Ted Donato ’91 To End Coaching Tenure With Harvard Men’s Ice Hockey

On Thursday, Ted Donato ’91, the Head Coach for the men’s ice hockey team, announced he will leave the Harvard program after this academic year.

“It is with immense gratitude that I have decided to end my tenure at Harvard as head coach of the Men’s Hockey program,” Donato wrote in a statement. “I am proud and grateful for all the incredible moments, everlasting memories, and relationships from my 27 years connected to the University as a student-athlete, coach, and parent.”

Donato has served as head coach since 2004 and is the winningest coach in program history, having passed his former coach, Bill Cleary ’56, with his 325th win in December. During his time at the helm of the Harvard program, Donato led the men’s ice hockey team to a Frozen Four appearance in 2017, eight NCAA tournament appearances, four ECAC titles, and four Ivy League championships.

Prior to his coaching tenure, Donato played for the Crimson as a core member of the 1989 NCAA Championship team, which beat the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the final. For his notable performance in the National Tournament, Donato was recognized as the Most Outstanding Player. He earned All-ECAC and All-Ivy honors and was named as the program’s 95th captain for his final collegiate season.

With his 144 total points, Donato still ranks highly among the all-time scoring leaders for the Crimson. After graduating, he had a lengthy professional career, playing in 796 NHL games across eight teams and earning 347 points. In 2010, he was inducted into the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2023, he was named to the Boston Bruins’ Historic 100 List, which showcases the organization’s most legendary players.

Donato has since coached players who earned many of the same awards, including six All-Ivy and three ECAC Hockey honorees in the 2014-15 season alone, one of whom was the Hobey Baker Hat Trick finalist Jimmy Vesey. While at Harvard, he also coached two of his sons, Ryan and Jack Donato.

As of this year, Donato has helped develop and coach over 20 active professional hockey players across the NHL, AHL, ECHL, and multiple international leagues.

“I feel truly blessed to have had the opportunity to work with such talented and driven student-athletes and staff of the highest character,” wrote Donato. “With the ever-changing landscape of college athletics, I believe it is the right time to pass the torch to the next leader of the Harvard Men’s Hockey program.”

The Harvard Athletics Department will start an immediate search for the next head coach of the men’s ice hockey team.

—Staff writer Kai I. Russell can be reached at [email protected].

—Staff writer Nate M. Bolan can be reached at [email protected].