The Grafton School District is pleased to announce that Ryan Donovan has agreed to become the new head coach of the Ice Hawks cooperative hockey team. The Ice Hawks draw players from the Grafton, Port Washington, Milwaukee Lutheran and Living Word Lutheran high schools.
Donovan has an extensive hockey background, including stints as head coach for three university club hockey programs: the University of St. Thomas (2013-14), the University of Wisconsin (2008-11), and the University of Minnesota (2005-06).
Coach Donovan also serves as the commissioner of the Western Collegiate Club Hockey Association and has been a camp instructor at the Ozaukee Ice Center’s high school Elite Camp.
Donovan played collegiate club hockey for the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. He graduated from Homestead High School in Mequon where he was the team MVP for the 2000-01 season. Donovan received a Bachelor of Arts in psychology in 2005 and a law degree from the University of Wisconsin in 2010.
Coach Donovan will be relocating from the Twin Cities back to the North Shore in a few weeks with his wife Sara, who is a physician assistant.
He plans on meeting with players and parents and interviewing assistant coaches soon thereafter. Dr. Mel Lightner, Grafton superintendent of schools, is pleased to have Donovan on board. “We are very impressed with Coach Donovan’s hockey pedigree and we look forward to his leadership of our Ice Hawks program.”
Coach Donovan is ready to get started: “I am extremely excited to be coaching the Ice Hawks hockey team. I look forward to meeting the players and their families in a couple of weeks.”
--SCHOOL DISTRICT OF GRAFTON PRESS RELEASE--
Donovan is also the founder and commissioner of the Western Collegiate Club Hockey Association (WCCHA).
The league was founded in 2003 and currently includes six team from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota. It gives players that don't attend D1 or D3 hockey schools an opportunity to play beyond high school.
