San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) General Manager Mike Grier today announced that the team has named Ryan Warsofsky as Head Coach. Warsofsky will become the 11th head coach in Sharks franchise history.
“We’re very excited to announce Ryan as the 11th head coach of the San Jose Sharks,” said 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.”
“I’m overwhelmed with gratitude and excitement to be named as the head coach of the San Jose Sharks,” said Warsofsky. “This a tremendous opportunity to continue to be part of a well-respected organization, and my family and I couldn’t be more excited for this next chapter. I want to thank our Owner Hasso Plattner, President Jonathan Becher, General Manager Mike Grier and Assistant GM’s Tom Holy and Joe Will for their trust in me. 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.”
Warsofsky, 36, is entering his third season with the Sharks organization, serving as Assistant Coach for the previous two seasons. In that role, his primary responsibilities were 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 between 2022-2024 at 78.8%.
Warsofsky also helped develop several of the team’s young rookie defensemen, including Henry Thrun and Ty Emberson. Last season, Thrun finished 10th among rookie blueliners in points, and was third among rookie defensemen in penalty kill time on-ice (86:07), while Emberson logged the 12th-most minutes (33:09) on the penalty kill among first year blueliners, despite only appearing in 30 games due to injuries.
In Warsofsky’s first year as Assistant Coach with the Sharks in 2022-23, Erik Karlsson collected a franchise-record 101 points by a defenseman, helping the blueliner win his second Norris Trophy, and becoming the Sharks second player to win the award. That season, Karlsson was the sixth NHL defenseman to ever eclipse the 100-point threshold, and his 1.23 points-per-game was the third-best in the past three decades among defenseman who appeared in at least five or more games in any given season.
That same year, the Sharks defensive unit scored the eighth-most points (tied) by defensemen, collecting 191 points, and held the third-most (tied) assists among team blueliners in the league. San Jose’s defensive core accounted for 30.0% of the team’s points, the highest rating among all NHL teams. The Sharks also held the eight-best penalty kill unit, earning an 82.4% efficiency while the team was a man down.
Warsofsky joined the Sharks following two seasons (2020-22) as head coach of the Chicago Wolves (AHL). He led the Wolves to the AHL’s best regular-season record with a 50-16-5-5 record (.724%) in 2021-22 and captured the 2022 Calder Cup, his second Calder Cup Championship, earning a 14-4 record over four different series during the playoffs. The year prior in his first stint with Chicago, Warsofsky guided the team to the third-best record in the league (21-9-1-2), but the AHL did not hold a formal playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In his two seasons, the Wolves amassed a 71-25-6-7 record and the team’s penalty kill ranked in the Top-10 twice (2021-22, fifth; 2020-21, ninth) and the power-play ranked fourth in 2020-21.
Prior to his time with Chicago, Warsofsky worked with the Charlotte Checkers (AHL) for two seasons. He started as an assistant coach in 2017-18 and helped the team capture the Calder Cup 2017-18, overseeing the top penalty killing unit in the League (86.6%). The following year in the abbreviated season, he was named as the League’s youngest head coach (31) on July 10, 2019 and guided the team to a 34-22-5-0 and ranked third in both power-play and penalty kill percentage.
As head coach in the AHL with Chicago and Charlotte, Warsofsky earned a 105-47-11-7 record (.671%).
Warsofsky also worked with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays for five seasons, including two seasons as head coach/director of hockey operations (2016-2018) after starting as an assistant coach. In his two seasons at the helm, South Carolina posted an 88-44-10-2 record and the team advanced to the Kelly Cup Final in 2017. Warsofsky has also worked as an assistant coach in the NCAA with Curry College for one season (2012-13).
Internationally, Warsofsky served as an assistant coach to Team USA’s 2023 World Championship staff, helping guide the team to a fourth-place finish at the tournament.
