Team Canada names Bruce Cassidy, Peter DeBoer, Rick Tocchet, and Misha Donskov assistant coaches for 4 Nations Face-Off
Team Canada has named Bruce Cassidy, Peter DeBoer, Rick Tocchet, and Misha Donskov assistant coaches for next year’s NHL 4 Nations Face-Off, Hockey Canada announced Wednesday afternoon.
The four men will all serve as assistants on a coaching staff led by Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper, who was hired as Team Canada’s head coach in June.
“I am excited to welcome Bruce, Peter, Misha, Rick and James to the coaching staff for the 4 Nations Face-Off, as this is a highly skilled group of coaches that bring impressive accolades and experience at all levels of the game,” Cooper said in a media release on Wednesday. “I know our players will greatly benefit from this world-class coaching staff, and I look forward to working alongside all five and representing Canada in international competition in February.”
Four assistant coaches have joined Jon Cooper’s staff for the #4Nations Face-Off. 🇨🇦
Quatre entraîneurs adjoints épauleront Jon Cooper à la Confrontation des 4 nations. 🇨🇦
🍁 Bruce Cassidy
🍁 Peter DeBoer
🍁 Rick Tocchet
🍁 Misha Donskov@NHL | @LNH_FR | @NHLPA
According to the Hockey Canada release, the Team Canada management team of GM Don Sweeney, associate GM Jim Nill, assistant GM Julien BriseBois, director of player personnel Kyle Dubas, and senior VP Scott Salmond all assisted Cooper in picking the four assistant coaches.
Cassidy, 59, has spent the last two seasons as head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2023. Immediately before that, Cassidy spent parts of six seasons as head coach of the Boston Bruins, winning the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach in 2020.
DeBoer, 56, just completed his second season as head coach of the Dallas Stars. He was Cassidy’s predecessor as head coach in Vegas and has also coached the Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils, and San Jose Sharks, reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2012 and 2016.
Tocchet, 60, replaced Bruce Boudreau as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks midway through the 2022-23 season. He led the Canucks to a Pacific Division title this past season. Tocchet won the Stanley Cup in back-to-back seasons as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins and has also served as head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Arizona Coyotes.
Donskov, 47, is the least experienced coach on a stacked Team Canada staff, but he does have nearly five years under his belt as an NHL assistant coach. He served as an assistant under DeBoer and Cassidy with the Golden Knights from 2019 to 2023 before rejoining DeBoer as an assistant with the Stars in 2023-24.
Team Canada has also assembled an experienced support staff that includes athletic therapists Kent Kobelka and Domenic Nicoletta, massage therapist Andy Hüppl, team physician Dr. Ian Auld, equipment managers John Forget and Darren Granger, and hockey operations managers Mitchell Furlotte and Kurt Keats.
Hockey Canada has already named forwards Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Brayden Point, and Brad Marchand, as well as defenseman Cale Makar to its roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off, which will be held in Boston and Montreal from February 12 to 20, 2025.