Scouts Dish on Donato & Dubnyk

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:

Cat Silverman & Cole Anderson on If Acquiring Dubnyk Is a Mistake

Dubnyk also received mixed scouting reports in a SJHN+ article from a couple weeks ago:

Scouts on How Potential Buyout UFAs Would Fit Sharks

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!