Arizona State's footprint in the NHL is small but growing — and right now, Josh Doan is doing the most to expand it.
The Sabres winger, an ASU alumnus, earned a standout grade from The Hockey News for his performance in his first full NHL season, with evaluators flagging him as a legitimate rising star in the league. It's the kind of validation that tends to stick — a credentialed outlet, a full-season sample, and a ceiling conversation that suggests Doan is more than a roster filler.
Doan's development arc is worth tracking closely. Breaking into the NHL is hard enough; doing it with the kind of consistency that earns high marks from league observers is another tier entirely. The Sabres, a franchise that has leaned heavily on youth in recent years, appear to have found a real contributor on their right wing. For ASU fans who watched Doan develop in Tempe, this first full-season report card reads as confirmation of what they suspected.
The Sun Devils don't have a sprawling NHL alumni network — at the moment, the active roster thins out to Doan and Seattle Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord. But what the program lacks in volume it's beginning to make up for with visibility. Daccord has established himself as a legitimate NHL starter in Seattle, and now Doan is building his own case in Buffalo.
That's two Sun Devils playing meaningful minutes in the NHL simultaneously — a quiet milestone for a program that hasn't historically been a pipeline for professional hockey. Arizona State only launched its Division I men's hockey program in 2015, which makes the current NHL presence all the more striking.
Doan's trajectory will be the one to watch heading into next season. The breakout label carries weight, but the follow-up year is where careers either consolidate or stall. If his first full season earned a terrific mark, the question becomes whether he can build on it — earn a bigger role in Buffalo's lineup, push his production numbers up, and cement himself as a core piece rather than a promising piece.
For now, though, ASU alumni have every reason to check the Sabres box score. Doan is making it worth their while.
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