Jon Cooper, Bruce Cassidy, Rick Tocchet, and Peter DeBoer reunite to coach Team Canada at 2026 Olympic Games
Jon Cooper brings back 4 Nations Face-Off staff for Milan Olympic run
After guiding Team Canada to victory at this year's 4 Nations Face-Off, Jon Cooper has opted for continuity as he leads the national men's team into the 2026 Winter Olympics. Cooper, who also serves as head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, will reunite with Cassidy (Vegas Golden Knights), Tocchet (Philadelphia Flyers), and DeBoer (former Dallas Stars head coach). The coaching unit was instrumental in Canada's 3–2 overtime win over the United States in the 4 Nations final, with Connor McDavid scoring the game-winner.
Hockey Canada is betting on familiarity and chemistry by keeping the same group intact for the Olympic campaign. Cooper expressed confidence in the returning staff, stating,
'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.'
Hockey Canada finalizes full Olympic coaching and support staff
Alongside Cooper and the three NHL bench bosses, Hockey Canada has also confirmed that Misha Donskov will return as an assistant coach.
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Donskov previously served as a Stars assistant and is currently Hockey Canada's vice-president of hockey operations. The support staff includes goaltending consultant David Alexander, director of performance analysis James Emery, and video coordinator Elliott Mondou, all of whom were part of the 4 Nations Face-Off win.
The men's Olympic hockey tournament is scheduled for February 11–22, 2026, in Milan, Italy.
This will mark the first Olympic appearance for NHL players since the 2014 Games in Sochi, where Canada captured gold. With a familiar coaching staff in place and a roster likely to include elite stars like McDavid and Sidney Crosby, Canada enters the tournament with high expectations.
By maintaining the core of its successful 4 Nations coaching team, Team Canada is signaling its intent to build on recent international success.
With Cooper at the helm and a strong foundation of leadership, the path to Olympic gold begins with continuity and confidence.
FAQs
1. When will the men's Olympic hockey tournament take place?
The tournament will run from February 11 to 22, 2026, in Milan, Italy.
2. When was the last time NHL players participated in the Olympics?
NHL players last competed in the Olympics in 2014, when Canada won gold in Sochi.
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The Hindu
2 minutes ago
- The Hindu
NRAI president: Not to make an attempt with SLI would be a crime
Even as an 11-year-old top sporting league gasps under the crushing weight of a failing contractual framework and another can't pay salaries months after its conclusion, a new entrant steps into the fray — the Shooting League of India. Bold, new, and ready to take its first shot in New Delhi on November 20, the 11-day competition is the latest to elbow its way into an already saturated landscape of homegrown leagues. However, its backers are undeterred. In fact, Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo, the president of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), calls it an 'exciting adventure'. Sportstar sat down with the man fronting the federation's newest gamble to understand whether the NRAI is truly ready to harness this fresh wave. Q: The Indian Premier League in cricket has kind of marked a pathway that is seeing sporting leagues from our country mushrooming on a global scale. In a competitive market, what novel things does the SLI have to offer to spectators? A. With the massively growing popularity of shooting within India, where for every competition you have 10,000–20,000 people participating across the spectrum, this is an opportune time for the league to come in. This is a first-of-its-kind effort which introduces a new and exciting format. It will also potentially transgress to go across to people who have been a part of shooting in different ways. Do you remember the first toy you got as a child? A lot of us got small guns to play with, right? So, shooting has been an endemic part of people's childhood in many ways — through movies, video games, and in some cases, the sport itself. We have picked a mixed-team format, and to begin with, we are looking to have anywhere from four to eight franchises. And we have, out of a team of 12, a maximum of four foreign athletes and a minimum of two junior athletes, keeping in mind that we have to have an arena where juniors get a chance to play against the best in the world on home ground. You'll be happy to know that more than 60–70 international athletes have already registered to be a part of the auction. And from the domestic circuit, there are more than 400 athletes who have registered. There's an exciting adventure ahead of us. You claim this league to be a first, but then there are competitions like the Bundesliga in Germany, which are known to be very competitive. How different or similar is the SLI when compared to these leagues or foreign domestic competitions? Have you been inspired by any of them? The Bundesliga is completely based on the typical Olympic format of shooting. There, you shoot your qualifications. SLI only picked the finals format of competitions. The franchises get to choose their teams through auctions, and you go in for a quick 25–30-minute match to move up the ladder. SLI will reel in audiences who may relate to gaming and other aspects of esports as well. I feel there will be an exciting blend, and we can actually get a lot of eyeballs. And lastly, of course, it's got a space in the calendar of the ISSF, so some of the best shooters in the world would be participating in the auction. Since you spoke about the 'other aspects', the SLI FAQ document states: Why join SLI? It will provide a pathway to the future: A hybrid model integrating traditional shooting events with virtual competitions. It also mentions esports integration. Could you elaborate on this? We are talking to technology partners who can integrate some sort of virtual aspect of the shooting sport into our league. Whether it forms the mainstay of the league or not is yet to be decided, but certainly the idea is to capture audiences beyond the traditional shooting viewership, so we are looking at innovation which bridges that gap. Let's not forget you may have 1 lakh shooters registered in India; you will have maybe 100 crore who are gaming and stuff like that. While on that topic, shooting has never been a spectator-friendly sport. It's not as dynamic as most other disciplines. So, for social media and TV, is there a separate, snappier plan to draw in viewers? We've got to make broadcast strategies that are more exciting. When we're looking at innovation, we will look at different things the audience can relate to, graphics like the pressure on the shooter, the release of the trigger, and the mannerisms of an athlete. There is going to be data, graphics, VR, feedback from the shooters, biorhythms and all of that. What will happen because of that is the audience will feel that he or she is the shooter. And he or she can understand and feel the excitement of performing. Couple that with the loyalty they would have with a shooter or a team over the years, and it would get increasingly exciting. And while all of these are on the drawing board, the idea is not to take away from the purity of the Olympic sport as well. So, for a shooter, we do not want to disturb his or her rhythm in shooting in competitive sports. The viewership of Olympic sports is on the rise. However, the recent revival of another sporting league faced financial roadblocks within a few months. Has it ever been considered that the NRAI might be taking too big a risk with this league? To get somewhere, we have to start the journey. I think not to make an attempt would be a crime. In my opinion, leagues go into a downward spiral when you take an opposition view to your stakeholders, be it the athletes or the franchises. As far as NRAI is concerned, we've decided that we will take a view of a partnership with our franchises and our athletes. That's a win-win for everybody. We are not looking to bring their money in on the first day. We have to work with our franchises and athletes to ensure better visibility. We need to give a financial platform for the sustainability of our athletes. There's no reason why our shooting stars, who go and win medals at the Olympics, shouldn't be as big as any cricketer in India. SLI plans to be that one platform that will make brands out of them going ahead. We believe we will create something different with a reasonable amount of value. We are not setting our expectations so high that we destroy the value to begin with. What is it like to have Elena Norman on board as the CEO? She has had a successful stint with a different sporting federation... Elena is a great girl. She's been involved with sports for many years, and she's seen and built the hockey league. And she's also, you know, professionalised the Indian hockey federation. I think there are a lot of good things that she puts on the table. We're lucky to have her start the league off. Could you share some details about the owners of the franchises? The prospectus mentioned at least six franchises, but earlier in the interaction, we heard you say that the number was four. Has it been difficult to get people on board? We've launched the league a month and a half ago, so let's give it time. 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