Donato Honored By Olympic Selection

BostonBruins.com- Ryan Donato is used to having parallels drawn between him and his father.
Like his son, Ted Donato was a high school hockey star in Massachusetts, went on to play at Harvard, and was drafted by his hometown Boston Bruins. They can now add another link to their career trajectories.

On Monday, during the NHL's Bridgestone Winter Classic, Ryan Donato was named to Team USA for the upcoming Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, which will come some 26 years after Ted Donato represented the United States during the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.
"It's awesome, honestly," Ryan Donato said by phone on Tuesday afternoon. "He is a pretty quiet guy when it comes to that stuff, especially the NHL. But when it comes to the Olympics, he's always told me that he was always really excited to represent the United States and wear that USA sweater and how much pride and honor that goes into that.
"When he found out that I was selected to participate in the Olympics, I haven't seen him that excited for a long time. I think he understands the pride and the honor that goes into representing the USA and how much fun I'll have."
With NHL players ineligible to participate in this year's Games, an opportunity opened up for college players like Donato, who will join Will Borgen (St. Cloud State), Jordan Greenway (Boston University), and Troy Terry (Denver) as the team's NCAA representatives.
"It means everything to me," said Donato, who will become the first member of the Bruins organization to play for Team USA at the Olympics since Tim Thomas in 2010. "Growing up idolizing American-born hockey players and watching them play in the Olympics and the World Cup and those type of events, it's something you aspire to growing up as a little kid.
"Now that it's coming true, it really hit me over the last couple days with the experience at Citi Field [in New York] for the Winter Classic and everything like that. It's been a whirlwind experience and I'm just excited for it."

The Olympics will not be the first time that Donato dons the red, white, and blue. The 21-year-old Scituate, Mass., native also played for the United States at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship, during which he notched three goals and an assist in seven games en route to a bronze medal.
"Anytime you get to put on the USA sweater, it's an honor," said Donato, a second-round pick of the Bruins in 2014. "Obviously I went to World Juniors and that was a great experience, playing internationally and being in Finland. Representing your country when you're not in North America or the United States is a different feel.
"Obviously the Olympics is a much larger venue - there's a lot of pride that goes into World Juniors, but I feel like the Olympics is something that there's a lot of pride that goes into representing your country.
"Just taking it step by step and enjoying it every step of the way and focusing on winning a gold medal and nothing else."
The tricky part for Donato will be maneuvering between preparing for the Games - which begin on Feb. 9 - and playing out his junior season at Harvard. A trip to the Olympics will mean missing a chunk of games down the stretch, and possibly the Beanpot, which Donato helped the Crimson win last season for the first time since 1993.
"As far as that goes, [the preparation] just has to be my season," said Donato. "I've got to use the tools I have at school, at practices, in the gym, lifting and getting stronger and faster, maintaining my strengths.
"I think that Harvard enables me to keep up my tempo and prepare for the Olympics to the best of my abilities with my situation."
Donato has been on a tear to start his junior campaign, registering points in all 12 games Harvard has played this season, including a hat trick/four-point night in a 4-1 win over Vermont on Saturday night. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound center leads Harvard with 20 points (12 goals, 8 assists), which ranks fourth in the ECAC. His 12 goals are good for eighth in the nation.
"I think maturity-wise it's a lot different," Donato said of his success this season. "I understand the impact each game has in its entirety. I go in every given night focusing on that one game and not looking past that one game. I think that has kind of benefitted me in the long run where it adds up at the end of the year."