Latest news with #Donskov
Boston Globe
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Here are eight head coaching candidates with less experience the Bruins may want to target
The Bruins, who are in desperate need of a turnaround, could be tempted by a coach with a track record of quick results, such as Gallant or Laviolette. But the case could be made that the Bruins' ceiling could be lifted even higher if they identify and add a fresher voice behind the bench. Advertisement 'Communication with players nowadays is paramount,' Sweeney said on April 23. 'Structure, detail, and being organized is paramount. I want a coach that's going to evolve a little bit offensively, and again, that's part and parcel with being able to communicate with sometimes younger players and their stubbornness or their inexperience. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'We went through some of that this year where players were below their watermarks, and they couldn't get back from it … Driving internal competitiveness is something we have to get back to, and a coach has to be an extension of that. So we are going to address those things through the coaching search, and we're not going to lower the expectations.' There might be more risk involved with targeting a candidate without NHL head coaching experience, but if the Bruins could Advertisement Here are eight candidates for the Bruins who have not been full-time NHL head coaches. Misha Donskov There's plenty of chatter around Donskov, given the 47-year-old's track record of success at just about every stop. Donskov might be viewed as an outsider to some Bruins fans, but there is a connection. Related : During the Team Canada's 4 Nations GM? Sweeney. Donskov has drawn high marks in scouting, player development, analytics, and video work. 'The coaches are always looking for an edge, and he's good at finding that,' Stars GM Jim Nill told Prior to his two seasons with Dallas, Donskov spent seven seasons with the Golden Knights in a variety of roles. After serving as director of hockey operations for Vegas's first three seasons (2016-19), he made the switch to coaching as an assistant, ending his tenure by winning the Advertisement 'I was lucky to have a background in coaching and development, and when analytics started gaining steam, I was able to be in the middle of that,' Donskov told 'It's just one part of the big picture, but I think it's an important tool that you can use. Numbers aren't emotional, they're just facts, so then it's up to you to use them as a tool and as a club in your golf bag. I do think it's been important to go through all of that to get to where I am now.' Mitch Love Love, an assistant on Carbery's staff in Washington, was a bruising player during his junior and pro careers, racking up 808 penalty minutes over 278 games in the AHL. The 40-year-old has compiled an impressive track record as a coach, primarily working with the Capitals' defensemen the last two seasons. Prior to that, he served as head coach of the Calgary Flames' AHL franchise from 2021-23. Marco Sturm Sturm, who appeared in 302 games for the Bruins, would seemingly check plenty of boxes. Sturm has spent the last three seasons coaching the Kings' AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. Over that stretch, he has a 119-80-17 record while helping top prospects such as Quinton Byfield and Brandt Clarke develop into impact players. Marco Sturm coached his native Germany to the Olympic silver medal in PyeongChang, South Korea, in 2018. Bruce Bennett Sturm, a native of Germany, coached his country's national team from 2015-18 and 'A guy who may not be on the top of any list, but a guy who's ambitious, a guy who understands players, a guy who has respect,' Advertisement Marc Savard Another former Bruin, Savard was a playmaking maestro here from 2006-11 before repeated concussions ended his 13-year career prematurely. After back-to-back Western Conference regular-season titles coaching the OHL's Windsor Spitfires from 2021-23, he spent the last two years as an assistant coach with the Flames and Maple Leafs. It comes as little surprise that Savard's focus in the NHL Jay Leach The 45-year-old Leach had a four-year run as head coach of the Providence Bruins before Leach was primarily in charge of running the defense in 2024-25. 'They're strong candidates, and they'll be in the candidate pool,' Sweeney said of Leach and Sacco. Ryan Mougenel Another in-house candidate, Mougenel has been involved in Providence since 2018-19, the last four years as head coach. Ryan Mougenel has been head coach of the AHL Providence Bruins for four seasons. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Over that four-season stretch, Mougenel has a 163-87-24-14 record, helping develop prospects such as Mason Lohrei and Matt Poitras. Todd Nelson Nelson served as the Oilers' interim head coach for 51 games during the 2014-15 season, but hasn't had a chance to earn a shot as a full-time NHL head coach since. He's cultivated quite the reputation in the AHL. After winning the Calder Cup with the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2016-17, Nelson won back-to-back titles with the Hershey Bears (the Capitals' affiliate) in 2023 and 2024. Advertisement Jay Pandolfo Pandolfo, 50, spent five seasons as an assistant coach with the Bruins before During three seasons as the Terriers' head coach, he has led BU to three straight Frozen Fours, including The Winchester native and two-time Stanley Cup champion has worked with several established bench bosses in Claude Julien and Cassidy. Conor Ryan can be reached at
Boston Globe
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Could Stars assistant Misha Donskov be the right coach for the Bruins?
