Bruins assign Ryan Donato to Providence: 4 takeaways from Thursday’s roster move

The Bruins shook up their forward corps Thursday evening, as the team announced that winger Ryan Donato has been assigned to the Providence Bruins. There was no corresponding move. 

In 11 games with the Bruins this season, Donato tallied one goal and posted a minus-4 rating while averaging 12:06 of ice time per game.

Here are four observations following the news of Donato’s demotion:

The writing was on the wall



After storming into the NHL last year with five goals and nine points in 12 regular-season games, Donato figured to be a major weapon up front of the Black and Gold in 2018-19, joining an impressive crop of second-year players like Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen and Charlie McAvoy.

And while Donato earned a few looks in a top-six role and was the primary netfront player on Boston’s top power-play unit, the Scituate native didn’t offer much in terms of production — with his lone tally coming on the man advantage back on Oct. 4 against Buffalo.

Over the past couple of weeks especially, Donato saw his playing time decrease, especially during five-on-five play. During Tuesday’s win over Carolina, Donato only logged 6:40 of 5v5 TOI, and was held to under 8:00 of 5v5 TOI in each of the past three games.

A sniper best utilized in a top-six role when his game is rolling, Donato at times found himself on a checking fourth line over the past week, only recently getting a bump back up to the third line against Montreal and Carolina.

During Thursday’s practice, Donato found himself on the outside looking in at a number of drills, often subbing in on the third line in place of Anders Bjork during rushes with Joakim Nordstrom and David Backes.

Given his decreased playing time and lack of production, a demotion seemed inevitable for Donato.

A focus on the finer details will be stressed

There’s no doubting that Donato’s bread and butter lies in his shot, but Bruce Cassidy noted multiple times that the Harvard product needs to tweak and improve on his overall 200-foot game in order to earn consistent playing time.

“For me, I thought his last game, his details weren’t great, and that’s on us to make them better and teach him,” Cassidy said back on October 11 — a date in which Donato was scratched for that night’s matchup against the Oilers. “And some of it is picking him up, so we’re going to meet halfway on that and hopefully next time out, he’s better.”

While players like Anders Bjork and Heinen have not set the world on fire in terms of their scoring totals, Cassidy did acknowledge Thursday that both skaters have earned steady playing time as of late thanks to their ability to not hurt the club even when they’re not lighting the lamp.

“You see guys like Danton and Bjork, they're not scoring, but they're still plus players,” Cassidy said. “So they're obviously growing their game away from the puck and they're not hurting us. So that's a sign of maturity to me, for those players. Even though they're not scoring, they're not going out there and risking the farm every time they get on the ice to get a number or a goal. That's a credit to the leadership and a credit to them for accepting what’s in front of them and bringing at least their B game.”

A bit of a liability at times in the defensive zone, Donato had a chance to work on that aspect of his game in the NHL if he was at least capitalizing down the other end of the ice. When the goals weren’t coming, it was a given that a roster move was coming.

B’s rolling with Backes

Boston did not make a corresponding roster move upon assigning Donato, but David Backes appears ready to return to the B’s lineup for Saturday’s matchup with the Predators after missing the past five games with an upper-body injury (concussion).

Backes, who skated back on the wing during Thursday’s practice, has yet to find the scoreboard this season through seven games, but Cassidy noted that inserting Backes back into the lineup has its benefits, especially on the penalty kill.

“I think he’s good with the younger guys, certainly when he plays with them, he’ll pull them aside and walk through situational details,” Cassidy said of Backes’ impact on the ice. “I’m not privy to every one of those conversations, but I just like the fact that he is trying to bring them under his wing. ...He’s pretty vocal on the bench, which helps some nights.

“We’re generally a quiet team, so it falls on the staff to bring that energy. He’s good in that department. On the ice this year, he’s killed more penalties than he did last year. I thought he did a good job with that, him and (Sean) Kuraly were a pair that were starting to find some chemistry.”

There are questions as to how much an older power forward like Backes can have on a bit of a quicker line with Nordstrom and Bjork, but for the time being, it looks like Boston is valuing the other aspects of his game in terms of slotting him back into the lineup.

A stint with Providence is the right move

It’s certainly not the development that Donato was hoping for this season, but a stint down in the AHL will do the 22-year-old forward some good. Against some lighter competition, Donato should get his confidence back — with some heavy minutes alongside other young players like Colby Cave, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson being just what Donato might need to get on a roll.

Best-case scenario? Donato gets hot down with the Baby B’s, rifles home some goals and that momentum rolls back up with him when he eventually gets the call back to the NHL. With a shot like his, Donato still has the potential to be a viable weapon on a B’s squad still starving for secondary scoring.