Former Bruins Ryan Donato - II

[bp13]

Definitely seems a little behind on the play, but I was chalking that up to trying to think more before reacting, since the club wants him to play a certain way. His straight line speed isn't really bad, it just seems to take him a while to get into his top gear.

I'd agree with that. Maybe it's too much thinking. Seems like he might be "fast" enough, but quickness feels like an issue. First few steps look slow.

I'm sure he'll be fine but I really hope they don't regret throwing these kids in too early. Moreover, I hope they don't regret choosing to give these kids (college kids namely) more ice than others, like Cehlarik for example. Would Cehlarik or somebody else have benefit more from the obvious benefit of the doubt that's been given to a guy like Donato, or Heinen or Bjork?

I honestly have no idea nor am I criticizing...just wondering. A few of these kids just don't look ready.

 

[LSCII]

I'd agree with that. Maybe it's too much thinking. Seems like he might be "fast" enough, but quickness feels like an issue. First few steps look slow.

I'm sure he'll be fine but I really hope they don't regret throwing these kids in too early. Moreover, I hope they don't regret choosing to give these kids (college kids namely) more ice than others, like Cehlarik for example. Would Cehlarik or somebody else have benefit more from the obvious benefit of the doubt that's been given to a guy like Donato, or Heinen or Bjork?

I honestly have no idea nor am I criticizing...just wondering. A few of these kids just don't look ready.

I think a lot of it is that guys like Heinen and Bjork looked ready last year but have taken a step back this year. And the young guys they've called up because of injury really weren't the right guys to be calling up. Cave has no business on this roster. And in fairness to him, it's not that he couldn't be a player down the road and in a role that better suits him, but how he's being used now is not right and he looks lost. But you're right about the young guys in general. JFK struggled, Donato has been up and down. Heinen and Bjork too.

 

[RoccoF14]

Look, all of these kids got thrown into the deep end of the pool, and with the exception of DeBrusk, all have struggled. The fact that Donato, Bjork, Heinen, Cave etc have gotten the NHL ice time that they have is solely due to the fact that we have no secondary scoring depth whatsoever and we are HOPING that one of them fills that void. So far, none have.....and I highly doubt Cehlarik will either.

So what do you do about it?

You can stick with the current strategy of HOPING someone figures it out on the job at the NHL level and be satisfied with a best case scenario of a first or second round playoff exit, Or

You can deal one or more of the aforementioned for established talent who've already PROVEN that they can consistently score at the NHL level.

As for Donato, I'm sorry but I just don't see the special talent here. I see a kid with above average hands, who can't skate but tries hard. That makes him 100% expendable in my book.

 

[AngryMilkcrates]

Donato is still a rookie.

Just thought that needs to be restated.

 

[Dr Hook]

Donato is still a rookie.

Just thought that needs to be restated.

Yes, so expectations for the completeness of his game should be tempered by that. On the other hand, he is soon to be 23 and he is just weak as a kitten along the boards, or in traffic. Maybe the "hockey strength" he needs can be developed, but really he ought to be in Providence figuring out how to stay on his skates. Unlike the young Pasta (who was 18 to boot) he isn't bringing enough offensively to offset the weaknesses.

 

[Smitty93]

Look, all of these kids got thrown into the deep end of the pool, and with the exception of DeBrusk, all have struggled. The fact that Donato, Bjork, Heinen, Cave etc have gotten the NHL ice time that they have is solely due to the fact that we have no secondary scoring depth whatsoever and we are HOPING that one of them fills that void. So far, none have.....and I highly doubt Cehlarik will either.

So what do you do about it?

You can stick with the current strategy of HOPING someone figures it out on the job at the NHL level and be satisfied with a best case scenario of a first or second round playoff exit, Or

You can deal one or more of the aforementioned for established talent who've already PROVEN that they can consistently score at the NHL level.

As for Donato, I'm sorry but I just don't see the special talent here. I see a kid with above average hands, who can't skate but tries hard. That makes him 100% expendable in my book.

Interestingly enough, DeBrusk also has more AHL games than these 3 (though just 4 more than Heinen).

It's probably not a surprise that DeBrusk is also the only one who played zero NHL games in his first professional season.

I think there's something to having guys spend, at minimum, 1 full year in the AHL without the expectation of being brought up to the NHL.

 

[Over the volcano]

Yes, so expectations for the completeness of his game should be tempered by that. On the other hand, he is soon to be 23 and he is just weak as a kitten along the boards, or in traffic. Maybe he "hockey strength" he needs can be developed, but really he ought to be in Providence figuring out how to stay on his skates. Unlike the young Pasta (who was 18 to boot) he isn't bringing enough offensively to offset the weaknesses.

Pasta is a tough comp - considering in hindsight he should have gone first overall

 

[Dr Hook]

Pasta is a tough comp - considering in hindsight he should have gone first overall

I really just mean the strength on the puck and in the high traffic areas- it looks about the same but Donato has 4 years of physical development on him comparably.

 

[elMatador]

Donato's big weakness is his overall conditioning. His skating is good for first 20-25sec then he is exhausted, looks spent on backcheck. His lower body and core strength is also pretty weak as he gets outmuscled along the boards 9 out of 10 times. Yesterday he got crushed to the ground twice in 20 sec span by Ristolainen.
The intensity of the game in NHL is just too much for him at the moment. After a disappointing showing during the playoffs I expected him to come to the camp in a better condition.
I understand that the front office is in love with his shot however I think a full year in Providence would be better for his development.

 

[Colt.45Orr]

He's not an NHL player at this point in time; he needs more seasoning in the AHL still from the looks of it.

