- Misha Donskov gets promoted to head coach for the 2027 World Juniors in Edmonton and Red Deer
- Former Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf joins Canada’s bench as an assistant coach
- Read below for the full staff and what each coach brings
Ryan Getzlaf is heading back to the World Juniors, and this time he is wearing a suit.
Hockey Canada named its coaching staff for the 2027 World Junior Championship on Monday. Misha Donskov takes over as head coach, and Getzlaf, the former Anaheim captain, lands a spot on the bench as one of the assistants.
Here is the full staff Canada rolled out:
Donskov earned the bump. He worked as associate coach and vice president of hockey operations at the 2026 tournament, then ran the bench as head coach at the 2026 World Championship and served as an assistant at the Winter Olympics.
His trophy case is stacked. Donskov owns gold from the 2015 World Juniors, the 2016 World Championship, the 2017 World Cup and the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, plus a Stanley Cup ring from his run with Vegas in 2023. He now oversees Canada’s men’s national teams, the same program that built last summer’s Olympic camp roster.
Getzlaf is the headliner. The 17-year NHL veteran piled up 1,019 points in 1,157 games with the Ducks, captained the 2007 Cup team and collected gold at nearly every stop on the international ladder.
He has spent the last two years climbing the Canadian staff, working as a senior advisor at the 2025 World Championship and the 2026 Olympics before stepping up to oversee the country’s next crop of prospects.
Take a look back at what Getzlaf did in Anaheim:
The rest of the bench brings plenty of miles. Drew Bannister, the former Blues head coach now running the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds, draws his first World Juniors assignment.
Jim Hulton and Brad Lauer fill out the assistant group, and Dan De Palma stays on as the goaltending coach. Hulton has bounced through the OHL, QMJHL, USHL and NHL, while Lauer just took Spokane to the WHL final.
Canada plays host this time. The 2027 World Juniors run December 26 through January 5 in Edmonton and Red Deer, with the main slate at Rogers Place.
The Canadians settled for bronze at the 2026 tournament in Minnesota. Donskov’s group gets the next crack on home ice in Alberta.
