Cassidy, DeBoer, Tocchet named assistant coaches for Canadian Olympic team
A few familiar faces will be behind Team Canada’s bench in Italy next February.
On Monday, Hockey Canada announced that Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy, Rick Tocchet of the Philadelphia Flyers and former NHL bench boss Pete DeBoer will be assistant coaches for the Canadian squad at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina.
The decision on the coaching staff was made by Team Canada head coach Jon Cooper, as well as general manager Doug Armstrong and his staff. It comes as no surprise that the three men worked alongside Cooper in February, helping guide Canada to win the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Cooper recognizes the impact the trio will have when a new batch of NHLers get set to compete on sports’ biggest stage next year.
“This is a highly skilled group of coaches that bring impressive résumés to our staff,” Cooper said in a release. “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.”
Cassidy has been with the Golden Knights for the past three seasons, coaching the team to its first Stanley Cup two years ago. It’s the Ottawa native’s third head coaching gig, having had a fruitful tenure as the Boston Bruins’ bench boss for six seasons, winning the Jack Adams Award in 2019-20. Prior to the 4 Nations, Cassidy had never been a part of the coaching staff for a major international tournament.
DeBoer is the only one of the three currently without a job, having been fired by the Dallas Stars shortly after the team was knocked out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Edmonton Oilers this past spring. Along with coaching at the 4 Nations, the Dunnville, Ontario native has served as an assistant coach for Canada at the 1998 and 2005 IIHF World Junior Championships, as well as the IIHF Men’s World Championship four times.
Tocchet is just settling into his new digs in Philadelphia after parting ways with the Vancouver Canucks. The three-time Stanley Cup champion won the Jack Adams Award in 2024 and, like Cassidy, had no prior international coaching experience prior to the 4 Nations.