SAN JOSE – Ryan Warsofsky remembers sitting in Mike Sullivan’s office as a teenager and disagreeing with the then-Boston Bruins coach about a certain defenseman on the team. Sullivan liked him, and Warsofsky — not one to back down — said he didn’t.
“That was probably the first moment I’m like, ‘I love this,’” Warsofsky said of catching the coaching bug from Sullivan, a longtime friend from his hometown of Marshfield, Massachusettes now in his 10th year of coaching the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“This is what it’s all about. The preparation, the meetings. He’s been great for me.”
Now, roughly 20 years later, the 36-year-old Warsofsky is the youngest head coach in the NHL, in charge of bringing the rebuilding San Jose Sharks back to respectability after they finished this past season with the league’s worst record.
Warsofsky, just eight years after he began coaching professional hockey, was promoted after he spent two seasons as an assistant under David Quinn, who was fired on April 24.
Warsofsky’s rapid rise included two years as an ECHL coach in South Carolina and four years coaching in the AHL with stints in Charlotte and Chicago, winning at every stop, before he was told last week that he was the 11th head coach in Sharks history.
“He’s always won, whatever level he’s been at,” Sharks general manager Mike Grier said. “He’s a great communicator, which is going to be important. We’re going to have a young group, and speaking with and bonding with these young players is going to be super important.”
Grier did not want to be specific about how many people he spoke with about the Sharks coaching job but added that Warsofsky’s familiarity with everyone on the roster aided his candidacy.
“We just went through two really tough years. I know what they need,” Warsofsky said. “They’re beat up a little bit. We need some new light. We need some energy. We need some positivity. Now we have some hope with the prospects that are coming.”
San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier, left, and Ryan Warsofsky, the new head coach of the San Jose Sharks, listen to a question during a press conference at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, June 17, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Warsofsky has a huge task ahead of him — helping to develop those prospects while also trying to move forward after the Sharks finished last season at 19-54-9.
The Sharks signed top prospect Will Smith to an entry-level contract last month and are expected to select Boston University’s Macklin Celebrini on the first day of the NHL Draft on June 28 in Las Vegas. Whether Celebrini will turn pro or return to BU for his sophomore season is unclear.
But how well the Sharks develop these players and others will go a long way in determining whether they can end a five-year playoff drought sooner rather than later.
Warsofsky said he wants the Sharks “to be fast, we want to get on teams. There will be a very distinct look of what our team looks like, I can tell you that right now. Fans will leave our building and say, ‘Wow, that was a fun team to watch.’ The opponent will say, ‘Man, that was a tough team to play against.’”
All too often in recent years, the rebuilding Sharks were anything but a hard team to play against. This past season, San Jose allowed an NHL-worst 226 goals against during 5-on-5 play, and in two years under Quinn, the Sharks won just 19 of 82 home games, as the formerly formidable SAP Center became a sanctuary for visiting teams.
This past season, the Sharks lost 11 times by five goals or more, hitting rock bottom following the trades of Timo Meier, Erik Karlsson, and Tomas Hertl.
“That was a tough year last year, and I take accountability (for) that, too,” Warsofsky said. “But there’ll be some changes that I think will help correct those mistakes.”
Warsofsky didn’t want to discuss specifics about what type of system he’ll employ, especially since the team is getting a makeover this summer, with some prospects and veterans added and others older players jettisoned.
“Obviously, the numbers weren’t great, the analytics weren’t great,” Warsofsky said. “We have to make changes. There has to be a system in place that our players know what’s going on. They understand the system.
“When we have the puck, we know what to do with it, and when we don’t, we know how to get it back.”
Warsofsky grew emotional Monday when speaking about everyone who helped him arrive at this point, including his family and longtime friends.
Sullivan’s parents are Warsofsky’s grandparents. Warsofsky’s grandmother died when he was young, and Sullivan’s mom became Warsofsky’s grandmother in many respects.
Ryan Warsofsky, second from right, the new head coach of the San Jose Sharks, poses for a photograph with his family, from left to right, his mom Dawn, son Cal, 4, wife Caroline, daughter Lucy, 2, and father Mark (all last name Warsofsky) during a press conference at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, June 17, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
“(Sullivan) texted me that (Warsofsky’s grandparents would) be smiling right now,” Warsofsky said, “because they’d be very proud.”
Other notes from Monday:
THE ASSISTANTS: Warsofsky said he’ll speak this week with assistant coaches Scott Gordon, Brian Wiseman, Thomas Speer, and Nick Gialdini about their futures, leaving it unclear whether any of them will return. He did say he will probably have three assistants.
“I’ll talk to (Grier) and his staff of how we want to progress,” Warsofsky said, “and go from there.”
Warsofsky said it was his priority to bring back goalie coach Speer, who had a good working relationship with Mackenzie Blackwood.
THE CAPTAIN: Warsofsky said he’s spoken with Sharks captain Logan Couture a few times this offseason, but not about his health or whether he’ll be ready to go for the start of training camp in September. A sometimes debilitating groin injury kept Couture off the ice for all but six games last season.
Warsofsky said his conversations with players have been more about what’s been going on off the ice.
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Grier did emphasize that he is not looking to trade Couture, who has three more years left on his eight-year, $64 million contract.
“If you look at us bringing in young players here and having a young team,” Grier said, “he’s exactly the type of person you want to have around our young players.”
THE EX-SHARK: Grier said he spoke with Marco Sturm about the coaching job but added that any reports suggesting Sturm was a finalist were inaccurate.
“He did a good job, and I let him know that Ryan was just a better fit,” Grier said of his conversation with Sturm. “We had a good conversation about some of the things that maybe, in my view, he can improve for his next job.
“But he’s a good coach and a good person and very passionate about the Sharks.”