The rumor mill late in the week had Tocchet, who spent parts of two seasons (1995-97) with the Bruins, high on the list of candidates to be the next Black and Gold bench boss. Team president Cam Neely and GM Don Sweeney were still players here during some or all of Tocchet's time in the Hub. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Meanwhile, on Thursday, Joel Quenneville landed squarely and securely back on the coach's retread mill, Advertisement Quenneville directed the Blackhawks to three Cup titles in 10-plus years in Chicago. He is a proven commodity, albeit a senior proven commodity. Surrounding himself with young, bright assistants who can relate to 20-somethings will be key, particularly on a roster dotted with very young talent expected to blossom as core/franchise players. Advertisement Cronin, booted after two years, had the Ducks pointed firmly in the right direction. They again finished out of the playoffs but improved by 21 points ― from 59 to 80 — a very substantial leap. Quenneville in 2008 likewise inherited a club that missed the playoffs under Denis Savard's direction. The Blackhawks jiggled up from 88 to 104 points and made it to the playoffs, ending a string of five consecutive DNQs. Related : As the coaching search remains active on Causeway Street, one name to keep in mind: Misha Donskov, now in his second year as an assistant coach on Peter DeBoer's staff in Dallas. Donskov, 48, was DeBoer's Team Canada assistant during February's 4 Nations Face-Off. Sweeney, remember, was GM of that championship squad. 'Really good guy,' was how one highly respected executive of another NHL club assessed Donskov when reached late in the week. 'Smart, organized, hard working. Paid his dues, for sure. Would be a progressive thinker with enough savvy to know when old school still applies.' Born and raised in Montreal (similar to late Bruins coach Pat Burns), Donskov has considerable experience coaching at the junior, international, and NHL levels. One of the expansion Golden Knights' first hires as director of hockey operations, he helped then-GM George McPhee craft a roster that made the Golden Knights an instant success story. In the summer of 2020, Donskov became one of DeBoer's assistants in Vegas and retained the job when Bruce Cassidy took over the bench. He hoisted the Cup with Cassidy and crew in June 2023 and weeks later reunited with DeBoer in Big D. Unquestionably, Donskov has to be considered a 'reach' candidate with the Bruins, but reach might be the ingredient this team needs. Advertisement Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at
Boston Globe
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Don Sweeney offers an update on the Bruins' search for a head coach
'I've just had general conversations and introductions,' Sweeney said of what intel he's received from head-coaching candidates so far. 'So, I will get into that. Advertisement 'Previous search we went through that and did glean a lot from what other coaches saw [from] coaching against us and evaluating the group that we had in, and maybe before it was portrayed that we would go through a transition during that period of time.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Sweeney awaiting word on coaches still in the playoffs could potentially point to an assistant like Dallas's Misha Donskov. Related : The 47-year-old Donskov is held in high regard across league circles, as he was the lone NHL assistant who served on Team Canada's coaching staff (alongside head coaches Bruce Cassidy, Peter DeBoer, and Rick Tocchet) during Sweeney played a key role in assembling that roster and coaching staff as Team Canada's GM. Advertisement Donskov served on Cassidy's staff in Vegas during the team's Stanley Cup title in 2023 before joining the Stars' coaching staff the last two years. Donskov also has some experience when it comes to roster building, as he was initially Vegas' director of hockey operations from 2016-19 — helping the franchise build up a team that went to the Stanley Cup Final in its first NHL season — before serving as an assistant coach from 2019-23. As Sweeney continues to assess his options, he also added that in-house candidates for the Bruins remain in the mix — with decisions regarding other positions on Boston's coaching staff currently in a 'holding pattern'. 'Joe [Sacco] would be part of the search. [Assistant coach] Jay Leach will be part of the search,' Sweeney said. 'So again, when I reference that we'll have a new head coach, it could easily be one of them. 'They're strong candidates, and they'll be in the candidate pool, as I referenced before, along with some other really good, experienced coaches at different levels.' While the Bruins still have a ways to go when it comes to determining their next head coach, Sweeney stresses that the feedback has been positive during these initial interviews. 'This is an exciting opportunity for coaches to be interviewing for this position, and that's the indication — that they would be very excited about maybe being the head coach of the Boston Bruins,' Sw Related : eeney said. 'That's the first and foremost thing that [I've] come across, happy to be part of the selection of being interviewed. 'I think they're starting to gather information on the roster and the players that we have in place. And, first question people ask in terms of how healthy we're going to be and the return to that full health so that players, that they expect impact [from] will be back to do what they do. But the overriding excitement as we are [about] to turn a page and come to the decision that we've got the right guy in place.' Advertisement Conor Ryan can be reached at
