Las Vegas NHL team hires Misha Donskov as director of hockey operations
Bill Foley added one more name to his NHL franchise’s front office Monday, hiring Misha Donskov as the team’s director of hockey operations.
The announcement follows the hire of director of player development Wil Nichol on Thursday, under general manager George McPhee and assistant general manager Kelly McCrimmon, as the team prepares for the 2017-18 season.
Donskov, 39, was named an assistant coach for Canada’s men’s national teams in July. Prior to that, he was Canada’s manager of hockey operations, analytics and video since the fall of 2014.
He won a gold medal with Canada at the 2016 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships in Russia, the 2015 IIHF World Championship in the Czech Republic and the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship in Toronto and Montreal.
Donskov also has previous stops as an associate coach in the Ontario Hockey League from 2012-2014 and served as a player development coach and scouting special with the U.S. women’s national team in 2011.
He also spent eight years working with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets and Atlanta Thrashers within hockey development, community development, fan development, marketing and hockey operations.
Prior to pursuing a coaching and managing career in hockey, Donskov spent six years with Cardinal Health, a Fortune 500 health care services company. He played hockey at the junior, university and semi-professional level in Canada, the United States, Sweden and Norway.
He holds a master’s degree in kinesiology with a specialization in coaching education from the University of Western Ontario, as well as an undergraduate degree in business administration/finance from Miami (Ohio) University.
The Las Vegas team has agreed to allow Donskov to participate in the two-week World Cup this September and October in Toronto if Hockey Canada so desires.
