CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Ted Donato '91, The Robert D. Ziff Head Coach for Harvard Men's Ice Hockey, has announced his plan to step away from Harvard at the end of the academic year.
"It is with immense gratitude that I have decided to end my tenure at Harvard as head coach of the Men's Hockey program," Donato said. "I am proud and grateful for all the incredible moments, everlasting memories, and relationships from my 27 years connected to the University as a student-athlete, coach, and parent.
"I feel truly blessed to have had the opportunity to work with such talented and driven student-athletes and staff of the highest character. With the ever-changing landscape of college athletics, I believe it is the right time to pass the torch to the next leader of the Harvard Men's Hockey program."
A former captain who helped Harvard win the 1989 NCAA Championship, Donato was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four after scoring two goals in the title game. As a coach, Donato has guided the program to sustained national success and is one of only three coaches in team history with over 300 career victories.
This past season Donato became the winningest coach in program history after passing his mentor Bill Cleary '56 with his 325th career win on Dec. 6 in a 7-3 win over Brown.
Under his leadership, Harvard earned eight NCAA Tournament berths, a Frozen Four appearance in 2017,10 trips to the ECAC final four, seven ECAC title game appearances, four ECAC Hockey titles, four Ivy League championships, and produced six 20-win seasons. From 2015 to 2023, the hockey program found tremendous success under Donato's leadership. Over seven seasons, the Crimson totaled 141 wins, made five NCAA Tournament appearances, won three ECAC titles, brought the Beanpot back to Cambridge for the first time in 24 years, and saw Donato named a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award as the nation's top coach in 2017.
Under Donato, the Crimson was known for having tremendous special teams, including an extremely efficient power play throughout its run of dominance. Harvard's power-play unit finished among the nation's best in all seven seasons, highlighted by the country's top power play in 2019-20 and the second-best unit in 2018-19.
In 2021, Donato won a gold medal as an assistant coach with the U.S. National Junior Team, working alongside future NHL stars Brock Faber, Jake Sanderson, Matt Boldy, Trevor Zegras, and Cole Caufield while also running the tournament's top power-play unit.
Donato mentored 18 All-Americans and more than 20 future NHL players, including Adam Fox, Colin Blackwell, Alex Beiga, Alex Killorn Ryan Donato, John Marino, Alexander Kerfoot, Matt Coronato, Alex Laferriere, Henry Thrun, and Hobey Baker Award winner Jimmy Vesey, all while building a program that excels academically.
Harvard posted back-to-back 20-win seasons in 2021–22 and 2022-23, reaching the NCAA Tournament in both years and winning the 2022 ECAC Hockey Tournament title. The Crimson finished 24-8-2 in 2022-23, the second-most wins by a Harvard team in the last 30 years.
A standout in the Crimson sweater, Donato earned All-ECAC and All-Ivy honors, served as team captain his senior year, and finished his career with 144 points - still among the top totals in program history.
Donato was a star for Team USA at the 1992 Winter Olympics, finishing tied for the team lead in scoring with four goals and three assists in eight games. Ted and his son Ryan became one of only three father-son duos to compete for the United States in the Olympics and are the only pair to lead the United States in scoring in each of their respective Olympic appearances.
A member of the Bruins Centennial Team, Donato enjoyed a 13-year NHL career with Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Ottawa, Anaheim, and St. Louis, finishing with 347 points in 796 regular-season games and becoming the first U.S.-born player to lead the Bruins in goals. In his final NHL season, the Hyde Park native was the Bruins' nominee for the Masterton Trophy, which is awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey. Donato was also inducted into the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame in 2010.
"Ted Donato is a local hockey legend with long family ties to the Boston sports community," said Erin McDermott, The John D. Nichols '53 Family Director of Athletics. "He has been a proud and dedicated Harvard Hockey player and coach. We thank Ted for his service and commitment to the program and his contributions to the legacy of Harvard Hockey. We know that he will remain connected and we look forward to seeing his future impact on the sport of hockey."
A national search for the next head coach of Harvard men's ice hockey will begin immediately.
