Troy Ryan Takes Dual GM-Coach Role With PWHL San Jose
Troy Ryan is the first person to hold the PWHL’s dual general manager and head coach role after the league named him to lead PWHL San Jose. He will now direct the expansion team’s roster-building process and help build its hockey operations staff for the 2026-27 season.
Ryan’s San Jose mandate
The move gives Ryan control of both the bench and the front office for San Jose’s inaugural season. That is a different job from the one he held in Toronto, where he spent the first three seasons as head coach of the Sceptres.
Ryan said he was “honored and incredibly excited to help build this organization in San Jose” and called expansion “a rare opportunity to shape everything with intention from the standards and culture to the people and connection to the community.” He added, “We want to build a team that plays with purpose, represents The Bay Area with pride, and helps to continue to grow women’s hockey on the West Coast.”
Toronto and Canada background
Ryan arrives with a resume built on results. He was the PWHL’s inaugural Coach of the Year in 2024, led Toronto to the league’s best regular season record that year, and followed it with the second-best mark in 2024-25.
His work with Canada’s National Women’s Hockey Team was even broader. Ryan spent nine years with the program, including the last six as head coach, and guided Canada to Olympic gold at the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games. He also won three IIHF Women’s World Championship titles in 2021, 2022 and 2024, plus two silver medals, before stepping down after the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, where Canada took silver.
June 17 draft pressure
The timing puts Ryan on the clock quickly. The 2026 PWHL Draft is set for June 17 in Detroit, and San Jose will need its first wave of players and staff in place before its inaugural 2026-27 season begins.
For Ryan, the job blends two pressure points at once: building a roster from scratch and setting the standard for a new market. His previous roles at Dalhousie University, with the Campbellton Tigers and Metro Marauders, and his four coaching awards in Nova Scotia and the Maritime Junior A Hockey League give San Jose a veteran decision-maker at the center of its launch.
