Harvard University announced this week that it has added two seasoned assistants, Tommy Davis and John Ronan, to its men’s ice hockey coaching staff, marking the first major personnel move since longtime head coach Ted Donato stepped down after twenty-two years.
Donato’s resignation in May 2026 ended an era that saw the Crimson capture multiple conference titles and NCAA tournament appearances, and the athletic department moved quickly to install a successor.
A New Head Coach Takes the Helm
Rob Rassey, formerly the top assistant at the University of Michigan and a longtime Harvard aide, was promoted to head coach, bringing a blend of Big Ten experience and familiar campus knowledge to the program.
Davis arrives after a stint that includes four years at Princeton, a graduate-transfer season at Providence, and most recent scouting work for the Washington Capitals, while also having coached in the USHL under Rassey during the 2012-13 season.
Ronan, a 2005 graduate of the University of Maine who spent a decade at Union College as an assistant before serving as interim head coach in the 2021-22 season, was recently elevated to associate head coach just weeks before his hiring at Harvard.
The additions of Davis and Ronan, together with the lone holdover Brian Robinson from the previous staff, are intended to preserve continuity while injecting fresh strategic perspectives as the program navigates the post-Donato landscape.
With the new cohort in place, Harvard’s athletic director expressed confidence that the team will remain competitive and that the coaching staff’s diverse backgrounds will help sustain the program’s tradition of excellence.