When the Edmonton Oilers brought Misha Donskov aboard as a coaching consultant late last week, the hire raised several questions. Why do the Oilers want someone there for only a handful of days each month? Why Donskov? What exactly does a coaching consultant do?

According to Oilers general manager Stan Bowman, the answer to the first two questions is fairly straightforward: Mike Babcock wanted him involved.

“He’s well respected, but I didn’t have a personal connection with him,” Bowman told Bob Stauffer in an interview on Oilers Now. “Mike [Babcock] did from his time with the Olympics in the past, and he raved about his insight and his value and how he thought he could really bring something to our group even in a smaller role.”

As a longtime coach and executive at Hockey Canada, Donskov has crossed paths with Babcock before. The two worked together on Canada’s coaching staff for their gold-medal-winning 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

“Babs and I have stayed in touch over the course of the last 10 years, [and] became good friends,” said Donskov. “He was always a mentor of mine. Someone that I learned a tremendous amount from.”

Since working with Babcock in 2016, Donskov has also learned from other brilliant hockey tacticians. He coached under Bruce Cassidy during the Vegas Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup-winning run in 2023 and joined Peter DeBoer’s staff in Dallas the following year. In 2026, he was a part of Team Canada’s star-studded coaching staff at the Olympic Games, led by Jon Cooper. Those experiences have shaped his coaching philosophy into what it is today.

While he doesn’t believe there’s one “bad system,” Donskov believes that a team’s approach has to fit its personnel. And that the coach must have intimate knowledge of their system so they can teach it and build comfort in their players. At the same time, he prefers a more aggressive, pressure-based approach.

“I’m a big believer in killing plays early,” he said. “In numbers over puck battles, in winning races, winning battles in your own zone, closing as quickly as possible, taking away time and space.”

At this point, Donskov has worked with the who’s who of the hockey world, moulding him into a razor-sharp coach in his own right. He may not be on the Oilers’ staff full-time, but Babcock is confident he will bring valuable insight.

“We believe his wealth of experience, people skills and professionalism will make our group better,” said Babcock in Edmonton’s press release. “We look forward to the positive impact he will have on our staff, players and the Oilers organization.”

Donskov currently serves as Hockey Canada’s vice-president of Hockey Operations and is set to coach Canada at both the World Juniors and the World Championships in 2026-27. Those commitments, according to the Oilers, will limit his role with the club to a few days each month when the team is home.

“He’s got his Hockey Canada role, which is an important one,” said Bowman. “Obviously, that’s his main thing, but I think that he’s still going to be playing an important role with our group. So, I’m excited about it.”

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