Ted Donato
Ted Donato, a former Harvard hockey captain who won an NCAA championship, played in the Olympic Games, and enjoyed a 13-year NHL career, was introduced as the Robert D. Ziff Head Coach of Harvard Men’s Ice Hockey on Friday, July 2, 2004. The hire by Harvard not only brings prominent alum back to the forefront of this proud program, but also brings Donato’s hockey career full circle, back to the Bright Center where he enjoyed a standout career.
Donato, a 1991 graduate of Harvard, becomes just the sixth person to serve as Harvard’s head coach since 1950. He is the eighth Harvard alum to serve as head coach at his alma mater. The appointment at Harvard is Donato’s first coaching position.
“I am thrilled to be back at Harvard,” notes the rookie head coach. “Obviously this is a special place for me. I embrace the history and tradition of Harvard Hockey and the quality of people who are involved with the program. Harvard is the greatest combination of superior academics and competitive athletics in all of college sports, and that is a tradition that I hope to carry on. I look forward to working with a number of outstanding people, and I’m very excited about the future of this program.”
As an undergraduate, Donato etched his name along the all-time greats in Harvard Hockey history. He finished his career in 11th place on the Crimson’s career scoring chart (50 goals, 94 assists, 144 points) and remains 12th in that category. He earned All-ECAC and All-Ivy League accolades in his 1990-91 senior season.
Donato was named Most Valuable Player of the 1989 NCAA Frozen Four, when Harvard downed Minnesota, 4-3 in overtime, in the NCAA Championship game. That contest, held in the Gopher’s backyard (St. Paul, Minnesota) saw Donato net a pair of goals, one which tied the game at one midway through the second and another which gave the Crimson a 3-2 lead with seven minutes to go. Donato scored three goals and added a pair of assists in the tournament en route to MVP honors. He earned the Donald Angier Hockey Trophy as the team’s most improved player in 1989, and he accepted the Ralph “Cooney” Weiland Award for spirit and devotion to Harvard Hockey as a senior in 1991.
A native of nearby Dedham, MA, Donato was a member of four United States national teams, including the 1992 Olympic team that competed in Albertville, France. He tied for the team lead in scoring with four goals and three assists in eight games in the Olympics and had 11-22-52 totals in the pre-Games schedule. He also played in the World Championships in 1997 (4-2-6 in eight games) and 1999 (2-6-8 in eight games) and in the 1988 World Junior Championships (3-2-5 in seven games).
Donato was selected by the Boston Bruins in the fifth round of the 1987 NHL Entry Draft (98th overall), and he signed with his hometown club in March 1992 following the Olympic Games. His 13-year professional career included stops in New York (with both the Rangers and Islanders), Ottawa, Anaheim, Los Angeles and St. Louis. He returned to the Bruins as a free agent in July 2003.
Donato’s NHL career spanned 796 games, in which he scored 150 goals with 197 assists for 347 points. He had eight goals, 18 assists and 26 points in 58 career playoff games. Donato inherits a Harvard squad that returns 16 letterwinners from the 2003-04 team, which went 18-15-3, won the ECAC tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament.
Born April 28, 1969, Donato played scholastically at Catholic Memorial High School, where he graduated as the school’s all-time leading scorer. The son of Michael and Mary Donato, Ted and his three brothers were all active in intercollegiate athletics. Brother Michael played baseball at Princeton, Chris played hockey, baseball and football at Williams, and Dan played hockey and baseball at Boston University. He also has a sister, Paula, who is a plastics engineer. Donato is a resident of Scituate, MA, with his wife, Jeannine, and their four children: Ryan (8), Jack (6), Nolan (5) and Madelyn (1).
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