 

[Fopppa]

He's not an NHL player at this point in time; he needs more seasoning in the AHL still from the looks of it.

Agree. Love his shot and he obviously has some sick mitts, but his lack of man strength has to be somewhat worrying at this stage. And he’s not offsetting that with enough smarts either.

Needs to learn how to think the game quicker and get much much stronger if he wants to make a lasting impact.

 

[Bumper]

with my range of calculated overall Bruins-roster player ratings from Smith's 1 to Miller's 107, Donato is firmly a 25 so far this season, beating only low-minute newcomer outliers Smith (1) and Vaakanainen (17). aside from Acciari and Krug hovering near the failing-grade cutoff of 60, there are no other Bruins making such a negative impact on the team when dressed. Donato is not ready for his role. pull him. do it months ago and stop recalling him.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

with my range of calculated overall Bruins-roster player ratings from Smith's 1 to Miller's 107, Donato is firmly a 25 so far this season, beating only low-minute newcomer outliers Smith (1) and Vaakanainen (17). aside from Acciari and Krug hovering near the failing-grade cutoff of 60, there are no other Bruins making such a negative impact on the team when dressed. Donato is not ready for his role. pull him. do it months ago and stop recalling him.

Well, that seals it for me...




Seriously, I like Donato’s offensive game quite a bit, and even his compete level in the O zone seems better than in his own end. On the D side though, he’s still struggling. There was a couple of stretches last night where the “College Line” got penned in and watching Donato try to play D was painful. The effort is there, but the execution is still lacking.

I have been saying since training camp that it would be beneficial for Donato to spend a year in PRO...

And I didn’t even need a fancy analytics system to figure that out

 

[DrJustice]

with my range of calculated overall Bruins-roster player ratings from Smith's 1 to Miller's 107, Donato is firmly a 25 so far this season, beating only low-minute newcomer outliers Smith (1) and Vaakanainen (17). aside from Acciari and Krug hovering near the failing-grade cutoff of 60, there are no other Bruins making such a negative impact on the team when dressed. Donato is not ready for his role. pull him. do it months ago and stop recalling him.

How in the world is Krug near failing?

 

[Bumper]

Krug is trending back to good, at least. a rough season of minuses, mostly. Donato is not rallying. he is exposed out there.

 

[Ratty]

with my range of calculated overall Bruins-roster player ratings from Smith's 1 to Miller's 107, Donato is firmly a 25 so far this season, beating only low-minute newcomer outliers Smith (1) and Vaakanainen (17). aside from Acciari and Krug hovering near the failing-grade cutoff of 60, there are no other Bruins making such a negative impact on the team when dressed. Donato is not ready for his role. pull him. do it months ago and stop recalling him.

Really looking forward to your rating system for the other 30 teams. Perhaps you could draw a statistical analysis of our first year and sophomore players vs. those on other teams. It would be very helpful to our discussion.

 

[Bumper]

as much as I know people just want to see it to mock it, I have and I would, but.... I really only do the other teams in the league if a particular (playoff) matchup intrigues me. since losing behindthenet's output a few years ago when nhl.com converted their data dump formats, I haven't gone leagewide and done one of these: Ninety Flow 2016 - a SNES hockey ROM hack

 

[elMatador]

With Bergeron coming back what's the next step for Donato?
Stay in a sheltered minutes on the 3rd line and a PP specialist?
Send him down to Providence?

first 11games 1 0 1 -4
last 11 games 2 2 4 -3

since his call up he has had a shootout GWG, PP goal and ES goal
PP goal was a wrist shot in a game against Detroit
ES goal was a gift from Andersen, nice net drive nonetheless in a game against Toronto

 

[Dupell6]

He needs to go down for a bit. He's turning into Vatrano. Offensive zone possessions are ending because he shoots the puck from everywhere no matter what else is developing.

 

[Ratty]

Glad Bruce has confidence in him. Scored a couple of goals after his return from the AHL. He’s got him on the PP and in key situations.

Although he hasn’t scored lately, you always see I’m around the goal distracting the ‘tender and keeping the D men on their toes. Valuable presence.

 

[Bumper]

a huge minus is not a "valuable presence" on an even/plus team.

 

[Sheppy]

With Bergeron coming back what's the next step for Donato?
Stay in a sheltered minutes on the 3rd line and a PP specialist?
Send him down to Providence?

first 11games 1 0 1 -4
last 11 games 2 2 4 -3

since his call up he has had a shootout GWG, PP goal and ES goal
PP goal was a wrist shot in a game against Detroit
ES goal was a gift from Andersen, nice net drive nonetheless in a game against Toronto

Trade

 

[False Start]

He just needs time to figure it out.

His skills are on the top end. The hands and shot are well above average. He's just making wrong decisions at times either on the rush, on the cycle or defensively.

Once he figures it out he'll be a 50 pt player with ease. Not sure what he needs to do tho. Guys like Cave, and Nordstrom play the game in a dependable way but lack the skills required to produce on a nightly basis. If Donato can adapt some of that into his game he'll be a very well rounded player.

 

[GoBs]

With Bergeron coming back what's the next step for Donato?
Stay in a sheltered minutes on the 3rd line and a PP specialist?
Send him down to Providence?

first 11games 1 0 1 -4
last 11 games 2 2 4 -3

since his call up he has had a shootout GWG, PP goal and ES goal
PP goal was a wrist shot in a game against Detroit
ES goal was a gift from Andersen, nice net drive nonetheless in a game against Toronto

Providence. You want this kid to be a good player down the road a trip to Providence is the next step

 

[Saxon Eric]

Should be sent down,bugs me that he's treated somewhat differently ,I think he'll be a good player when its all said and done but he ain't there yet