Donato brings shoot-first mentality to Minnesota

NEW YORK -- Ryan Donato has been a goal scorer wherever he has played. Now, the newest member of the Wild hopes to carve out that role as an NHLer.
Minnesota traded for Donato, along with a conditional fifth-round pick in this summer's NHL Draft, because it believes it is acquiring a guy who has the ability to fill the net with pucks on a regular basis.
In order to do that, you have to have a shoot-first mentality, something that Donato has in spades.

"That probably describes him best," said Wild General Manager Paul Fenton. "I'm very much in favor of getting people that want to shoot the puck instead of looking for the pass all the time. What stood out [about] him was his ability to shoot the puck."
Donato was a First Team All-American as a junior at Harvard University last season, sandwiching time with the Crimson around a trip to the Winter Olympics in South Korea, where he played for Team USA.
He led Harvard with 26 goals in 29 games and led the Americans with five goals in five games in PyeongChang. That followed up a sophomore season in which he had 21 goals and 40 points in 36 games.
After finishing his third season at Harvard, Donato joined the Bruins for the stretch run and scored five goals and nine points in 12 games.
A potential Calder Trophy candidate entering the season, Donato has six goals and nine points in 34 games with Boston, but has spent the past month in Providence, playing for the Bruins' AHL affiliate. It hasn't been the type of season Donato likely envisioned when it began. Still, Donato says he believes he's an NHL player right now, and he'll get that opportunity to prove it with Minnesota.

"I'm here to help. I want to come in and immediately help and be an impact player," Donato said. "I think it was beneficial to be in Providence] in that it made me more hungry. It made me not take anything for granted.
"In Boston, there just wasn't a lot of opportunity. There were a lot of guys battling for spots and it just didn't work out for me. I know that I'm a good player and I'm ready for the NHL, so in a way, it's a blessing in disguise."
Donato has spent virtually his entire life playing in the Boston area, including high school, college and professionally, save for an eight-game stretch with the Omaha Lancers in the USHL in 2014-15.
"It'll be very different, I've always been a homebody, always been close to home no matter what it is," Donato said. "This will be a new experience for me, but the guys have been very welcoming, so hopefully it will be a smooth transition."
His only memory of playing in Minnesota came in November of 2017, when his Harvard club played the University of Minnesota at 3M Arena at Mariucci. The Crimson scored three goals that weekend, with Donato tallying one and assisting on another.
The Golden Gophers scored a pair of wins, but he said the city left an impression on Donato.
"Just a great experience," he said.
The son of a longtime former NHLer, Ted Donato, his dad also coached him at Harvard. Fenton said he doesn't know if that will help Ryan as his career progresses, but it certainly can't hurt.
"I think all of our kids that grow up in the game have access to different views," Fenton said. "For him, being as intelligent a person as he is, coming from Harvard, and watching his dad play and having the experience of just sitting at the kitchen table every night, that's the fun part of our business. You hope that their hockey sense is that much more elite that it gives you a chance."
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