Ryan Donald, the captain of the 2009-10 Yale team that won the ECAC Hockey regular-season championship, has returned to the Bulldogs as an assistant coach.
Donald, who had recently been named assistant coach and assistant general manager of the Trail Smoke Eaters of the British Columbia Hockey League, jumped at the chance to return to his alma mater.
“Since I got into coaching two years ago, I’ve been thinking how exciting it would be to return to Yale as a coach,” Donald said in a news release. “It’s truly a dream coming true.”
The former Yale defenseman and four-year letter-winner helped the Bulldogs win three ECAC regular-season and tournament titles.
Donald went on to play for the AHL’s Providence Bruins and Charlotte Checkers and the ECHL’s Gwinnett Gladiators.
“This is also a great opportunity for me to learn from a coach [Keith Allain] with a wealth of knowledge and experience,” added Donald.
Donald was a coach and assistant GM of the Maritime Junior Hockey League’s Woodstock Slammers from 2013 to 2015 and prior to that, served as a volunteer assistant coach with the Florida Jr. Everblades of the Eastern Junior Hockey League during the 2011-12 season.
