EDITOR’S NOTE: Ted Donato ’91 was named Harvard men’s hockey coach on July 2, 2004, replacing the departed Mark Mazzoleni. During his four-year playing career at Harvard, he led the Crimson to its only national championship in 1989, earning the Frozen Four’s Most Valuable Player award for his performance in the tournament. After 13 seasons in the National Hockey League, he retired just prior to returning to his alma mater. He sat down with The Crimson yesterday.

The Harvard Crimson: You haven’t been here very long, but what are your first impressions?

Ted Donato: I think I bring a lot of enthusiasm. I’m very excited about the position. There’s a lot of pride. I’m very comfortable with what we’re trying to do, what were trying to sell from a recruiting standpoint. I believe in a Harvard education, I believe we can have a great hockey program. From a recruiting standpoint, which is a large part of the job, I’m comfortable with our position. And from the administrative side of the job, it definitely has its challenges, especially for someone without a background in that, but I think our staff is good....We’ll all help each other out.

THC: You’re new to the job and you’ve never recruited before, but is it easier to sell a school you’ve been to and have invested so much in?

TD: Absolutely. We are competitive on a national level. But the negative from a recruiting standpoint is that financially, we can’t offer full scholarships. Quite frankly, almost everyone we recruit has full scholarship offers. You have to believe in what you’re trying to sell. To me, I know I’m selling the Rolls Royce of college educations. And from a hockey standpoint, we’re a very very good hockey program, we should be. I’m confident, and I feel like I’m giving out passes for successful life to a lot of these kids. It’s always one of the draws for the job, the kind of kids you get to work with.

THC: You inherit a program that lost a lot of seniors to graduation.Do you find it easier to relate to all the freshmen you have coming in?

TD: Yeah, I do. I think I share some of their eagerness, also their uneasiness with a transition from one spot to another. I think we have a lot in common in that regard. I think I’ve been blessed to come into a situation with a great senior class and great senior leadership. I think that somewhat makes up for the fact that we lost a lot to the graduating class.

THC: This team has gone to the NCAA Tournament each of the past three years. What is it going to take to move beyond the first round this year?

TD: To me I want to focus more on the journey than just the end result. I feel if we do the right things and progress during the season, at the end of the year we’ll have a chance to compete and bring the program to the next level. These guys deserve a lot of credit. The last coaching staff deserves a lot of credit for what they’ve accomplished over the past three years.

THC: You’ve been there before, winning the NCAA title in 1989. Looking back, how much does that mean?

TD: I think it means a great deal. To me, it represents the ultimate combination of athletic achievement and academic success. That’s the opportunity I want to help to provide, to give these guys a chance from a hockey standpoint to compete for the national championship every year. But only one team is going to win. You have to enjoy the journey and not just worry about the end result.

THC: Does your past, being the Most Valuable Player of the Frozen Four the year your team won the title, give you greater weight with your players?

TD: I think it gives some credibility to the fact that I believe that we don’t have to give up anything from an academic standpoint to play at the nationally competitive level, hockey-wise. I’m living proof that you can juggle both academic excellence and athletic excellence at the same time.

THC: You have a bit of a reputation as a joker from back during your playing days….