On Monday, Hockey Canada announced that the coaching and support staffs who guided Canada to victory at the 4 Nations Face-Off last February, will return to lead the Men’s Olympic Team at the 2026 Winter Games, set for February 11–22 in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. The coaching staff was selected by Lightning head coach Jon Cooper, who was named Canada’s head coach for the 2026 Olympics last June, with support from the management team: general manager Doug Armstrong (St. Louis Blues [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues]), assistant general managers Julien BriseBois (Tampa Bay Lightning [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning]), Jim Nill (Dallas Stars [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/dallas-stars]), and Don Sweeney (Boston Bruins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/boston-bruins]), along with director of player personnel Kyle Dubas (Pittsburgh Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins]). The assistant coaching staff will include Bruce Cassidy (Vegas Golden Knights), Pete DeBoer, and Rick Tocchet (Philadelphia Flyers), with Misha Donskov serving as assistant coach and eye-in-the-sky. Rounding out the staff are goaltending consultant David Alexander (St. Louis Blues), director of performance analysis James Emery (Calgary, AB), and video coordinator Elliott Mondou (St. Louis Blues). “After a successful 4 Nations Face-Off, I am excited to welcome Bruce, Peter, Rick, Misha, David, James and Elliott back to Canada’s coaching staff for 2026 Olympic Winter Games, as this is a highly skilled group of coaches that bring impressive résumés to our staff,” said Cooper. “This group of coaches will provide consistency and a winning pedigree to our team, and I know our players will greatly benefit from this world-class coaching staff. I look forward to working alongside all seven as we look to replicate our 4 Nations success on the Olympic stage in February.” Canada has already unveiled the first six players named to its Olympic roster for Milan-Cortina, which includes the Lightning’s Brayden Point. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/latest-news/lightning-players-expected-to-have-large-representation-at-2026-olympics] Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Sam Reinhart are also locked in, but teams have until December 31 to submit their full preliminary rosters, which will include 22 skaters and three goaltenders. Photo Credit: © Winslow Townson-Imagn Images
