Arizona Coyotes’ Antti Raanta honours Shan Doan with new helmet
By James Reeve
Arizona Coyotes legend Shane Doan will be honoured by goaltender Antti Raanta every time the team wears their Kachina third jerseys this season.
This comes as Raanta had a special helmet designed for him to wear every time the Kachina jersey is worn – which will be during every home game played on a Saturday this season.
Antti Raanta will pay tribute to Shane Doan on his new Kachina helmet. 💜
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) October 5, 2018
We’re not crying, you’re crying. pic.twitter.com/zwknxEBvbk
Doan’s number 19 appears on both sides of Raanta’s new mask, with stylised drawings of the former forward appearing also.
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The helmet also sports the colours of the Kachina jersey, with the pattern found on the jersey also appearing through the middle of Raanta’s new helmet.
The Halkirk, Alberta native is a true legend of the Arizona Coyotes, having originally been selected by the organisation seventh-overall in the 1995 draft – when the team was still the original incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets.
Doan featured in 1540 regular season games, all with the Jets/Coyotes organisation, scoring 402 goals and earning 972 total points.
He was named the captain of the organisation in 2003 and held the ‘C’ until 2017, after which he retired and has had his number officially retired.
Doan was awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy after the 2009/10 season, an award given to the player that best exemplifies leadership on and off the ice in the NHL.
The long-serving captain, who turns 42 in just a few days, is very familiar with the original Kachina jerseys, which were worn as the team’s road jersey between 1996 and 2003.
Now Raanta, who had a stellar first year for the Arizona Coyotes, will pay tribute to the team’s first true legend – starting with the team’s home game against the Anaheim Ducks later today.
Raanta never played alongside Doan, however, he did face-off against him a few times in the NHL.
The decision to honour him on his helmet shows how much respect Doan has within the Coyotes organisation and recognising him and the impact he had on hockey in the desert is something fans will no doubt support enthusiastically.
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What do you think Coyotes fans? Are you pleased with Raanta’s tribute of Doan? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!