The Sharks have their new bench boss. San Jose promoted assistant coach Ryan Warsofsky to be their head coach on Thursday.
Warsofsky has been with the Sharks for two seasons as an assistant after previously being the head coach of the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers and Chicago Wolves. He also spent two seasons as head coach of the South Carolina Stingrays — the Washington Capitals’ ECHL affilliate. Former Stingrays head coach and current Capitals’ bench boss, Spencer Carbery, first hired Warsofsky as an assistant in South Carolina before the 2013-14 season.
The Massachusetts native was previously responsible for the Sharks’ defenders and the team’s penalty kill.
The 36-year-old former Curry College standout is now the youngest head coach in the league and the 11th head coach in Sharks franchise history.
“I’m overwhelmed with gratitude and excitement to be named as the head coach of the San Jose Sharks,” Warsofsky said in a Sharks press release. “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 GMs 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.”
The Stingrays amassed an 88-44-12 record under Warsofsky and made the playoffs in both of his seasons (2016-2018) in charge, advancing to the Kelly Cup Final in 2017. Per the Stingrays, during the 2017-18 season, South Carolina set league records for the fewest goals allowed in a season (153) and the lowest goals-against average per game (2.13).
Warsofsky is the third former Stingray head coach to serve as a head coach in the NHL, joining Jared Bednar (Colorado) and Carbery. Cail MacLean is also an assistant coach with the Calgary Flames.
After his stint in the ECHL, Warsofsky worked as an assistant coach on the 2019 Calder Cup champion Checkers and then as the head coach of the 2022 Calder Cup champion Wolves. With his hiring, all of the head coaching jobs in the NHL are filled for next season.
