Islanders Sign Matt Donovan To An Entry Level ContractTaken From: www.Islanders.nhl.com"On Wednesday morning, the New York Islanders signed yet another one of their 2008 draft selections to an entry-level contract. Matt Donovan, who spent the last two seasons defending the blue-line at the University of Denver, inked his deal. “I’m very, very excited,” Donovan said when reached by phone. “I hope that I can play the same game that I’ve played my whole life, continue to play solid defensively and hopefully contribute offensively as well.” While his entry-level deal will not kick in until the 2011-12 season, Donovan will report to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers immediately, where he will play the remainder of the 2010-11 season with the Islanders American Hockey League affiliate on an Amateur Tryout Contract. “Starting now will just help me get my feet wet in my professional hockey career,” Donovan said. “It will help me figure out where I am and where need to be (talent and endurance wise), which will really help me figure out how hard I need to work this summer to make it to the Island.” In his sophomore season, Donovan surpassed all other Pioneers defensemen in scoring, posting a career-best 32 points (9 goals, 23 assists), bypassing his 7 goal, 14 assist freshman season by 11 points. “My defensive game has gotten a lot stronger over the last couple of years,” the Edmond, Oklahoma native said. “I’m a defenseman, but more specifically and offensive defenseman.” Donovan continued, “I like to contribute offensively and my defensive skills weren’t always there or I wasn’t playing well defensively, but I think the past couple years, specifically this past year, I’ve developed a lot better defensively.” The 20-year-old said he owes a lot of that improvement to his coaches at Denver. “It was unbelievable,” Donovan said. “The coaches are awesome, all the guys are awesome. I had a great two years there. I think the coaches and the staff all helped me develop a lot and I couldn’t ask for anything more.” Now that his collegiate career is over, defenseman has started to look towards his future. He knows his transition to the Arena at Harbor Yard will be seamless, especially since he’s friends with Rhett Rakhshani, who has been selected to the AHL’s All-Rookie Team, and Aaron Ness, who signed his entry-level contract with the Islanders franchise last week. While Donovan’s excited to get started, he knows this is just the beginning for him. “Hopefully I’m playing in the NHL soon,” Donovan said. “That’s my main goal. That’s what I’ve always dreamed of doing and hopefully that’s where I’m headed.”"
STATS:| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | TP | PIM | | Playoffs | GP | G | A | TP | PIM |
| 2007-2008 | Cedar Rapids Roughriders | USHL | 59 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 41 | | | Playoffs | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2008-2009 | Cedar Rapids Roughriders | USHL | 57 | 19 | 32 | 51 | 43 | | | Playoffs | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| 2009-2010 | Univ. of Denver | NCAA | 36 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 50 | | | | | | | | |
| | USA U20 | WJC-20 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| 2010-2011 | Univ. of Denver | NCAA | 42 | 9 | 23 | 32 | 64 | | | | | | | | |
| | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | AHL | - | - | - | - | - | | | | | | | | |
Contract Information:
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| LENGTH: 3 YEAR(S) VALUE: $2,625,000 TYPE: ENTRY LEVEL EXPIRY STATUS: RFA (2014) |
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PattyB Thoughts:
Matt Donovan is the 10th player picked by the NY Islanders in the 2008 draft to be signed to an Entry Level Contract by an NHL team and the Islanders couldn't be happier with this particular one. Donovan has been one of many pleasant surprises to come out of that draft and he is slated to become a key piece of the Isles organization. In only his 2nd year at Denver he put up 32 points and was known as one of the best defensemen in NCAA hockey. His style is very solid on both sides of the puck mainly due to the fact he has a solid set of wheels which enables him to get involved offensively but be able to get back into position in case of a turnover. In his own zone he is positionally sound and is reminiscent of Andrew MacDonald in the sense that he doesn't have any huge asset that sets him apart defensively he just knows the game well enough that he is always in every passing and shooting lane. In the offensive zone he is above average, he see's the ice well and can make very nice passes. Although, if need be, he can QB the Power Play ideally he would be used as just a solid two way defenseman with possibly time on the 2nd PP unit. Donovan has been sent to Bridgeport and will remain there for the remainder of the season. It will be interesting to see his transition to the pro-game as he will most likely be thrown right into the fire with some decent minutes. Although he is playing for the Islanders AHL affiliate it's being done through an ATO (Amateur Try-Out) which enable's his Entry Level Contract to begin next season (2011-12).
