from Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch,

The tour bus pulled to a stop in a Westerville neighborhood early in September. One by one, some of the biggest names in the NHL — Toronto coach Mike Babcock, Chicago coach Joel Quenneville, Washington coach Barry Trotz, Detroit general manager Ken Holland, to name a few — filed onto the curb and into the Donskov family home.

Misha Donskov quit a lucrative job with Dublin-based Cardinal Health in 2009 to pursue his dream of a career at the highest levels of hockey. Only seven years later, Team Canada's staff gathered at his home on the eve of an exhibition game against Team USA.

"It was surreal," Donskov said, who served on the coaching staff for Team Canada in the World Cup. "And to be able to share that with my family, it was pretty awesome."

Paul Donskov, the family patriarch, shared a back-porch beer with Babcock. His wife, Debbie, spun tales of home on an inside sofa with St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong. Brother Anthony smoked cigars in the side yard with Quenneville, talking hockey.

"I just remember looking around that night and thinking that all the decisions I made — some of the risks I took — all led me to this time and place, and all of them were worth it," Donskov said. "It honestly was the coolest hockey experience of my life."

Donskov, who turns 40 in April, is just getting started.

Months before the World Cup, Donskov was hired as director of hockey operations for the NHL's expansion franchise, the Vegas Golden Knights, which begins play next season.

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