If you go back to the Blackhawks’ lineup for opening night last year, Ryan Donato was a surprising pick to ride shotgun with Connor Bedard to start his NHL career. That experiment didn’t incredibly long, and Donato eventually found himself comfortably having a solid season in the Blackhawks’ bottom six.
Coming off a 12-goal campaign with a strong work ethic and the ability to play center or on the wing, I openly wondered how/where Donato fit in the mix back when Blackhawks’ training camp opened. With all of the veteran additions to the roster, it felt like he might have been an odd man out. When he was a scratch a couple times early in the season, that felt accurate, too.
But Donato continued to do what he does. He worked hard on every shift and did the job asked of him. And it’s been paying off big time this year for him and the Blackhawks team.
At some point, someone somewhere told Donato to shoot the puck more frequently. His career high is 159 shots on net (in 79 games with Seattle in 2021-22). He was at 101 shots on net in 41 games this season entering Monday night. And it’s paying dividends; he’s scored 13 goals thus far and his career best is 16 (the same season with the Kraken).
goals in back-to-back games for Ryan Donato‼️ pic.twitter.com/0nQhb9C1yH
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 12, 2025
What has fascinated me about Donato this season is that he’s skated with Bedard again at times this year. Donato has spent more time at 5-on-5 with Bedard (140:58 entering Monday night) than any other forward on the roster. He’s also skated 98:07 with Pat Maroon, which ranks third among Donato’s forward teammates entering Monday night’s game.
Donato has been able to impact the box score whether he’s rolling with one of the brightest young stars in the league or the Big Rig — two players whose games appear to be very different on the surface.
I asked Donato about how he’s been able to mesh so well with seemingly anyone on the roster this season, and his answer will probably not surprise you.
“Just keeping the same mentality, no matter who I’m playing with,” he said. “You’ve got to be detailed. You have to make the right plays at the right time and be smart in your decision making no matter where you are. If you’re first line left wing or fourth line center or third line center, it doesn’t really matter. It doesn’t really change anything. You just have to make the right plays at the right time, be responsible. And then knowing that you do those small things — and there are guys that you play up and down the lineup with who are going to create offense and help you that way — finding their strengths and meshing them with your own.”
But what about the apparent differences in play between guys like Bedard and Maroon? They are different… right?
“Yeah, they are, but my game doesn’t change, right?” Donato said. “I think Patty’s a guy that I like playing with too, just because he likes holding the play. He’s obviously been super successful. He is won Cups and all that stuff, but he’s a guy that knows how to win and plays the right way. So he is going to get pucks low. He is going to make the great pass on the exit of the defensive zone. He can hold on to pucks when he has the chance to, and he’s going to make a play when he can, too.
“And it’s the same thing with Connor. Connor does those things, but my mindset for Connor was I was going to go get pucks and get him the puck and get open. And I play with [Taylor] Hallsy and play with Patty. Patty does the same thing. Hallsy could do the same thing and find guys. So, for me, I just try to get pucks to the net when I can and keep on praying that they keep going in and getting those chances.”
Connor Bedard rips a pass to Ryan Donato who finishes to tie the game at 1
9 game point streak for Bedard pic.twitter.com/ostT2I6gQl— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 11, 2025
Donato also noted that ice time doesn’t impact his mindset either. He pointed out that he’s been penciled in on the first line to start a game and ended up with 12 minutes and been on the fourth line and found himself skating 18 or 19 minutes. His approach is to just play the same game on every shift with the same effort, and hopefully the results will continue to follow.
Interim head coach Anders Sorensen appreciates the consistency in Donato’s game. He pointed to Donato’s ability to find space on the ice — “those soft areas” between the dots — and the fact that he has a good shot that he can get off quickly.
Donato’s in the final year of the two-year contract he signed with the Blackhawks and his name is starting to pop up on trade watch lists around the league because of his production, affordable cap hit and the fact that other teams can see how hard he works on every shift.
He’s been a valuable player during his time in Chicago and I wouldn’t be upset in the least if the Blackhawks kept him around for a bit after this contract. Donato’s work ethic is the kind of model you want young players to see and emulate. And the production coming from that is good reminder that the payoff comes from doing things the right way on (almost) every shift.