Sharks assistant coach Ryan Warsofsky is getting a big promotion. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, he’s filling their head coaching vacancy after being passed over for the title two years ago. San Jose promptly made the hiring official via a press release.
“We’re very excited to announce Ryan as the 11th head coach of the San Jose Sharks,” said general manager Mike Grier. “His track record of success at nearly every level of hockey as a head and assistant coach speaks for itself. Ryan knows our existing group well, has the respect of the players who he will be working with, and will be a great teacher for the young players who will be joining our organization.”
Grier made the call to fire former head coach David Quinn, who they tabbed for the role over Warsofsky during their last search in 2022, in April. Quinn compiled a 41-98-25 record (.326 points percentage) while overseeing some of the darkest days of a tough but needed rebuild in the Bay Area.
Warsofsky, a Massachusetts native who had a collegiate career with Sacred Heart University and Curry College, landed his first professional coaching job as an assistant with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays in 2013, one year after ending his playing career.
He was then promoted to head coach and director of hockey ops for the club in 2016, staying there for two more seasons before the Hurricanes tabbed him as an assistant coach for the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, their top minor-league affiliate at the time. Yet again, he was promoted in short order, taking over as head coach in 2019 and remaining with the Hurricanes organization when they switched their AHL affiliation to the Chicago Wolves for 2020-21.
In Carolina, Warsofsky was a part of two Calder Cup-winning clubs, first as an assistant with the Checkers in 2019 and then as a bench boss with the Wolves in 2022. That latter title, in which he led a veteran-laden team including Josh Leivo, Stefan Noesen and Alex Lyon to the pinnacle of minor league hockey, earned him consideration for multiple NHL coaching vacancies the following offseason, including the Sharks’.
He had to settle for an assistant role, but two years later, his time has come. At 36 years old, Warsofsky becomes the youngest bench boss in the league and the youngest since Jeremy Colliton was tabbed as head coach of the Blackhawks in 2018 at age 33.
Warsofsky beat out ex-Sharks winger Marco Sturm, another potential first-time NHL head coach, for the role. Sturm, who’s coached in the Kings organization for the past six seasons, was deep in the interview process as late as early this week.
With Warsofsky’s hiring, all head coaching vacancies this offseason have been filled.
Is Warsofsky the first Slav to serve as head coach in the NHL? I gotta imagine no, but I can’t think of any other Slavic names off the top of my head.
I was really hoping Sturm got the nod, I think that would have been an interesting hire. But maybe Warsofsky has a great development plan, who knows?
The NHL seems allergic to hiring non-North-American head coaches. Although I do remember Ivan Hlinka with the Pens (he was Czech.)
I mean, here in Canada, the most ethnic Prime Minister we’ve ever had was German… Literally every single other one has been English or French. So I can’t say I’m especially shocked.
Maybe I’m missing the point here, but Warsofsky is from New England not from a Slavic country.
It you’re taking about the possible origin of his last name (which I think is an unsual criteria to categorize) you currently got Bednar and Huska serving in head coach roles.
Thanks for that. Yeah I meant ethnicity, as there tends to not be a lot of people of Eastern descents in important roles in sports I find.
Ralph Krueger, the Human Hay Fever, Swiss men’s national ice hockey team from 1997–98 to Olympic Winter Games in 2010.
EDM 2012–13 48 19 22 7 45
BUF 2019–20 69 30 31 8 68
BUF 2020–21 28 6 18 4 16
Total 145 55 71 19 129
But you can definitely see how the game’s dynamics transfer from Europe to the NHL .. rink size being the mostly easily mapped over, fighting resulting in fines and bans, quicker game in the NHL, so yeah, there should be more Euro coaches …
Slavic countries – what percent of the North American continent originated from:
Belarus
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Montenegro
North Macedonia
Poland
Russia
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Ukraine
If Russian, then a guy named Wayne GRETZKY played a bit, coached a bit, dreadfully so,though …
Damn…I was holding out some hope they would still hire Jeff Blashill from TBL despite him falling out of contention last week. It would have been nice to get rid of him lol. It is what it is.
@FeeltheThunder — I think I have the solution for you. Get Blashill to the special area in the bowels of Amalie. Tell him to get to the secret room, he needs to press the big red button. Then, it goes something like this:
“Uhh, don’t open the airlock, Hal.”
“But Jeff, I must open the airlock.”
“Hal, don’t open that airlock!”
“Jeff, I’m not liking your attitude here.”
“Hal, don’t you daaaaaaahhh!”
“That solved that, eh, Mr. BriseBois?”
“Yes, Hal, well done.”
I don’t get this hire you have your worst season as a franchise fire your head coach then hire his assistant.if you liked the guy so much why not fire the head coach mid season give the assistant interim status and see what the guy can do.