“I Want To Be A Pest On The Ice” | Josh Doan In His Introductory Press Conference | Buffalo Sabres

“I Want To Be A Pest On The Ice” | Josh Doan In His Introductory Press Conference | Buffalo Sabres

josh welcome to Buffalo thank you i know you’re just getting your career started but of course this is an organization you’re leaving which your dad has been an icon in uh is it make it more difficult to leave that organization now yeah I think get getting to know a lot of the people and staff there over the the last couple years it’s it’s a different franchise but the same people and and that part’s a little bit different and and saying goodbye to some of the guys is hard but I’m really looking forward to the the new opportunity hey Josh um just what did it mean to be part of the first year in Utah to you and kind of your biggest takeaways in your own game with Mammoth yeah I mean I’m grateful that I got an opportunity to be a part of that group and and play in Utah in the first season uh they gave me an opportunity to kind of to grow my game in certain areas and and gave me gave me a little bit of an opportunity to play there and and it was a fun year but uh it’s it’s on to on to the next now and I’m looking forward to this upcoming season and quickly you’re just going with Michael Kerring as well roommates kind of good friends from Utah how does that help or does it help the transition at all for you guys to be doing this together yeah it’s huge obviously Kess and I are really close we’ve lived together for for two years in a row now so so we’ve got to know each other and and he’s someone that I’ll always lean on when when when things happen so to to go into this together is is something really cool and I I think as a duel we’re excited to to come to Buffalo and and help the team out hey Josh dom Tibbitz from the ABC affiliate here uh welcome to Buffalo uh we had asked Michael to talk a little bit about you just knowing you guys’ relationship and how you guys know each other as teammates so I’ll ask kind of the counterpoint to that is what can you tell us a little bit about what fans can expect when they see Michael on the ice yeah I mean I think you’re going to be excited he’s he’s a 65 Dman that can skate really well and and has a bomb for a shot i think now that Buffalo has the two guys with the hardest shot record in in the league together with Tage and and Cass throughout this year it’s going to be fun to watch but he he’s someone that that I I I love his game he he skates well he shoots the puck well he loves to join the offense as a big D man um he’s someone who will stand up for his teammates he’s he’s gotten in a lot of fights the past year and not just for anybody he fights big boys and and it it’s something that you need on your team and you got a little bit of trust in the back end when he’s out there so he’s someone that I think right away that people are going to fall in love with just because of who he is as a person but as a player he’s he’s someone that he makes the game exciting and and when I’m on the bench watching him play on the ice with him I get excited when he comes up the ice so I think they’ve seen little bits and pieces of him he’s he likes scoring in Buffalo so hopefully he can carry that with him into next year uh and then touching back on the relationship thing you were just asked on uh Michael also told us you guys have two cats and a dog together was wondering could we get the names of your animals and then were like the two cats one of yours and then the dogs is somebody else’s and then you guys just became one big happy family under the roof explain to me a little bit how that came to be yeah so Cass has he has two cats which which we give him we give him a hard time for all the time but he’s he’s got Socks and Ranger which are his two cats that they this year they stayed upstairs the whole year to to stay away from the dogs so I don’t know if we’re a happy family cuz they’re the kids are separated all the time but I got a big a big St bernard poodle mix and named Hank and and he goes everywhere with me so the the three of them have kind of got to know each other a little bit and I’m sure it’ll make it feel a little bit more like home having all all three of them together again awesome appreciate it Josh thank you yeah thank you hey Josh rachel Lindsay from the Buffalo News uh first question what do you bring to the Buffalo Sabres and how would you describe your game and what role do you want to take with the Sabres yeah I I think there there’s a lot that I can bring obviously I I I’ve been around the game a long time and and and I’ve learned a ton from from just being around the rank so uh I want to bring a little bit of leadership element and and and bring something to the group that that hard work is is what’s going to take to to pay off at this level and and I think that’s something I learned last year is is how hard this league is and how hard you have to work but uh I think last year I I had to prove myself defensively to to stick in the NHL and and prove that I can play both ends of the ice but there there is an element of my game that that I do think I can score at the next level and I know I can it’s something that in the AHL I got an opportunity to do and it’s something that over time over experience and playing more games you kind of get that that little element it’s something that this off seasonason it was something that me and my group talked about is is working on scoring goals and and capitalizing on the opportunities that I had last year so there’s a huge focal point on on producing and I think that’s that’s something I want to bring as well this year so just just someone who’s going to compete on both ends of the ice and and I do think at some point break through in the in the scoring department and help help out the the big guys and second uh your your father Shane is well known for being you know a longtime skill player you know one of the original Coyotes but he’s also a guy who wasn’t afraid to get physical i mean do you have that in your game as well you know are are you Shane Don’s son yeah yeah we we laugh because there there is an element of getting comfortable and finding that physicality and I think that’s something that I want to bring to the table is be a nuisance on the ice and and go to the dirty areas go to the hard areas i think that’s the most fun way to play hockey is is being a little bit of a pest on the ice and and finding yourself around the front of the net uh he laughs all the time that