Meghan Duggan Takes Over PWHL Hamilton Expansion Job
meghan duggan is the new general manager of PWHL Hamilton, taking one of the league’s final expansion front-office jobs on Friday. The hire puts a three-time U.S. Olympian in charge of a new Canadian franchise as the PWHL moves toward 12 teams next season.
Hamilton Front Office
Duggan spent the past five years in a player development role with the New Jersey Devils and had also been working with the PWHL as a special consultant for its hockey operations department. She said the league “represents the future of women’s professional sports,” and called the chance to build “a team, culture, and identity from the ground up” a privilege.
Hamilton will be the PWHL’s fifth Canadian-based franchise. The league said the four new franchises will begin play next season, completing a move that grows the circuit to 12 teams.
Meghan Duggan's Career
Duggan, 38, brings a decorated playing résumé to the role. She won Olympic silver in 2010 and 2014, then captured gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games as team captain. She also won seven gold medals and one silver in eight world championship appearances, and took the 2011 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award at Wisconsin.
Her background also includes a founding role with the PWHPA before she retired in 2020. Married to former Team Canada rival Gillian Apps, she will now work with a Hamilton club located about an hour’s drive west of the Toronto area where Apps is from.
Troy Ryan Joins San Jose
The same round of announcements filled the other remaining expansion opening, with Troy Ryan named general manager and head coach of PWHL San Jose. Jayna Hefford oversaw the hiring process and said, “Meghan has been an effective leader at every stage of her career, and she is a rising star in the front office ranks.”
Ryan’s appointment continues his own transition after six seasons as head coach of the Canadian national women’s team. He coached Canada to gold at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, won silver at the Milan Cortina Games in February, and was the PWHL’s first coach of the year in 2024 while posting a 52-32-10 record.
The league’s expansion signing process is set to begin in two weeks, and the draft is set for June 17. For Hamilton, Duggan’s first job is clear: build a roster and identity quickly enough to carry a brand-new team into its first season.
