists and two goals to set single-season team rookie records.
“I don’t really think about that stuff too much,” Domi said. “It’s obviously pretty tough when you think of it. We’d much rather be in a different place right now with the whole playoff thing. It is what it is, but we’re all going to hold each other accountable to show up to the rink every day for the last nine games here and treat it the same way he have the rest of the year.”
“We’re going to try to win every single game and try to take that momentum into next year. We’ve come a long way this year as a group. We’ve learned a lot about each other, we’re having fun, so hopefully we can keep it going.”
Doan and Domi help pass the time by taking part in their always-fun “hockey golf” game joined by about seven or eight other players. They take turns trying to shoot pucks at the net – on the fly – from dozens of points on the ice. Doan won again on Wednesday.
“He tends to sometimes change the rules, but I mean, he still does win,” Domi said. “I don’t know quite how he does it. He’ll be out of it and then all of a sudden he’ll be back in it and of course, Doan will win again.”
Doan lets out another belly laugh.
“Well, there is a chance that I might a little bit at times take advantage of my seniority,” he said. “But hey, they’re faster, better and all of that, so they should take advantage of that.”