Oilers Add Misha Donskov as Coaching Consultant
Hockey Canada's vice-president of hockey operations will spend select days each month with Edmonton while keeping his national team job.
The Edmonton Oilers have hired Misha Donskov as a coaching consultant, the team announced Thursday.
Donskov will keep his full time job as Hockey Canada's vice-president of hockey operations and men's national team coach, a post he has held since June 27, 2025. Under the new arrangement he will join the Oilers in Edmonton for a select number of days at home each month during the season while continuing his national team duties.
Head coach Mike Babcock said in the team's release that the club believes Donskov's "wealth of experience, people skills and professionalism will make our group better." Babcock was hired by Edmonton in June after the NHL cleared him to return to coaching, replacing Kris Knoblauch.
Donskov, 49, has a long track record in the league. He joined the Vegas Golden Knights as director of hockey operations before their inaugural 2017-18 season and later moved behind the bench as an assistant, winning the Stanley Cup with Vegas in 2023. He then spent two seasons as an assistant coach with the Dallas Stars.
On the international side, Donskov was an assistant on Canada's staff that won gold at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off and silver at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, and he served as an associate coach for Canada's bronze medal finish at the 2026 world junior championship. Hockey Canada's Scott Salmond noted the arrangement doubles as preparation for Donskov's next assignment: head coach of Canada's team at the 2027 world junior championship, which Edmonton and Red Deer are set to host from December 26, 2026 to January 5, 2027. He is also tabbed to coach Canada at next year's men's world championship.
