CALGARY – Misha Donskov will serve as head coach for Canada’s teams at the next two men’s world championships and the 2027 world junior championship, Hockey Canada announced Thursday.
The 49-year-old from London, Ont., will make his international head coaching debut at this year’s world championship in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland, which begins May 15.
Donskov was an assistant on the coaching staff of the Canadian teams that won gold at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off and silver at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics and was an associate coach on Canada’s bronze medallists at the 2026 world junior championship.
Team Canada assistant coach Misha Donskov speaks to media following practice during the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, in Minneapolis on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov
Before that, he worked on Canada’s staff at several tournaments, primarily as a video coach.
Hockey Canada hired Donskov as vice-president of hockey operations and men’s national team coach on June 27, 2025.
In the NHL, Donskov spent more than three years (2020-23) as an assistant coach and four (2016-20) as director of hockey operations with the Vegas Golden Knights, winning the Stanley Cup in 2023. He spent two seasons (2023-25) as an assistant with the Dallas Stars before joining Hockey Canada full-time.
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Hockey Canada plans to announce the rest of its coaching staff for the 2026 world championship in the coming days.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2026.
