Ryan Donato earns promotion to B’s second line, but staying factor depends on much more than scoring

Upon returning to Boston following a 10-game stint down in the AHL, Ryan Donato sat down with Bruce Cassidy to discuss what he learned from his tenure with the Baby B’s.

A proven scorer at just about every level of his hockey career, Donato emphasized the need to round out his overall game if he wanted to remain with Boston going forward — noting that 95 percent of the game is played without the puck on your stick.

That acknowledgement was another step forward in Donato’s development as an everyday NHL player. But that doesn’t mean the Harvard product is bottling up the rocket of a wrister that’s in his offensive arsenal.

Sure, 95 percent of the game might be played without the puck, but Donato made sure the remaining five percent counted on Saturday — ripping home his second goal of the season during what was ultimately a 4-2 loss to the Red Wings.

Gaining some momentum down in the AHL seems to be just what Donato needed after a listless start in 2018-19 (one goal in 11 games), with the 22-year-old winger responding on Saturday with six shots on goal to go along with his tally on the man advantage.

A confident Donato could do wonders for a Bruins club averaging under two goals per game in its last eight matchups — and it looks like the promising sniper will get his shot in a top-six role on Tuesday night against the Panthers.

After opening Saturday’s tilt against Detroit on the third line, Donato is poised to skate up on David Krejci’s line going forward, joining Jake DeBrusk on the wing in hopes of adding another scoring punch to a group that has largely kept Boston afloat over the past couple of weeks.

“We're going to try it with Ryan,” Cassidy said of Donato’s recent promotion following Monday’s morning skate. “I thought he did a good job on the offensive side of things. He wants to score every time he’s on the ice. That hasn’t changed. We’re just trying to clean up the rest.

“When you’re up in the lineup, you’re seeing better defenseman, probably playing most the time against the other team's second or first line, so you have to make sure you’re accountable the other way. But I liked his compete on the puck, I like that he scored again, so we’ll give it a whirl.”

Given his offensive tools, Donato seems like a logical fit for a top-six role on a Bruins team dealing with some scoring woes. But, harkening back to Donato’s chat with Cassidy, what might stand as the final determinant of the winger’s place in the lineup won’t hinge solely on goals and assists.

Donato still has plenty to work on in all facets of his game, even when he does have the puck on his stick.



As a whole, Donato is still taking far too many shots from low-percentage areas, even with is impressive shot. On the season, Donato’s average distance on his shots is 32.29 feet — close to three feet higher than the league average.



(Stick tap to Sean Tierney @ChartingHockey for the shot charts)

Saturday was a step in the right direction for Donato — with only two of his six shots coming from the high slot or another low-danger area of the ice. One of those two attempts led to a goal off of a power-play rush into the Red Wings’ zone, while he also peppered Jimmy Howard with a pair of shots near the crease.

Getting Donato into a groove offensively could do wonders for the Black and Gold, although Cassidy was quick to note that Boston isn’t harping on the winger to simply be a sparkplug up front.



Even with Donato’s encouraging performance against Detroit, Cassidy still had qualms about his 200-foot-game — which continues to be a work in progress for the Scituate native.

"Ryan bounced back,” Cassidy said on Saturday. “He wasn’t great on the walls. These are some of the things people ask, why is he down there when he can score? Well he’s down there to work on those things. It’s about keeping the puck out of your net as much as getting it in theirs. I thought he did a real good job trying to atone.

“He scored a goal, he attacked well and played to his strengths, so that’s what we want and we’re going to work him through his weaknesses, deficiencies, you choose your word, and that’s that with him.”

Still a minus-5 up in the NHL this year, Donato spent most of his recent stint in Providence working out of his comfort zone, whether it be reps on the penalty kill or fine tuning his play along the boards.

For Donato, it’s all about finding the equilibrium between a competent 200-foot-player while not sacrificing the aspects of his game that helped him rise to the top of Boston’s prospect pipeline over the last couple of years.    

Finding that balance was a challenge at first for the rookie, with one misplay along the boards or defensive miscue weighing heavily in a sport where one needs to have a short memory.

“Maybe sometimes I was thinking about it a little too much and putting too much pressure (on myself),” Donato said. “But at the end of the day, it’s hockey. Pucks going to bounce the wrong way sometimes. Maybe I did put some pressure on myself to be better on the walls and I was lacking offensively because of it. I honestly believe in my abilities, so I think if I had opportunities offensively, I would produce either way. It’s just a matter of getting those opportunities.”

The latest addition to the second-line wing, Donato has the tools to fit in with a playmaking pivot like Krejci and an aggressive winger that can muck up the crease in DeBrusk.

But for Donato to remain in his current role, the young forward cannot simply be a one-trick pony with his deadly shot.

“You want to be a guy that produces every night,” Donato said. “Those are the guys that usually stay. There’s guys all over the league and AHL that can be good on the walls and be consistent enough to produce offense, so I think if you want to be good on the walls, you have to be good offensively.”