By Canadian Press

Sharks hire Ryan Warsofsky as new head coach

Jun 13, 2024 | 10:59 AM

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The San Jose Sharks have promoted Ryan Warsofsky to become the team’s new head coach after two years as an assistant under the recently fired David Quinn.

General manager Mike Grier announced Thursday that Warsofsky will become the 11th head coach in franchise history. He will be formally introduced at a news conference Monday.

“His track record of success at nearly every level of hockey as a head and assistant coach speaks for itself,” Grier said in a statement. “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.”

Warsofsky takes over a team that had struggled mightily since reaching the Western Conference Final in 2019. The Sharks went 41-98-25 in Quinn’s two seasons for the worst mark in the NHL in that span, including a league-worst 47 points this past season. San Jose’s 19 wins this season were the fewest in a full season since the franchise’s second year as an expansion team in 1992-93.

But after years of trading away high-priced stars like Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns, Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier, the Sharks are now in position for a revival. They won the draft lottery and are expected to take Hobey Baker winner Macklin Celebrini later this month as a major piece of the rebuild.

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“I’m overwhelmed with gratitude and excitement to be named as the head coach of the San Jose Sharks,” Warsofsky said in a statement. “This is an organization that has a rich history of winning, and I can’t wait to get to work on coaching a team that our fans can be proud of.”

The 36-year-old Warsofsky was an assistant the past two seasons for San Jose with the primary responsibilities of overseeing the team’s defense and penalty kill. Working with one of the younger rosters in the NHL, the Sharks penalty kill ranked 18th in the NHL at 78.8% the past two seasons.

Warsofsky previously had been head coach of the Chicago Wolves for two seasons in the AHL. He led the Wolves to the AHL’s best regular-season record with a 50-16-5-5 record in 2021-22 and captured the 2022 Calder Cup.

He also spent one season as head coach of Charlotte in the AHL and two seasons as a head coach in the ECHL.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL

Josh Dubow, The Associated Press