Donovan finding success going to the net

Donovan, born in Lloydminster and raised in nearby Lashburn, Sask., believed team bonding is a main reason why the Stars have gone 5-1 so far in the month of December. He believed as they’ve gotten more comfortable with one another off the ice, it has translated to familiarity on it, and with that have come more goals and more wins.

“Bond-wise, I think that’s actually really helped us on the ice with our chemistry and coming together and working hard,” Donovan said. “I think we’re really just starting to realize what it takes to win in this league. We’re starting to come together, we’re making passes better and we’re really starting to work a lot harder.”

From an outsider perspective, another reason they have done well as of late is because of him.

The Stars rookie is now third in team scoring with 11 points. Nine of those points have come in his last 11 games, however, meaning he had just two points in his first 13 games.

“I think he’s getting more confidence,” Stars head coach Jean Fauchon said. “He’s just continuing to work hard and he wants to get better and he’s doing the things you ask of him. When he comes off on a shift and you explain something to him, he’s very attentive and he wants to take it in. He wants to be a better player and it’s showing.”

One particular area that has paid off for Donovan and the team is going to the net, hard.

Donovan is 6’3”, 200 lbs., and when he makes it hard for opposing goalies to see the puck, it makes it easier for Battlefords to score goals.

In December, the team is averaging 3.5 goals-per-game. On the season, they are only averaging 2.6. Clearly, going to the net with conviction makes a difference for both Donovan and the team.

“It’s hard to get him out from in front of the net and he’s able to bang away at pucks under there,” Fauchon said. “When we weren’t winning, we didn’t have that net presence. In this league, any goalie is going to stop pucks if you let him see it.

“Having a big strong guy like that in front of the net who also has some hands and can score makes a world of difference for us.”

The duo of Donovan and fellow rookie Adam Beckman has also paid off.

Beckman has meshed well with Donovan, and the two are good friends off the ice as well.

“We played together at spring camp and kind of had a lot of chemistry there and that translated over,” Donovan said. “He’s a great player. He’s always in the right spot. If I’m looking for a pass, he’s there, he’s in the open spots and he has an amazing scoring touch. He just plays the game well.”

As a rookie, this is the first year Donovan is living away from home.

Even though home isn’t that far away, it’s still an adjustment, one that has been made easier thanks to his billets, Cindy and Chris Gerstenhofer.

“I have a really great billet family so that ended up being a lot easier than I thought it would be,” Donovan said. “I grew up in a small town and they’re really into hunting and all that stuff that I’m used to and it’s kind of like a second home that’s the same as the home I’m used to.”

This weekend, the first-place Regina Pat Canadians threaten to halt the recent strong play of the AAA Stars.

They are 19-2-0-1 this season, but Donovan sais that needs to be thrown out the window.

“We need to not think so much about how good they are and just play our game,” he said. “We’ve played top teams before and we’ve taken them all the way to OT so…I think we’ll be able to take the four points this weekend.”

Nathan Kanter is battlefordsNOW’s sports reporter and voice of the Battlefords North Stars. He can be reached at Nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca or tweet him @NathanKanter11

by Nathan Kanter

Donovan finding success going to the net

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