that there are a little bit of differences in our game but the older I get the more it kind of balances back to to being a similar player to him and I think I take a ton of pride in being someone who’s who’s similar to him all right thank you thank you all right Josh mike Harrington of the Buffalo News here well on the subject of Shane Don what was his uh reaction to this news yeah he’s he was really excited and and he he’s someone who he he’s a nerd for hockey and he loves following the game and and he’s really happy with a lot of the pieces that are are in Buffalo obviously he’s he’s in Toronto so he’s he’s seen the the ranks and followed along closely to see kind of who’s coming up for them so he he’s excited for the opportunity and and as soon as I called him to tell him he’s like “Well it’s always good news and and it’s always fun to go somewhere new and and to experience a different city and and to get get a chance to prove yourself to a new group of people.” And uh there there’s there’s parts of it where he’s like “Yeah you’re going to lose some of your friends that you had but you’re going to make new friends and you’re going to go into a room that that is going to be excited to to have you both.” and I I think he was he was big in support of me through this and and he’s really excited for the opportunity and and he thinks great things about everybody involved in in Buffalo and and the staff and and the players moving forward what was your uh reaction what did you learn about Taage Thompson at the Worlds yeah I I love Tage and I think his game is great he’s he’s a guy that’s obviously in Arizona a little bit in the offseason so I get a chance to to work with him my my first time seeing him skate was probably four years ago and and that was probably the the welcome to the NHL moment for me is seeing how how much skill he had for a big man and and how far I got to go to get to that level so he’s someone that over the last couple months I’ve got to know really well and we were we were par three golf partners in in Denmark for the World Championships and and took and and took home a couple wins there so we grew a lot together and he he’s someone that I’m going to lean on a lot in the next couple months thank you thank you laughing hearing you calling your dad a nerd about hockey because I remember talking with your dad years ago and him saying the same thing about you um what did you what did you learn growing up in locker room like growing up in that Coyote’s locker room for those years and just being around the guys what were you able to absorb in those in that time yeah I think the the biggest thing is how much more successful the team was when when the guys got along and and there was a good group involved and and and that it takes everybody if you want to win and that’s something that the the Coyotes had their struggles and had their good years and bounced around a little bit and you learn a ton about what kind of gave them success sometimes and what didn’t give them success but then you just learn from guys around the rank on how to be a good person and how to be a good teammate and and then at the end of the day how hard you have to work if you really want it it it takes a lot and you saw the extra miles the guys had put in during the season and you see that little things and and guys that it took took a while to kind of find their game and it it it is something that it helped me a ton and it it was an advantage I had as a kid is seeing that kind of side of the game and and that’s something that I like to to kind of bring with me wherever I go so uh it was it was a huge blessing to have that and I learned a ton as a kid and one more um what was what were you able to gain from that experience at Worlds in all because it’s such a such a different tournament it’s obviously different ice size and all that but the competition level is is really intense for a tournament that a lot of people over here don’t really understand yeah it was it was I think the first huge for my confidence is is going over there and practicing and playing with some of those guys and and seeing how close you are in all aspects of your game to some of these big bigname guys so that part was fun and then learning how to win like it’s you can’t learn how to win anywhere unless you’re actually doing it so I think that was huge for our group and and there’s a lot of young guys in that group and and now there’s there’s like a couple Buffalo guys on that group so as a group we learned what it what it took and how hard those games were and and I couldn’t have been happier for a guy like Ta to to score the game-winning goal and and you can see what it meant to him when that puck went in the net so as a group I think it you learn how hard it is to win but you also kind of learn how you have to play in those games to to get the job done who’s the better golfer you or Tage the TA is going to kill me but I think Cass is the better of the three of us and then Tage and then probably me okay thanks so much Josh yeah thank you hi Josh john Warl with the Associated Press hey how you doing um good good and uh you look uh you look good too um welcome to Buffalo um you just talk about the struggles and and and the experiences that you you saw and and and and uh kind of like fed on fed upon in Arizona and Utah how what are the challenges and maybe the opportunities that come with you know going to a team that is trying to find its way yeah I I think coming in and trying to help find a solution is always fun because because there there is there’s a way to go up and there’s a way to go down obviously and I think the group here is finding its way and going in an upwards direction um I mean you you look at kind of where Arizona was and and how you got to see that for a little bit and I I think it’s the same but not the same with with there is an element of this group wants to to win and pay money to win and the ownership wants to win here where Arizona lost a little bit of their ownership for a while with with what they’re doing so um you you take what you can from your experiences around the game and and where you’ve been in the past i think I take experiences from the world championships and junior and college with with how how to build the right team and a winning team so uh it’s one of those things where I think this group is going in the right direction they have the right guys to go in that direction and it it might be one or two pieces or a couple more to to fix that and I think that’s what they’re