Sheng Peng
You would think getting three-time All-Star Devan Dubnyk and half-salary retention (and a 2022 seventh-round pick) for just a 2022 fifth-rounder would excite the scouts.
But actually, it’s the San Jose Sharks’ acquisition of 24-year-old winger Ryan Donato for a 2021 third-round pick that drew the most praise from two NHL scouts.
Digging deeper, it might be easy to understand why. Goaltending experts Catherine Silverman and Cole Anderson have already spoken to San Jose Hockey Now about Dubnyk’s half-decade stretch of underwhelming advanced stats:
Dubnyk also received mixed scouting reports in a SJHN+ article from a couple weeks ago:
Donato, on the other hand, boasts some more promising numbers and scouting reports.
For example, Donato managed to lead the Wild with 14 5-on-5 goals despite playing fourth-line minutes.
He was actually eighth in the league — eighth in the league — with 1.4 5-on-5 Goals Per 60 (500+ 5v5 minutes). These were the seven players ahead of Donato’s scoring rate: Dominik Kubalik, Alex Ovechkin, Auston Matthews, Jakub Vrana, David Pastrnak, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Mika Zibanejad. That’s pretty good company.
Those 14 5-on-5 goals would’ve been second on the San Jose Sharks, just behind Timo Meier’s 17.
But enough with the stats, let’s get to the reports!
Scout #1 on San Jose Sharks Acquiring Donato
“I thought it was a good move for San Jose.
“Here’s a guy who tied for the team lead in even strength goals playing a fourth-line role most of the year. He can score and that’s what San Jose has lacked, depth scoring.
“To give up a third and [probably] not a high third-round pick, the risk-reward there, I think it’s a great play.
“I was surprised that Donato, young kid that he is, got buried the way he did. I understand he has some flaws in his game in terms of details away from the puck, but the kid can score and shoot.
“If you give him the opportunity to play with somebody who can get him the puck?
“I feel like Minnesota is selling low on the player. He’s got 20-goal potential.
“If you were to tell me there was a chance you were going to pick a guy in the third round that’s going to score you 15-20, I think you’d be pretty happy about that. It’s a win for San Jose.”
Scout #1 on Donato’s “Lack of Compete”
“It comes in spurts. He’ll get in on a battle, but he’s not fully engaged. He goes in there and you’ll like to see him a little harder on the puck. More engaged, more competitive in that regard.
“When it comes to cracking back and getting back to the defensive zone, that’s also an area where you’d like to see him be more competitive, a little more committed.
“But he’s still a young kid. You don’t want to write him off. But those are some areas, as a young guy, you want to see him work on.
“I think [his lack of playing time] was a combination of that and Minnesota has a lot of forwards. It almost seemed like they had a lot of veteran guys they wanted to play. Then they had some younger guys like Eriksson-Ek, Kunin, and Greenway that were home-drafted.
“I don’t know if they had enough spots, but they couldn’t send them down because of waivers. So they were in a squeeze: Do we play him on a fourth line or what do we do with him? I think he got boxed out.
“I’m surprised they didn’t give him one more look this year before moving on.
“At the end of the day, everybody has their flaws. If he scores you 20-25 goals, there’s going to be some plays where you’re shaking your head, you want more out of him.”
Scout #1 on Donato’s Attitude
“The kid loves hockey. You hope that he’s motivated. I think coming to San Jose with the opportunity to play consistent minutes, he’ll thrive. I think confidence is a big thing with him.
“Even when he first got traded from Boston to Minnesota, he had [16 points in his first 18 games there]. He was playing in a top-nine role, he’s feeling good about himself, he’s feeling wanted and cared about.
“I think you’re going to be pleasantly surprised.”
Scout #2 on Donato
“We’ve got him as a third-line or better left winger.
“From what I saw, he generates when he got chances to play. He played a little too fast for [Mikko] Koivu. I think he needed a real chance to play top-nine.
“When I’ve watched him, Ryan was one of the few Wild players to get to the middle of the ice.
“Maybe I just saw some good games. But he was first in the o-zone. First on pucks and used his quickness and shot-first mentality to generate chances. Good on the forecheck. Was physical, attempted to get pucks to the net.
“He certainly has the potential to be more than a 10-minute player.”
Scout #2 on Dubnyk
“I’m not a Dubnyk fan.
“Can’t rely on him. He’s a B-goalie. I don’t think he’s a top guy. He’s closer to a 1C [compared to the best goalies] for me.
“He’s big. But he never seems to be really good, only for spurts.
“I also don’t like him later in the year. He always lets me down later in the year.
“He just leaves me wanting more for that size. I’m like goddammit is this guy going to be able to do it or what?
“I’m not in love with him.
“But they’re not giving up that much. The price is pretty good. The prize might be more Donato.”