Troy Ryan prepares to step into dual role with PWHL’s expansion team in San Jose

Troy Ryan pondered becoming one of the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s first general managers at the league’s inception three years ago.

He opted instead to be among the first wave of coaches.

Ryan spent the three seasons behind the Toronto Sceptres’ bench while simultaneously coaching the Canadian women’s team.

He has embarked on another first as the only person so far to be named both coach and general manager of a PWHL team. The league has hired the 54-year-old from Spryfield, N.S., to the dual roles for its expansion team in San Jose, Calif.

Hamilton, Las Vegas and Detroit will join San Jose next season to make the PWHL a 12-team league.

“I’ve always been curious about the GM role,” Ryan said. “As you get older coaching, you want to kind of grow a little bit professionally and expand.

“Down the road, I don’t want to be the old coach that’s grinding it out. I want to be a little more diverse in my abilities in what I do professionally. I think the league is curious about what the dual role could potentially be so I jumped at the opportunity.”

Ryan navigated the Sceptres, an original six club, to a 35-8-12-20 (wins, overtime wins, overtime losses and losses) record. The Sceptres bowed out in the semifinals to the eventual Walter Cup champion Minnesota Frost in their first two seasons.

Canada won Olympic gold in 2022 and three world championships during Ryan’s six years as head coach.

After Canada fell 2-1 in overtime to the United States in February’s Olympic final in Milan, Italy, Ryan said he wouldn’t continue coaching the national team once his contract expired in June.

A massive PWHL expansion, and the management and coaching churn that’s created, opened the door for Ryan to try something new in a rapidly changing league.

“Right now, it’s probably like drinking out of a fire hose,” he said. “Ultimately a league is giving me an opportunity and trusting me, and with that, there’s a responsibility.

“When I didn’t become a GM in Year 1, it was because I didn’t know if I could have done the job that I would have wanted to do, because there were so many unknowns with it. I didn’t know what to expect from the league. That was a tough decision to make back then.

“Now, it’s a little bit easier because I generally have an understanding. I’ve seen the league, I’ve seen a couple of teams go through expansion. I’m in a better position professionally to maybe execute the role they’re looking for.”

The PWHL has yet to announce the expansion process that will shape four new rosters. The entry draft is June 17 in Detroit.

The PWHL has declared GMs for its three other new teams — Detroit (Manon Rheaume), Hamilton (Meghan Duggan) and Las Vegas (Dominique DiDia) — but no coaches yet in those markets.

A coach/GM in hockey is more rare than it once was. Ryan was last both with the Maritime Junior Hockey League’s Campbellton Tigers in 2015-16.

He wants to hire staff in San Jose than can help him manage his double workload.

“One of the things that gets out there is like ‘you’re taking two jobs,'” Ryan said.

“One of the first things that came to my mind when this was a possibility is what a great opportunity for that person that is in a leadership role in hockey operations. They’re going to get more than they normally would than they would if there’s a separate GM and a separate coach because there’s going to be more responsibility on that person.

“Maybe there’s someone out there not quite ready to be a general manager in this league. With the support of me, maybe they can grow into that position or two or three years time.”

A Hockey News opinion piece written by Ian Kennedy stated Ryan holding both roles creates a potential for conflict of interest and abuse of power.

“That type of narrative makes it seem like there’s one person making all decisions,” Ryan said.

“There’s the league, there’s the Players’ Association, each player is represented by a certified agent. No role on any of these teams are not without responsibility and without some accountability. If an athlete has an issue, they can easily go to a director of hockey operations or a team services person.

“The league has plenty of layers of support in that area for athletes.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2026.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press