Sarah McLellan

azcentral sports

Alanis Morissette's "Jagged Little Pill" album was blasting on the radio, portable CD players were becoming mainstream, and three-piece suits with extravagant pleats and linebacker-esque shoulder pads were all the rage.

That's what Coyotes captain Shane Doan remembers about pop culture in 1995.

But quiz him about what was going on in hockey at that time, and he rattles off the facts and features as if they were still happening.

The New Jersey Devils won the Stanley Cup, wood sticks were popular, and helmets weren't mandatory.

Each team carried two or three heavyweight enforcers. Mario Lemieux was on the brink of a 161-point season with the Penguins. And suspensions were a rarity.

"It was drastically different," he said.

Doan is embarking on his 20th year as a pro, and even though his mental Rolodex is overflowing, it wasn't hard for him to pick the moments that stood out the most.

1995: He attended his first NHL training camp.

"Just the way that I was so welcomed there, it was so special," Doan said.

1996: He scored the first goal on home ice in Phoenix Coyotes history.

1997: The first time a cellphone rang on the team bus. DoanCQ also married his wife, Andrea.

1998: He scored his first playoff goal, but the Detroit Red Wings eliminated the Coyotes in the first-round series, 4-2.

1999: He scored his first overtime goal in the playoffs. The Coyotes went up 3-1 over the St. Louis Blues but ended up losing in Game 7 of the first-round series in overtime.

"It was a great series. Best, most enjoyable series ever," Doan said. "Just the intensity. It was not enjoyable in the fact we lost, but it was the most intense. It was so physical. There would have been 10 to 12 suspensions in that series if it was called under the rules now."

2000: His first breakout season, working alongside two Finnish players, Juha Ylonen and Mika Alatalo.

2001: The team started to fly on private charters instead of commercial airliners.

2002: Teppo Numminen was captain.

2003: After Numminen was traded, Doan was named his replacement.

"I was crushed Teppo Numminen wasn't coming back," Doan said. "He was a guy I was a big fan of."

2004: Doan was invited to the NHL All-Star Game for the first time.

"At one point, I think I was, like, fourth in the league in scoring, like, late in January," he said. "We traded everyone away, and we just fell apart."

He also played in the World Cup of Hockey and scored the game-winning goal in the final for Canada.

2005: He won silver at the World Championships.

2006: He reached 30 goals for the first time in his career. He also represented Canada in the Olympics.

2007: Doan bypassed free agency by signing a five-year contract extension with the Coyotes.

2008: He totaled a career-high 78 points.

2009: The Coyotes added Dave Tippett as coach only months after Tippett coached Doan in international play.

2010: Doan injured his shoulder during a playoff series with the Red Wings — the Coyotes' first trip to the postseason since 2002 — and missed Games 4 through 7.

2011: The Coyotes were eliminated by the Red Wings for the second straight season, this time in four games.

2012: For the first time in franchise history, the Coyotes advanced to the Western Conference finals.

"That's an easy one," Doan said.

2013: Doan was a wrecking ball on the ice March 19 against the Kings, scoring twice with 11 shots and 13 hits in 18:59 of ice time in a 3-2 loss.

"It would have been so much better if we would have won," he said.

2014: Doan missed significant time after falling ill with Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and a seven-game losing streak sabotaged the team's pursuit of a playoff spot.

"That stands out more than anything," Doan said. "Well, that and getting sick, and if I don't get sick, I'm not saying I could make a difference, but I could help."

Reach The Heat Index at sarah.mclellan @arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8276. Follow her on Twitter @azc_mclellan.