Donovan was absolutely flying in this game. He had a goal and an assist in this game both coming from great plays. His goal was a clean give and go with his teammate in which Donovan would end up with a nice tip in on the back door. Donovan would also have some incredible passes from the boards where he would wait patiently for his teammates to get into space. This led to his assist which was an amazing pass to the slot, he never rushed the pass and this allowed his teammate to get in a better spot to shoot. Overall, Donovan really showed off his skating and vision in what was a good showing for the young forward.

Donovan was an integral piece to this game. He was able to enable many clean entries through his ability to dish the puck in a timely manner, but also with control. His passing was on point today. He used small touch passes to create space for his teammates entering the zone with speed. When in the offensive zone, Donovan was a puck hound. Donovan was dominant down low in the cycle game. On a couple of occasions, his hounding style on the forecheck was able to free loose pucks, and swiftly find teammates occupying dangerous ice. When carrying the puck into the zone, Donovan used chips into safe space to create separation for himself which also led to dangerous shot attempts for his team. Donovan also showed his dynamism. He was not afraid to take defenders on 1v1. In the 3rd period, he had a spectacular scoring opportunity where he weaved through multiple defenders in the neutral and offensive zones. To finish off the play he pulled the puck out of his skates, and into an area where he could uncork a quality wrist shot leading to a nice scoring opportunity.

One of the many talented players to come from the Shattuck St. Mary’s 07’ group of skaters, Alexander Donovan was a lead catalyst for his team in this one, using smart routes, tenacity, and skill to be an impact player nearly every shift. Some quick one-touch area-passes to teammates in transition let him play a high pace despite not being the fastest player himself, he was able to think the game quickly, make reads when pressured in short order, and move the puck effectively. On multiple occasions in this one he was able to make strong plays with the puck high in the slot, ringing a shot off the post with a bullet of a shot, he beat the goaltender clean but unfortunately did not beat the iron. He continued to utilize his shot to his advantage of freezing defenders and opening up lanes to send pucks low in the zone for his teammates to work with. He did a great job at waiting and maneuvering himself slightly to the left-or-right with some nice hands and crossover work to change the angle on either his shot or pass, making him a dual-threat player. His strong frame and soft hands had also aided in prolonging puck possession, drawing a few penalties in this game, further demonstrating his effectiveness for Team Royal.

Alex Donovan continued to show off his strong skating ability along with his playmaking game. With good weight transfer on his edges, he does a great job at protecting the puck with his body and through elongating/retracting the reach of his stick. He regularly made responsible plays in the offensive zone, passing through seams and cycling the puck along the perimeter the grindy game mixed with some skill eventually led to some open ice and scoring chances for himself and the rest of EC Prime. He was able to connect on some passes into the slot, creating chaos in front whilst displaying good vision and sound passing skill.

Alex Donovan had a few chances in this game where he had opportunities to shoot the puck and he showed off a very quick release. Perhaps underrated in his ability due to being surrounded by so many elite players on his stacked Shattuck team, Donovan has a nice shot with good speed that allows him to threaten goaltenders when he has clean looks.