Misha Donskov Will Coach Canada at 2026, 2027 Worlds
Misha Donskov will coach Canada at three marquee events through the 2026-27 season, giving Hockey Canada one head coach across the National Men’s Team and National Junior Team. His international head coaching debut comes at the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Zürich and Fribourg, Switzerland, with two more major tournaments to follow.
Donskov’s Three-Event Run
Hockey Canada announced that Donskov will lead Canada at the 2027 IIHF World Championship in Düsseldorf and Mannheim, Germany, and at the 2027 IIHF World Junior Championship in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta, in December 2026. That places him at three of the sport’s biggest international stages over a stretch that runs through the 2026-27 season.
The appointment extends the role he took on June 27, 2025, when Hockey Canada hired him as vice-president of hockey operations and men’s national team coach. He will also expand his work in that position by helping implement the vision and technical strategies for Hockey Canada’s men’s, women’s, and para hockey teams.
Scott Salmond on Donskov
Scott Salmond said Donskov’s NHL and OHL coaching and front office experience make him the right choice to lead both teams. He also called Donskov an integral member of Hockey Canada’s hockey operations staff and said Hockey Canada is fortunate to have him building the coaching and support staffs.
“Misha is an integral member of our hockey operations staff, and his contributions to successful teams at Hockey Canada over the years, as well as his NHL and OHL coaching and front office experience, make him the perfect fit to lead our National Men’s Team and National Junior Team as head coach starting next month,” Salmond said. “Misha is a world-class coach, and we are fortunate to have him building the coaching and support staffs that will put us in a position to win multiple gold medals at two of the marquee events on the international hockey calendar.”
From London to Vegas to Dallas
Donskov’s path includes five seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the London Knights and Ottawa 67s, highlighted by an OHL championship in 2012 as London’s assistant general manager and assistant coach. He also has previous NHL roles with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Atlanta Thrashers.
His resume in international and pro hockey runs deep. Donskov won gold at the 2015 IIHF World Championship as a video coach and again in 2016 as an assistant coach, added gold at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship and bronze at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, and won bronze at the 2014 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship as a video coach. He also won the 2016 World Cup of Hockey as an assistant and the 2019 Spengler Cup as director of hockey operations and assistant coach.
More recently, he spent four years from 2016 to 2020 as director of hockey operations with the Vegas Golden Knights, then more than three years from 2020 to 2023 as an assistant with the same club. He won the Stanley Cup in 2023 with Vegas, then spent two seasons from 2023 to 2025 as an assistant coach with the Dallas Stars.
Canada’s Next International Tests
Donskov said representing Canada on the international stage is a huge honour and that he is grateful for the chance to lead both national teams as head coach at three marquee world championships. He added that he looks forward to continuing to work closely with his colleagues in hockey operations and throughout Hockey Canada, as well as coaches and staff throughout the National Hockey League and Canadian Hockey.
The first test arrives at the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland, where Donskov takes over the men’s program on the biggest stage of his head coaching career. The World Juniors then move to Edmonton and Red Deer in December 2026, putting him behind the bench in Canada for a home event with the junior team before he closes the run at the 2027 worlds in Germany.
