"Ryan's hockey sense and ability to contribute on the scoresheet are two ingredients we are excited to add to our forward group," said Kraken General Manager Ron Francis. "We like his offensive potential and believe he can add scoring depth."
Donato arrives with 35 goals and 42 assists notched in 180 NHL games with three teams, Boston, Minnesota and San Jose. He was drafted by Boston in 2014 in the second round (56th overall) on the strength of his scoring prowess as a hometown prep hockey star.
Donato played three years at NCAA Division I Harvard (60 G, 44 A in 97 games) and helped lead the team to the 2017 Frozen Four. He made his debut with the NHL Bruins in the spring of 2018 after starring in the 2018 Olympics for Team USA (scoring a team-high five goals in five games) completing his third season at Harvard.
The 25-year-old left-handed center scored goals in his first two NHL games and finished with nine points in 12 games that season, plus appeared in three playoff games.
The next season was a whirlwind for Donato, who played for both Boston and the American Hockey League's Providence Bruins (7G, 5A in 18 games for first-year coach and now Kraken assistant Jay Leach) before he was traded to the Minnesota Wild at the 2019 NHL trade deadline for another Massachusetts native, veteran center Charlie Coyle.
Donato, six-foot and 192 pounds, played most of that season's second half with Minnesota, then helped the AHL Iowa Wild make a first and deep playoff run. At the NHL level, Donato scored 10 goals and added 15 assists in 56 games.
In 2019-20, Donato registered 14 goals and nine assists in 62 games, then signed as a free agent for San Jose last season. He put up a 20-point season in 50 games.
Analytics experts note that Donato sported a strong goals per 60 minutes of individual ice time, placing among top team leaders in Minnesota. Along with Donato's hockey IQ, aforementioned by GM Francis, scouts like the young forward's "creativity," "hard skill" and "puck possession" on the offensive end of the ice. He's also not afraid to add some hits into his game.
If the surname sounds familiar to some hockey fans, that's because Donato's father, Ted, played 13 seasons in the NHL, most with the Bruins. He scored 150 goals and notched 197 assists in 796 NHL career games. The elder Donato, who played at Harvard four years himself, coached Ryan during Harvard years; he has coached the formidable hockey program since the 2004-05 NCAA season.
