Q&A With Blackhawks Difference-Maker Ryan Donato

It certainly paid its dividends; Donato ended up as the Blackhawks’ top goal-scorer (31 goals), while also being third place in assists (31) and second place in points (62). These stats blew away his previous career highs in all three categories. His 182 shots on goal was also a career high, and second on the team only to Bedard. Oh, and he ranked third on the team in hits (104).

This impressive campaign earned Donato a four-year contract extension with a $4 million annual cap hit, which runs through the 2028-29 season. Yet even with all these accolades, the question remains whether Donato can repeat his impressive 2024-25 campaign, or whether he will regress to the mean. Well, it could be a little bit of both. The 29-year-old shared some details about his offseason work that’s helped him so considerably on the ice.

Donato’s 2025 Offseason Training; Adding New Pointers

THW Question: We know you worked on your skating and speed again this offseason. Is it more of the same (from last offseason) or did they give you new pointers?

Donato: Yes, new pointers and more of the same. So, I’d say at the beginning, it’s more of the same. Making sure you’re keeping up to date with all the stuff. So certain things start to fade, and you want to reestablish those things that they taught you. And then once you get the hang of those things, they say, okay, you’re getting the, let’s say the bottom half. Your legs look good. Everything looks fine. Now we gotta tie in the upper body, and work on that and add new pointers and focus on other key things. And it kind of ties everything together.

So I think, a lot at the beginning it’s making sure you’re getting back, because you don’t really, during the season, it’s hard to keep up with the skating and the edge work. And then throughout the summer, you kind of start at the beginning, where you’re able to reestablish all the things that you learned last year, and then start adding new fundamentals.

THW Question: Do you feel like you have even more of a head start this season? What are you working on?

Donato: Yeah. So last year was more lower half, like worrying about what position my legs are in, posture, that kind of stuff. And then this summer, we worked on that (again). I went down there (to Florida) twice this summer. First time we went down there was lower body, making sure we’re keeping on top of that. And the second time I went down there was upper body. So we tied the lower body with the upper body. So it gave you another 5 to 10% more to work on. Hopefully make those lower body habits feel better, because your upper body is working with you more.

THW Question: Do you feel like you’re gaining any value out of all that in training camp so far?

Donato: I hope so. Last year, I worked on the skating. It’s hard to see until you play. So I think that last year, when I came into training camp, I did so many different things skating-wise, it just kind of flowed. And eventually that came through. People were like, okay, the skating looks better. This year it’s hopefully the same where, we work on these things and these habits, but they kind of become second nature and muscle memory. Then, maybe I look faster, maybe I feel faster, maybe I feel lighter. Hopefully those things happen. But I have to play the game to kind of see if those things that I tried to work on in the summer come through.

Donato suited up for his first preseason game on Sunday, Sept. 28 and looked the part. He scored a goal off a beautiful spin-o-rama feed from Bedard, as well as registering two shots on goal and two hits, while leading all forwards with 17:21 minutes of ice time. Kudos to Donato for being at the right place at the right time on the below goal. He’s off to a good start!

It will be interesting to see how Donato fares on his fundamentals as the season progresses. Can he pick up where he left off with his skating and explosiveness, as it relates to his lower body? Will the upper body additions truly help him feel even faster and lighter? And just how will this translate to his production?

Donato & Linemates Bedard & Burakovsky

It appears from training camp so far that new head coach Jeff Blashill will be starting starting the season with Donato, Bedard and newcomer Andre Burakovsky on a top line together. Donato and Burakovsky overlapped in the 2022-23 season when they both played with the Seattle Kraken. Donato gave us some input on Burakovsky.

THW Question: You’ve been skating on a line with Andre Burakovsky and Connor Bedard so far in camp. With Burakovsky being new to the team, how do you feel like he’s acclimating?

Donato: Great! I mean obviously there’s a lot of pressure coming to a new team with a lot of new faces. There’s a lot to learn, especially with systems and coaches and everything. Burkey’s a true pro. He’s gonna make sure he’s helping the guys win and do the right things. He’s been on teams that have won before, so he knows the drill. And I think he’s acclimated quite well so far. There’s still lots of time, and hopefully he continues to help the team.

It makes sense to start the season with this line; as Donato and Bedard have some clear chemistry together. When Coach Blashill discussed Burakovsky, he stressed that he was very smart offensively, and a good transporter of the puck up the ice. Obviously, the Blackhawks want to have Bedard in the offensive zone as much as possible, so he can utilize his elite talent to create plays and find the back of the net.

Time will tell whether this trio will find sustained success together.

Donato on Dach

The day I spoke with Donato, Burakovsky sat out practice with a minor “tweak”, as Coach Blashill termed it. Colton Dach took Burakovsky’s place on a line with Donato and Bedard for a day. Therefore, I asked Donato what he thought of the young forward.

THW Question: Colton Dach played with you while Burakovsky took a day off. How do you feel he fared with you and Bedard?

Donato: Dachers a big body, and can hold onto pucks. So, I think he’s eager to learn to be a guy that can be heavy down low for you and hold onto pucks. I think he gets that role. I think those guys, they’re born with that ability. He plays with a chip on his shoulder, and he uses that edge, and it’s definitely fun to see and be great to see in a game. That kind of stuff is hard in practice, but today I think he kept up great, and I think he molded pretty well with us.

22-year-old Dach made a great impression in his first two preseason games, combining for three shots on goal, 12 hits and two blocked shots. He’s definitely playing the physical, power forward role that Blashill is asking of him.

He’s definitely making a case for himself to be on the opening night roster for the Blackhawks.

Donato & His Faith

Finally, Donato has been very open about being strong in his faith. I was curious how he worked church into such a busy hockey schedule.

THW Question: With today being a Sunday, how do you balance church on Sundays when you have such a busy hockey schedule? Does the team have a chaplain?

There is a chaplain here, but Murph (Connor Murphy) usually sets that up. But usually on Sundays, depends on what the schedule is. So today, technically I probably could have gone to 7 or 8 a.m. mass, but we had a gala last night. So there’s 5 p.m. mass that’s literally 30 steps from my front door. So I’ll go to that mass tonight. And I usually try and go every Sunday that we’re not doing something. So if I don’t have anything, usually I try to get to mass.

My colleague Brooke LoFurno and myself are hoping to follow up with more members of the team, to get a better understanding of how they combine hockey and their faith.

Donato appears to have all the pieces in place to be a difference-maker this season, just like he was last season. He’s continued his offseason training to help further elevate his game, he’s set to play on the top line and he’s supportive of and trying to help his teammates. At Donato’s exit interview last April, he was asked about his individual achievements (career-high 31 goals and 62 points). Like a true pro, he immediately turned it back around to the team. He stated:

…I’d also love to push the team to be in a spot where you make the playoffs at the same time. So yeah, I’m super blessed; happy to hit that milestone. And it’s something that I want to push forward, to do more of in the future. And prove that it’s not just one season … And I think the next step in that, and saying that is, get better myself, but also be able to push the team into a spot where we’re planning playoffs.

Is it too soon to talk about the playoffs? Well, Donato doesn’t think so. Either way, it’s a perfect mindset to start the new season on the right foot.