CHICAGO — Ryan Donato doesn’t think. Ryan Donato just does. If the puck hits his stick and there’s a shooting lane in front of him, you can be darn sure he’s shooting it. Like, now. And if there’s no lane to shoot, that puck is coming off his stick in a teammate’s direction. Like, right now.
The man just goes.
“My dad’s always installed in me a shooter’s mentality,” Donato said with a shrug.Donato doesn’t have Connor Bedard’s shot, or Lukas Reichel’s speed, or Taylor Hall’s puck skills, or Tyler Bertuzzi’s hand-eye coordination around the net, or Pat Maroon’s physicality. But he also doesn’t have an “off” switch. On a team loaded with too many passengers, in a season marked by half-hearted efforts, Donato brings everything he has just about every night.
In Monday night’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes — another come-from-ahead defeat, but a third straight game with a point for the Blackhawks — Donato was his usual aggressive self. On Chicago’s first goal, Donato out-hustled Jaccob Slavin, one of the league’s best defensive defensemen, down the wall to corral a Louis Crevier flip-in, then immediately flung the puck to a diving Philipp Kurashev in front of the net for the finish. And in the final minute of the second period, Donato came flying into the play from far back as Hall backheeled the puck to his own stick before hitting Donato in stride for the go-ahead goal.
the setup 🤌 the goal 🤌 pic.twitter.com/5BD5z9P3Qm
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 21, 2025
Simply put, Donato never hesitates.
It’s why he’s having a career year — 14 goals and 13 assists in 45 games — in a season that started with legitimate questions about whether he’d even make the roster out of training camp after Kyle Davidson’s flurry of veteran signings. And it’s why he’s one of the more intriguing bits of trade bait on the Blackhawks roster.
This time of year, general managers aren’t paying much attention to the Donatos of the hockey world. They’re looking for dynamic difference-makers on the wing, big physical defensemen or established veterans with invaluable championship experience. Donato isn’t any of those things. But in hockey parlance, Donato has a “motor,” something that some GMs might take for granted, but that coaches can’t get enough of.
“He’s a really good pro,” Blackhawks interim coach Anders Sorensen said. “He prepares every day. He comes in, he’s early at the rink, he asks the right questions (whether) it’s through video or just on the ice. And he competes. He’s a competitor. He wants to be in situations, and he wants to be in moments that matter on the ice.”
So while Hall might be the biggest name available at the trade deadline, and while veteran defenseman and two-time Stanley Cup champion Alec Martinez might be more sought after, Donato might be the Blackhawks player who makes the biggest difference on whichever team does land him. He’s exactly the kind of player — an energy guy, a depth scorer, a versatile forward who can play any position — who helps make decent teams good, and good teams very good. And he’ll come cheap, too, probably for as little as a fourth-round draft pick, with just a $2 million cap hit that the Blackhawks might be willing to share for the rest of the season if it bumps that pick up a round.
Donato might be in the bargain bin come early March, but he’ll bring plenty of value.
Hall has been open about his desire to stay in Chicago and his acceptance of the reality that he likely won’t. It clearly weighs on him. Donato isn’t dwelling on it quite so much. Or, at least, he’s trying not to. He still sees things pop up on his phone, and his friends still pepper him with questions about his future. But he’s insistent that his focus is in Chicago, not on whatever playoff push he’ll be joining in six weeks or so.
“When I’m here, I’m going to make sure I’m giving my full attention to the task at hand,” he said. “I’m not going to worry about that, whether it’s the beginning of the season and me being on the roster or (the deadline) or whatever. I just come with the mentality of how can I help the team win, better myself and better the team. We’ve still got a lot of stuff we want to fix and do here.”
Donato credited his improved skating — his primary offseason focus — for his uptick in scoring. It’s one thing to have a shooter’s mentality. It’s quite another to put yourself in situations and positions to use it. And the more the puck goes in, the easier it is to maintain that attacking style. Things can snowball in a positive direction, too. That’s how you get a career season in a contract year.
Donato’s versatility has placed him on every line in and every forward position, including more than 145 five-on-five minutes on the top line with Bedard. But he’s quickly developed a rapport with Hall on the new-look fourth line, with either Patrick Maroon or Kurashev.
“We have a pretty good feel for one another,” Hall said. “When you start playing with a guy, it’s important to play to your strengths as players. I’ve turned into a pretty good playmaker over the course of my career, and Donny has a real feel for where to go. When he does get chances, they tend to go in at a pretty good rate.”
Donato returned the compliment to Hall.
“He’s a finisher, too,” Donato said. “He’s the ultimate player. He’s fun to play with. I just want to get him the puck in spots where he wants it, and then get myself open and try to convert as much as I can.”
The more the two of them do that, the more suitors they’ll have in the coming weeks. Of course, Hall, the former MVP, was always going to be a tantalizing prospect for playoff contenders.
But don’t sleep on Donato. Because it seems like he never does.
“I owe that to my teammates,” he said. “I’m not worrying about the extra stuff. It’s a hard situation to be in, but every day you get to be an NHL player is a blessing, right? Why wouldn’t you go all-out?”
(Top photo: Adam Eberhardt / NHLI via Getty Images)
