CALGARY, Alberta – Hockey Canada has announced the coaching and support staffs that will lead Canada’s National Men’s Team at the 2026 IIHF World Championship, May 15-31 in Zürich and Fribourg, Switzerland.
Assistant coaches Spencer Carbery (Victoria, BC/Washington, NHL), Ryan Huska (Cranbrook, BC/Calgary, NHL) and D.J. Smith (Windsor, ON/Los Angeles, NHL), goaltending consultant Scott Murray (St. Clements, ON/Washington, NHL), director of performance analysis James Emery (Calgary, AB) and video coach Elliott Mondou (Grand-Mère, QC/St. Louis, NHL) have been named to the coaching staff alongside head coach Misha Donskov (London, ON), who recently expanded his role with Hockey Canada as vice-president of hockey operations and men’s national teams coach.
In addition, two NHL executives – Gregory Campbell (Tillsonburg, ON/Florida, NHL) and Andrew Cogliano (Woodbridge, ON/Colorado, NHL) – will assist with evaluating and selecting players for the 2026 IIHF World Championship.
The staff was selected by the management group, which includes, Brad Treliving (Penticton, BC) and Jason Spezza (Mississauga, ON/Pittsburgh, NHL), with support from Kyle Dubas (Sault Ste. Marie, ON/Pittsburgh, NHL) and Scott Salmond (Creston, BC), Hockey Canada’s senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations, and input from Donskov.
“We are excited to unveil the coaching staff that will lead our team at the 2026 IIHF World Championship, as this is a group that combines many years of NHL and international experience. Misha, Spencer, Ryan, D.J., Scott, James and Elliott have extensive resumes, and we look forward to them guiding our team in Switzerland,” Treliving said. “We have also assembled an incredible support staff with Olympic, world championship and NHL experience, and we know this group will do everything it can to help our team be successful.”
Carbery has served as head coach of the Washington Capitals for the past three seasons (2023-26) after two years (2021-23) as an assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL coach of the year in 2024-25, becoming the only coach to win coach of the year in the NHL, American Hockey League (AHL) and ECHL. Carbery also spent three seasons (2018-21) as head coach of the AHL’s Hershey Bears and one season as an assistant with the Providence Bruins, as well as one season as head coach of the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He also served as an assistant coach at Canada’s national under-17 development camp in 2017.
Huska recently completed his third season (2023-26) as head coach of the Calgary Flames after serving as an assistant for five seasons (2018-23). Prior to joining the Flames, he was head coach of the AHL’s Adirondack Flames/Stockton Heat for four seasons (2014-18) and spent 12 seasons as an assistant coach (2002-07) and head coach (2007-14) of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets. Internationally, he served as an assistant coach at the 2025 IIHF World Championship, and at the 2011 and 2012 IIHF World Junior Championships, winning silver and bronze, respectively.
Smith recently completed his second full season with the Los Angeles Kings, serving as assistant coach (2024), associate coach (2024-26) and interim head coach (2026). Previously, he was the head coach of the Ottawa Senators for four seasons (2019-23) and was an assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs for four seasons (2015-19). Before making the transition to the NHL, he won the Memorial Cup twice with the Windsor Spitfires (2009, 2010) as an assistant coach and once with the Oshawa Generals (2015) as head coach and assistant GM. Internationally, he won silver and gold as an assistant coach at the 2022 and 2023 IIHF World Championships, respectively, as well as gold as an assistant at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup.
The support staff that will work with Canada’s National Men’s Team at the 2026 IIHF World Championship includes:
The initial roster for the 2026 IIHF World Championship will be announced in the coming days.
Canada will open the tournament against Sweden on May 15 at 10:20 a.m. ET/7:20 a.m. PT. It will also take on Italy, Denmark, Norway, Slovenia, Slovakia and Czechia before the tournament concludes with the medal games on May 31. Prior to the start of the tournament, Canada’s National Men’s Team will practice at Accor Arena in Paris, France, from May 8-11, and will take on France in pre-tournament action on May 10. It will also face off against Hungary on May 13 at Patinoires du Littoral in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Men’s Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along through social media on Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok.