Draft:Misha Donskov
Canadian ice hockey coach and executive
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Misha Donskov (born April 24, 1977) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and executive. He is currently the vice-president of hockey operations at Hockey Canada and a coach of the Canadian men's national team. He was previously an assistant coach of the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights in the National Hockey League (NHL), as well as the director of hockey operations for the Golden Knights.[1][2] Donskov has served as a "pre-scout" who watches video and analytics to relay information to the head coach and players.[3][4]
 | Review waiting, please be patient.
This may take 8 weeks or more, since drafts are reviewed in no specific order. There are 3,117 pending submissions waiting for review.
Where to get help
How to improve a draft
You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Editor resources
Reviewer tools
|
| Misha Donskov | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
April 24, 1977 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached for |
Columbus Blue Jackets Atlanta Thrashers Vegas Golden Knights Dallas Stars | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 2001–present | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coaching career
In 2001, Donskov joined the Columbus Blue Jackets as a team consultant focused on team development and coaching youth hockey. In 2004, he moved to the Atlanta Thrashers and took on the same role. For 2009–10, Donskov was a graduate assistant coach for the Western Mustangs of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (now U Sports) and an assistant with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He spent three seasons with the Knights and won the 2012 OHL Championship as an assistant coach and assistant general manager. From 2012 to 2014 he was an assistant coach for the Ottawa 67's.[1][2]
Donskov later served as video coach for Team Canada at the IIHF World U18 Championships, IIHF World Junior Championships, Spengler Cup and IIHF World Championships from 2014 to 2016. He was part of gold medalist Team Canada's coaching staff for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.[1][5]
Donskov joined the Vegas Golden Knights as director of hockey operations prior to their inaugural 2017–18 season, where they won the Western Conference before falling to the Washington Capitals in five games in the 2018 Stanley Cup Final.[6][7] He stayed in this role until the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs where the Golden Knights moved him to an assistant coach role under head coach Pete DeBoer. He was the Golden Knights assistant coach through the Golden Knights' 2023 Stanley Cup winning season, before becoming an assistant coach for Pete DeBoer and the Dallas Stars during the 2023 NHL offseason.[8] He spent two seasons with the Stars, both culminating in Western Conference Finals losses to the Edmonton Oilers. Donskov was also part of the Team Canada coaching staff under head coach Jon Cooper at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, where Canada won the tournament.[9][3]
On June 27, 2025, Donskov was hired by Hockey Canada as vice-president of hockey operations and coach of the Canada men's national team.[2][10] Donskov will also serve as an associate coach of the Canada men's junior team and will have a strategic role with the men's under-17 and under-18 programs.[11][12] On July 21, 2025, Donskov was named an assistant coach for Jon Cooper and Team Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics men's hockey tournament.[13] Donskov played a role in the player selections for the tournament,[14] where Canada went on to win a silver medal.
Personal life
Donskov was born on April 24, 1977 in Montreal, Quebec to a Russian-Serbian father and an American mother.[15] His father, Paul, was born in Belgrade, Serbia in 1944 and immigrated to Canada from a refugee camp in Italy in 1954. In 1990, Donskov's family moved to Columbus, Ohio and joined minor hockey circles. After Paul died in 2020, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Donskov family announced the Paul Donskov Legacy Scholarship, in memory of Paul's work in minor hockey in Columbus.[16][17]
Donskov and his family run Donskov Hockey Development, a hockey school in Columbus, Ohio.[7] In 2023, after winning the Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights, Donskov brought the Stanley Cup to his father's locker room stall at the school on his day with the Cup.[18][19]
Donskov has a master's degree in kineseology from the University of Western Ontario.[15]