The silver lining for injuries in sports is that one player’s absence opens the door for someone else to prove their worth.
(Kurt Warner and Tom Brady gave that sentence a big thumbs up.)
With the regular season winding down, the Boston Bruins are hoping to push the Tampa Bay Lightning for the Atlantic Division title and the conference’s top seed, but they’re probably just as hopeful that some key players will be healthy by the playoffs. That ship has sailed for Anders Bjork, yet they’re crossing their fingers regarding players dealing with a variety of maladies: Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, David Backes, Jake DeBrusk and Charlie McAvoy.
[The 2018 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs begin April 11 on the networks of NBC]
Such injuries might at least partially explain the timing of the Ryan Donato signing, and they’ll absolutely open up a chance for him to echo McAvoy in showing that he’s a quick study at the NHL level. Keith Jones and Jeremy Roenick discussed as much on Sunday:
[NHL Playoff Push: Bruins look to test Blue Jackets]
Donato already likely made an impact on viewers who saw him shine for the U.S. during the 2018 Winter Olympics, and logically enough, he’s slated to join fellow Olympian Brian Gionta (and Noel Acciari) on the team’s third line. Gionta came away impressed with Donato from their brief run together, as the Bruins website notes:
“He was unreal,” Gionta said of Donato’s five-goal, six-point Olympic performance. “He was probably our best player over there. Extremely composed, great shot, great release, great hockey sense. It will all equate well to this level as well.”
While that’s not too shabby an opportunity for his NHL debut, it’s special teams where Donato gets a fascinating, golden opportunity. Via Left Wing Lock, it appears as though Donato will be on the top unit along with Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, Rick Nash, and Torey Krug.
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Update: Before Monday’s game began, it was revealed that Rick Nash is also dealing with an injury, so Donato’s opportunity may be even more promising.
No Rick Nash tonight (upper body) so Donato will play with Krejci.
— Joe McDonald (@JoeyMacHockey) March 19, 2018
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Wow. One couldn’t set the table much better in Boston, particularly for a player who’s touted for a high hockey IQ.
There’s also the matter of having hockey in his blood.
This situation serves as a full-circle moment for Donato and Patrice Bergeron. You see, Bergeron says he learned a lot from Ryan’s father Ted Donato as an 18-year-old rookie with the Bruins:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BghKp-qAUEa/
Even if Donato struggles at first - certainly a possibility, considering that he’s jumping right into the mix, including tonight’s game against a peaking Blue Jackets team - it’s a great story.
.@DonatoRyan on his first day as a Bruin: "It’s something that I don’t want to happen too fast so I can cherish every second of it. Right now it’s a lot of fun." pic.twitter.com/SUZ7VtCNrD
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) March 19, 2018
Donato has a real chance to make an impact, though. If he can help an already-impressive Bruins team roll out a deeper scoring attack, then watch out. Tonight’s game against Columbus stands as his first opportunity to show that he can hang at the NHL level, and maybe plant the seed that he deserves a significant role even once other forwards get healthy.
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.