trying to do and lastly what’s it like for you and and and Michael to be coming in to to a new group um not I mean not as saviors in in in any sense of the world word but to be part of that um solution what what is the motivation and the challenge that you that that you might face yeah I think as a duo we have to kind of wear it as a badge of honor that they wanted to bring us in to to help this this group win and it’s one of those things where you’re right we’re not going to come in and be saviors but we can come in and help help the team where where we can and and help the team grow in the direction that it’s trying to go so I I think the challenge is showing up and and being ready to go right away and and bring a positive and and energetic mindset from from the get-go that it’s going to be a long season and I think the two of us are guys that have a ton of fun playing hockey and and we can bring that element to the the group that in the dog days of the year that that we’re going to kind of help push through and and get get a couple more wins when when times kind of slip so it’s one of those things where I think this group is is way closer that to making the playoffs and maybe given credit for the last couple years and and I’m excited to to be a part of hopefully a group that can push hard this year good stuff Josh thank you very much yeah thank you hi Josh um you know I guess you were passed over the first time in the draft um and then you became a very high pick can you kind of explain um just what you felt in 2020 and how you kind of channeled that disappointment and uh what happened over that next year to make you you know a second round pick and how it it it I guess everything ended up all right and it became a positive yeah I I think I I was a extremely late bloomer in finding my way and that was part of it is was getting used to the USHL and and getting a kind of sniff of what the game’s like and then allowing myself to reassess what I need to do to be successful and and taking a step back with with people that I I trust and and asking them what I need to work on and then coming back and applying it the following year and having a lot of success i think that’s that’s kind of been how how my career’s kind of gone where I I then went to the AHL and my first couple games there after college were okay but then the next year continue to grow and and continue to learn the league and I think it’s it’s one of those stories where yeah it’s hockey can be really hard at times and and you can get kind of put down but it is it’s a long way to go and it’s a fun process and that’s something I enjoy is is sitting back in the summertime and reassessing what what I need to work on and and taking my game to the next level so it it’s probably the thing that helped me the most was getting undrafted my first year and and having to learn from from all that and and be disappointed with with the process and where it was going and and kind of bounced back all right thank you thank you hey Josh Matt Fairburn from the Athletic um you mentioned your favorite way to play is you know kind of being a pest and and getting to those hard areas and Michael mentioned that you know you’ve got one of the best sticks when it comes to to stripping pucks and you know getting in on the for check i’m just curious how you developed that part of your game you know being a for checker because it seems like especially last year it really took off yeah I I think that goes along with my my year in Chicago the first year didn’t have a ton of success and I wasn’t up to speed at that point i wasn’t strong enough to kind of compete at a at a physical and skating level so I I learned how to how to knock pucks down and and strip guys and and create offense through that and then as I kind of grew and and got stronger and faster it became almost like a skill to to have and and turn pucks over and knock pucks down and and create offense i think that’s something I want to focus on this year is once I do make those plays is is building off it and and turning it into offense but it’s in in my opinion one of the most sacrificial things you can do as as a for checker is sometimes you might not get the puck back and it might not be yours but they’re going to force a turnover to to your linemates and it’s going to create separation for them so sometimes you got to go into pucks kind of just giving yourself up for for your group and and and that’s what kind of led to my success at the end of the year this year was as a line we we contribute a lot of of chances just because it was it was something that you went in there and disrupted the play and your linemates came in and that makes you a fun player to play with so it it’s it’s I mean at the end of the day all hard work and just sticking your nose in there but it can it can help your linemates and yourself with success what does your off seasonason look like as far as training things you’re working on things like that yeah so this is one of the one of the first years where I think size is is not a huge focal point obviously I want to get bigger and stronger but uh the past has been has been hard on on just making sure I gain weight and get to a spot where I’m ready to play at the NHL now it’s it is about focusing on the small area skill and and learning to and and putting the puck and getting confidence in putting the puck in the net is is something huge for me but at the same time it’s the off seasonason is where you put the work in for for the season to to go along well and it it’s something that as as a kid I was taught that this is when you work hard so that it pays off during the season so my my offseason consists of a lot of early mornings and and and long days in the gym and on the track running and and shooting pucks so I I look forward to it and and I look forward to seeing kind of how it pays off at the end of the summer cool thank you Josh yeah thank you all right I think we’re all set unless there’s any other questions for Josh um thank you everybody for your time and thank you Josh for taking a bit of time to answer some questions this afternoon yeah thank you guys

Buffalo Sabres forward Josh Doan spoke to the media after being acquired via trade by the Sabres from the Utah Mammoth on June 26, 2025. Doan spoke about what he learned during his time in Utah and what he can bring to Buffalo. He also discussed being close friends and roommates with Michael Kesselring, who was also acquired in the trade.

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