Hockey Canada has named Misha Donskov of Montreal, Quebec their head coach at three prestigious international hockey tournaments over the next year. They are the 2026 World Men’s Hockey Championships in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland from May 15-31, 2026, the 2027 World Junior Men’s Hockey Championships in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta, Canada from December 26, 2026 to January 5, 2027, and the 2027 World Men’s Hockey Championships in Dusseldorf and Mannheim, Germany from May 14-30, 2027 according to the Canadian Press on Thursday.
It is unprecedented for Canada to name one person as their head coach for three prestigious and consecutive international ice hockey competitions. A change in protocol in the decision making process emerged with Canada failing to win an Olympic gold medal in men’s ice hockey in 12 years, and unable to win a gold medal in men’s ice hockey at the World Men’s Ice Hockey Championship and World Junior Ice Hockey Championships since 2023.
This will be Donskov’s second time as head coach for Hockey Canada. He was the head coach for Team Blue in the under-17 Development Program in 2014-15. Donskov’s other roles include being team consultant for the Columbus Blue Jackets (2001 to 2004), team consultant for the Atlanta Thrashers (2004 to 2009), assistant coach for the University of Western Ontario in the Canadian University Sport (2009 to 2010), assistant coach for the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (2009 to 2012), assistant general manager of the London Knights (2011 to 2012), assistant coach of the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL (2012 to 2014), director of hockey operations and later assistant coach of the Vegas Golden Knights (2018 to 2023), amd assistant coach of the Dallas Stars (2023 to 2025).
