Edward Paul Donato (born April 28, 1969) is an American ice hockey coach and former player who is currently an assistant coach for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously served as the head coach at Harvard University from 2004 to 2026, and is the winningest coach in program history.
Early and personal life Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Donato grew up in Dedham, Massachusetts and attended Catholic Memorial High School, where he became the high school's all-time leading goalscorer.
Playing career Donato was selected 98th overall in the 1987 NHL entry draft by the Boston Bruins. He played his high school hockey at Catholic Memorial, college hockey at Harvard University, and then moved up to the NHL for the 1991–92 season. Donato played 796 career NHL games, scoring 150 goals and 197 assists for 347 points. During his career, Donato played for the Bruins, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, and New York Rangers.
He played his youth hockey for the Hyde Park Eagles, a Boston neighborhood organization, where a banner still hangs honoring his time playing for Hyde Park Youth Hockey.
Donato is the second professional hockey player to appear on the show The Price Is Right (winning his way on-stage and making it to the Showcase Showdown), the first player in the NHL to appear.
In 2023 he would be named one of the top 100 Bruins players of all time.Bruins Announce “Historic 100” Ahead of All-Centennial Team Reveal https://www.nhl.com/bruins/news/bruins-announce-historic-100-ahead-of-all-centennial-team-reveal
Coaching career Donato was the head coach of his alma mater, Harvard University from 2004 to 2026. On December 6, 2025, following a 3–0 victory against the Brown Bears, Donato became the winningest men's ice hockey coach in Harvard history, surpassing his former coach Bill Cleary. On May 7, 2026, he stepped down as head coach. He finished his career as the all-time winningest coach in program history, with a 334–292–77 record and led the Crimson to the 2017 Frozen Four, and won four ECAC tournament championships.
On July 15, 2026, Donato was named assistant coach for the New Jersey Devils.
Personal life Donato is married to Jeannine Donato. The couple have four children. His son Ryan was selected by the Boston Bruins in the 2014 NHL entry draft and currently plays with the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL.
Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1986–87Catholic Memorial SchoolHS-MA2229346330————— 1987–88Harvard CrimsonECAC2812142624————— 1988–89Harvard CrimsonECAC3414375130————— 1989–90Harvard CrimsonECAC16561134————— 1990–91Harvard CrimsonECAC2819375626————— 1991–92United StatesIntl5211223324————— 1991–92Boston BruinsNHL101238153474 1992–93Boston BruinsNHL821520356140110 1993–94Boston BruinsNHL84223254591342610 1994–95TuTo Hockey SM-l14551047————— 1994–95Boston BruinsNHL471010201050004 1995–96Boston BruinsNHL822326494651232 1996–97Boston BruinsNHL6725265137————— 1997–98Boston BruinsNHL791623395450002 1998–99Boston BruinsNHL141344————— 1998–99New York IslandersNHL557111827————— 1998–99Ottawa SenatorsNHL133251010000 1999–2000Mighty Ducks of AnaheimNHL8111193026————— 2000–01Dallas StarsNHL65817252680110 2001–02Manchester MonarchsAHL361825431951340 2001–02Bridgeport Sound TigersAHL10000————— 2001–02New York IslandersNHL10000————— 2001–02Los Angeles KingsNHL20002————— 2001–02St. Louis BluesNHL20002————— 2002–03Hartford Wolf PackAHL188122014————— 2002–03New York RangersNHL492136————— 2003–04Boston BruinsNHL6365111820000 2003–04Providence BruinsAHL15391224—————NHL totals 796 150 197 347 396 58 8 10 18 22
International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 1988 United States WJC 6th 7 3 2 5 18 1992 United States OG 4th 8 4 3 7 8 1997 United States WC 6th 8 4 2 6 8 1999 United States WC 6th 6 2 6 8 6 2002 United States WC 7th 7 1 3 4 2 Junior totals 7 3 2 5 18 Senior totals 29 11 14 25 24
Head coaching record
Awards and honors Award Year All-NCAA All-Tournament team 1989 NCAA Tournament MVP1989 All-ECAC Hockey First Team 1990–91
References
External links Harvard Crimson bio