Stars assistant coach Misha Donskov has left the club to become a top coach and executive with Hockey Canada’s men’s national team program, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said Friday. Dallas later confirmed Donskov’s departure.
Donskov had been in Dallas for the past two seasons. He’d spent the previous seven years with the Golden Knights as their director of hockey operations and later assistant coach, working under now-former Stars bench boss Peter DeBoer in the latter role. While Vegas fired DeBoer and he joined Dallas in the 2022 offseason, Donskov joined him one year later.
There was some smoke about Donskov being interviewed for NHL head coaching vacancies this summer, particularly the Bruins’ job, but Dallas’ deep playoff run prevented him from interviewing. With their unexpected firing of DeBoer following their elimination, some wondered if Donskov would be considered for an internal promotion. He’s not one of the reported finalists, though, and will instead head elsewhere to further his career.
The 48-year-old has worked with the Canadian national team before, most recently as an assistant coach at the 4 Nations Face-Off. He was also an assistant for them at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and the World Championship. He’ll now serve as the head coach of their WC teams for the foreseeable future while serving as an associate coach at the World Juniors and an assistant at the 2026 Olympics under Lightning bench boss Jon Cooper.
The Stars now have two assistant coach vacancies to fill in addition to their head coach position. The team lost Steve Spott last week after he accepted an assistant role with the Bruins. Only assistant coach Alain Nasreddine and goalie coach Jeff Reese remain from this past season’s bench staff.