John Clark Donatelli (born November 22, 1965) is an American former professional ice hockey player and hockey coach. Donatelli was a long-time minor league player in the American Hockey League (AHL) and International Hockey League (IHL). He played 35 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). Internationally Donatelli played for the American national team at several World Championships, the 1988 and 1992 Winter Olympics.
Donatelli was drafted in the fifth round, 98th overall, in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers. After three seasons with Boston University and one with the U.S. national team, Donatelli made his NHL debut with the Minnesota North Stars during the 1989âÂÂ90 season.
Donatelli played a full season with the International Hockey League's San Diego Gulls in 1990âÂÂ91, and joined the NHL's Boston Bruins briefly in the 1991âÂÂ92 season. After several seasons in the IHL and American Hockey League, as well as one in Roller Hockey International with the San Diego Barracudas, Donatelli retired in 1996.
After retiring, Donatelli took up coaching and eventually was named head coach of the Wheeling Nailers in the ECHL during the 2011âÂÂ12 season. During the 2015âÂÂ16 season, the Nailers' American Hockey League affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins promoted him as the interim head coach as their head coach, Mike Sullivan, had been promoted to Pittsburgh Penguins. He became the permanent head coach of the WBS Penguins after the season ended. Donatelli had a record of 154âÂÂ94âÂÂ20âÂÂ9 with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, leading the Penguins to three Calder Cup Playoff appearances and a regular season title in 2016âÂÂ17 before he departed in 2019.
In a lawsuit filed on November 3, 2020, in Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins assistant coach Jarrod Skalde filed a lawsuit alleging his wife was the victim of sexual assault by Donatelli. The lawsuit, Skalde et al. v. Lemieux Group, L.P. et al., alleges that Guerin, then the general manager of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, "told Skalde to keep quiet about the alleged assault." Guerin denied any wrongdoing on his part, claiming that he had "promptly brought (the allegation) to Pittsburgh Penguins senior management". The lawsuit was settled in November 2021.