Sabres coach ‘Donny Meatballs’ touts T-shirt that aids mental health

There’s no bib required to protect this shirt.

Buffalo Sabres coach Don Granato is embracing his “Donny Meatballs” nickname by having it splashed on a T-shirt to raise money for the nonprofit organization Mental Health America.

Granato teamed with Buffalo-based Pasteurized Tees to create a Sabres blue and gold T-shirt design, which went on sale recently to coincide with the start of training camp. The design features a plate of spaghetti topped with five meatballs, a nod to the playful nickname Granato got after taking over as interim coach after Ralph Krueger’s March dismissal.

First coined by a local blogger, the nickname stuck and became popular on social media.

Upon announcing Granato’s hiring on a full-time basis in June, the Sabres released a video showing a plate of meatballs on a table along with a nameplate displaying Granato’s title being changed from interim to head coach.

“I am excited to embrace this nickname for a good cause and support of our community,” Granato said in a statement. “My hope is to take this fan-created nickname a step further by finding ways to give back.”

Granato, 54, is of Italian heritage and grew up in Illinois as part of a noted hockey family.

His brother Tony played 13 NHL seasons and is currently the head coach at Wisconsin, while his sister Cammi is a twotime Olympian, the first female Hockey Hall of Fame inductee and a scout for the NHL expansion team Seattle Kraken.

Don Granato is a first-time NHL coach who has a reputation for developing players at the minor league levels.