Donato all right with move
BRUINS NOTEBOOK
BUFFALO — The left shooting Ryan Donato may not have played much right wing, but considering that’s where his best opportunity lies in making the Bruins roster, he’s more than happy to give it a shot.
No doubt in an audition for the open spot on one of the B’s top two lines, Donato was slotted on the right side with center Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and left winger Ryan Fitzgerald in a 4-2 win over the Penguins in the Prospects Challenge last night. He contributed with an unassisted goal and an assist. On his goal, Donato simply knocked down a clear attempt at close range on the right wing and popped the puck past goalie Alex D’Orio.
“It’s different, but it’s something I can get comfortable with,” Donato said of playing the right side. “The first period, the first couple of shifts, I was like ‘OK, I have to be in the same spots, it’s just flipped.’ It’s the same thing, just handling some pucks on the backhand and it felt natural. It didn’t feel any different than if I was playing left wing, so either side feels great.”
Donato said he worked on all the forward positions over the summer.
“I focused on taking faceoffs as well,” he said. “I took faceoffs, I took rims on the left side, rims on the right side. I worked on my edges on both sides, too. If there’s an opportunity to play at any of the three spots I want to give myself the best shot.”
Donato wants more than just making the varsity.
“I want to be a guy that makes an impact in the NHL, not a guy who just makes an NHL roster,” Donato said. “I want to make sure I stay and make sure I’m a guy other guys on the team can rely on. I want to be in the lineup every night, yeah, but I want to be a guy that scores goals and makes plays as well.”
Studnicka strikes
With one game in the books, it appears Forsbacka Karlsson might be the most prepared to grab the third line center spot with his skill level and a full year of professional experience under his belt. But Jack Studnicka, who centered a third line between Jakub Lauko and Karson Kuhlman, had the prettiest goal of the game, flipping the puck through a defenseman before taking it wide for the tally. Cameron Hughes and Wiley Sherman had the other goals for the B’s.
Trent Frederic, who centered a line with Hughes and Zach Senyshyn, couldn’t get much going.
“I didn’t have a problem with Freddie’s game,” said Providence coach Jay Leach. “I think he might have been a little frustrated just from his demeanor on the bench. But he’s trying to make plays at the blue line and I’ve gone back and forth on all of this for a long time now, but we want him to make plays. He’s going to get to the point where he’ll make the right play. We’re not going to tell him to dump pucks in all night long. There were probably a couple of (situations) he’d like to have back, not taking care of pucks, which he will learn. I think he’ll be looking for a cleaner game (tonight). On the other hand, he’s always going to compete, he’s always going to be in people’s faces and you can’t argue with that.”
Smooth operator
Defenseman Urho Vaakanainen, the B’s 2017 first-round pick, showed off his vaunted skating.
“He’s smooth, right? He’s really smooth,” said Leach. “He definitely, in my opinion, rises to the occasion when playing in games. I did like him. He did a lot of good things out there. We’ll work on some stuff. Obviously we’ll work on stuff. It’s a different game over here. It’s a smaller rink and you’ve got to make adjustments, but he’s smooth, likes to play the game, which is always fun to watch. I thought he was pretty good.” . . .
Tonight’s matchup between the Bruins and Sabres should be the game of the tournament. The Sabres will feature the 2018 first overall pick, defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, 2017 eighth overall pick Casey Mittelstadt and Tage Thompson, the 26th overall pick from 2016 who came to Buffalo from St. Louis in the Ryan O’Reilly trade.
“It’s a good gauge to challenge yourself,” said Donato. “There are a lot of talented players and you want to prove yourself as one of those talented guys. Going into (tonight’s) game I think a lot of guys are excited and eager and hopefully it won’t turn into a little bit of a wrestling match like it did today, there will be more skill and I think our team will enjoy that was well.”