Troy Ryan has been involved in the PWHL from the start as head coach of the Toronto Sceptres.
Now he is tasked with bringing a new team into the league – PWHL San Jose.
“It’s exciting anytime anybody gets an opportunity to start something from scratch. It was the initial draw for me to get involved with the PWHL back in the original year,” Ryan said on Thursday. “When I look at the market in the Bay Area and the San Jose area, it’s just so special, the support that they’ve had for women’s sport in that area, and to be able to build a culture, an organization.”
For Ryan – who has spent the last decade of his career coaching, which includes a 2022 Olympic gold medal for Canada – stepping into the general manager role is a change he has been building toward.
“It’s something that I’ve thought long and hard of over the years. … A big part of it is trying to find a way to grow professionally,” Ryan said. “Then the opportunity to do this in a market like the Bay Area and San Jose was just something that I couldn’t pass up. It’s a growing market, it’s a market that supports women’s sports, and to even be part of that a little bit is so exciting and enticing to me.”
Ryan will begin adding players to his roster in the next week, as the expansion process begins for PWHL San Jose.
In his first media availability since being announced as PWHL San Jose’s inaugural head coach and general manager, Ryan spoke about how he would balance both roles, the expansion process, and more.
On his decision to shift from coaching in Canada – for the Sceptres and Team Canada – to San Jose…
Obviously, the finishing and the final details happened so quickly that it seems like it’s much more abrupt than it actually is. I’ve been thinking about a general manager position for a number of years. It’s something that I worked hard behind the scenes to prepare myself for. So, it might seem abrupt from a Hockey Canada perspective, but – probably for the last 3 or 4 years – I knew that 2026 would be a transitional period for me. So the timing of that transitional period for me, with the expansion process happening in 2026, just aligned.
On questions about taking being both GM-coach…
I understand some people’s concerns with it, and I appreciate the question. Obviously, I have no concerns with it. … One of the parts of this opportunity for me is a great chance to select or hire someone in a key leadership position within our organization. We haven’t completely figured out exactly how I will develop the organizational chart from a hockey operations perspective, but hiring me in this dual role, gives us an opportunity to hire another person in a very good hockey position, and I’m excited about that opportunity.
As far as too much power is concerned, the amazing thing about this league is the support that it has around the individual. … Any concerns with any players, the athletes have a very robust Players Association. … The majority of our athletes coming into the league or existing in the league have quality, certified player agents through the Players Association.
The other part of it is, obviously like any good GM, there’s going to be constant reflection, and if this is the right fit, carrying the dual role, then we will continue to move forward. And if it’s not the right fit for this organization, we definitely will be very quick to make adjustments.
On wrapping his head around the expansion process…
I have reminders on my computer, I have reminders on my phone. The league already has done an unbelievable job at just keeping all the general managers up to date on where we’re at in the process. So there’s that reminder as well. All you can really do is educate yourself as much as you can, collect as much information as you can, tap into the resources that you have around you, and try to build the best (roster) you possibly can make.
The unique part of this is some of the stages you’re not in full control of. Even in this first stage that’s happening now, the existing teams get to select the athletes that can be negotiated with. So you’ve got to be very flexible in how you approach the process, because you don’t want to get pigeon-holed one way, or have your own biases dictate everything. So, you try to predict what other teams and other markets may do, but ultimately you’ve got to be flexible and adjust along the way. I’m trying to cross as many T’s and dot the I’s as I can, but the league does a really good job of keeping us on track.
On whether the PWHL has the talent and infrastructure to add four new teams…
When you look at the Olympic Games that just recently passed, the amount of talent that’s coming in from Canada, US, and other countries, it’s a special group, it’s a great draft class.
I’m excited that the league has got to this point so quickly. Some people will try to take a negative spin on it. I think it’s exciting. There’s plenty of staff out there available, and there’s a great pool of athletes to draw on to build successful franchises in the PWHL.
On the culture he wants to build in San Jose…
I wouldn’t say I necessarily just brought it in from Toronto. When you’re starting a new organization, you’re dealing with a blank slate, so you work towards making it whatever you want to make it or can make it. It’s really important to match a little bit of the culture that already exists in that Bay Area, so the respect for our group is going to be really, really important. Such a forward-thinking, innovative market, and they’ve shown that in their support of other women’s professional teams. Obviously, the Silicon Valley and the innovation that happens in your area is so special. I want to make sure that we’re connecting with that community as much as possible.
On the complicated expansion process and its fairness…
The complexity of it that you mentioned at the start of your question is what gives me optimism that it is going to be fair, it is going to be beneficial to both existing teams and expansion teams. That complexity of it shows the time and effort that the league has put into this expansion process. It also shows that there’s been collaboration, I assume, with the athletes, with existing staff, and also with the Players Association. So I think the complexity alone of it, and the different layers and phases of it, set up both existing team and expansion teams for success.
Hmm. I find his answer about being GM-Coach to be lacking. I’m not sure what to think of “hiring me in this dual role, gives us an opportunity to hire another person in a very good hockey position, and I’m excited about that opportunity.” How does hiring one person for two jobs at the same company create and opportunity to hire another person? Also, he goes on to say (in regards to his dual role) “And if it’s not the right fit for this organization, we definitely will be very quick to make adjustments.” Yeah no course, if you don’t… Read more »
This org has become a clown show
He’s saying the money they are saving by him handling two jobs means they can hire another person. They are probably running a very tight budget in season 1, and as they see how the team performs economically they’ll start to expand. For what its worth the dual role isn’t unheard of in pro hockey, its decently common in the ECHL.
I also took his second comment to be that they would hire a coach if the dual role wasn’t working, not that he would quit all together. That will probably be a year 2 decision at the earliest.
I like that explanation, thanks Matthias! I didn’t pick up on it when reading the interview, but those are logical assumptions.
My initial assumptions would be that a pro sports organization has enough money to hire one person for each role.
About him quitting, I was talking about him possibly relieving himself of coaching responsibilities. I’m imagining that since each team is owned by the league, the only person that can fire him as coach would be himself as GM.
Anyways, I appreciate you offering a different perspective than mine. I was looking at it differently, and drawing different conclusions.