Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky Sits Down with Dan Rusanowsky

Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky Sits Down with Dan Rusanowsky

you are in the midst of a big fight right now to get the Sharks back to prominence in the National Hockey League what does it mean to you to get an opportunity here to be a head coach yeah I’m excited I’m honored uh I’m humble uh by this opportunity and um grateful uh there’s a lot of words that come into play and uh I think the biggest thing is I’m excited to get to work and um you know we see the light here at the end of the tunnel with with the draft selections coming up and some younger players that we have in the in the prospect pool and um I’m excited to get this this franchise back where it needs to be and to start winning hockey games again now you’ve been with the team for a couple of years as David Quinn’s assistant you work with the defense and you work with the penalty killing how have the last couple of years as painful as they can be in the win loss column uh be a springboard for you as a coach how much have you learned I learned I learned a lot you know and um I’ve got a lot of experience now uh being behind an NHL bench um you know David Quinn’s a great man he’s a great coach I learned a lot from him um that we had our tough moments and but we learned from those moments and that’s how I took it from you know going through this uh process of getting this position of you know I learned a lot in these last two years of not just coaching of who I am as as a coach who I am as a person how to battle through some some tough times and that adversity of where we are as a franchise and um you know I think that’s only going to make me a better Coach you grew up in a fantastic hockey area in New England and I wanted the fans to get to know you a little bit you’re from Marshfield Mass which is the same Hometown as Mike Sullivan head coach of the Penguins and a former shark and if people that don’t know it’s on the South Shore it’s between ducks B in situ if I’m not mistaken tell us about that area and just how much hockey means to that area yeah it’s it’s important and um just a Boston area in general there’s there’s a lot of hockey going on there’s a lot of rinks around um and I grew up in a in a in a town with Mike Sullivan and you know Tony Monty was down the street and um some really good hockey people and hockey Minds that that have come out of the Southshore not just from Marshfield then you get Charlie Coyle who’s from down there and some other you know NHL players that that have come out of that area and I was fortunate to be you know close with Mike and he’s one of my big mentors and I’ve learned a lot from him not just uh through the years but through this process of now being in the National Hockey League I’ve leaned on him quite a bit and um I’m very fortunate to be from there and you know my dad always says don’t forget where you came from and um Marshall’s a a big piece of my um my makeup well also your family is too your younger brother David played in the National Hockey League for the Pittsburgh panguin for a couple of other teams um he also played at Boston University where he won a National Championship now now your path was a little different uh you’re actually have a lot in common I think with Peter lulette who went from division 3 as a player to become a head coach in the National Hockey League what about that sort of tradition yeah I think you know my youngest brother David who was a really good player and and we grew up you know two years apart and um he was a lot better than me and I could kind of see my you know I I knew where I was going as and and I was I was a a good hockey player but I knew I wasn’t going to play in the National Hockey League and I wanted to take it as far as I could take it and I always had this little you know thought in the back of my mind that I want to get into coaching and obviously you get Mike svan the connection there um he was starting to get into coaching after his career I would be around him in the when he was coaching starting in Providence and into the Boston Bruins and um I just kind of fell in love with it I fell in love with the preparation the communication with the players the Strate strategies throughout the game the X’s and O’s I’d always be talking about it and studying it and um following other sports and press conferences and whatever it might be um I always had that feeling that I wanted to get into coaching and um it never left and as much as some people try to talk me out of it because of the business is is is difficult and um you’re moving a lot and whatnot so um but I always had that you know inkling that I knew I was going to get into coaching and um just the way I my career went unfolded playing um I KN I knew this is what I wanted to get into and um you know I’m excited and it’s been a long journey and a quick Journey but it’s it’s been uh it’s been a grind and I’ve enjoyed almost every moment I’ve had because I’ve learned a lot through those moments you started your college career at Sacred Heart then you moved on to Curry College where you actually started your coaching career you were an assistant coach if there if I’m not mistaken one year but really you started with the A Team in South Carolina and it’s very interesting to note that the ECHL team in South Carolina has now had three coaches that have become head coaches in the NHL Jared Bednar Spencer carbury and now Ryan warski what’s your memory from that time and how it meant how much it meant to you yeah it’s it’s where I grew as a coach it’s where it’s where I was molded as who I am now um I worked for a great coach in Spencer carbury uh for three years under him and and I was a sponge and I’m I’ll never forget a little story that I I tell everyone that after my first year there um I asked Spence I’m like what are you what are your thoughts on on you know how I did do I need to get better and he’s like the one thing that I thought you did really well is you asked a lot of questions and I I think there’s a difference between hearing and listening um and I heard the answers and I took him and I I remember had a journal and I would follow you know every day every meeting he had so I tried to really soak up in that one year especially in my first year there of of what it means to be a professional hockey league coach and I learned a lot there um Rob concanon who’s a president there has got a big influence in my career he’s the one that took a chance on me I remember forget I was sitting in my office at Curry College and I sent him an email because I knew there was an opening and 10 minutes later my phone rang and um he could have easily not called me could and I probably wouldn’t be here today so uh he took a chance of me you know 12 12 years ago and and here I am today and uh he’s done a great job with with bringing you know Jared bedar and K mlan who’s in Calgary and and Spencer and it’s a little fraternity we have down there that we all stay in contact and and we lean on each other I talked to Jared just yesterday about about some things through training camp that I want to pick his brain on and it’s it’s really important for me to have those people to lean on also your experience in the American Hockey League after that really helps you were an assistant coach for Mike valuchi and you guys won a CER Cup in in Charlotte North Carolina but then you got an opportunity to be a head coach on your own first in Carolina but but also with the Chicago Wolves and I wanted to reflect on that because now you’re working with players that are now in the National Hockey League I mean on your championship team you won The Calder Cup in 2022 you had players like Stephan n on the team you had a young kid like Luke Evangelista on your first Chicago Club so you’ve had a variety of different types of pros and and that had to be a good experience to work with those guys yeah for sure and I think in that level you have the younger players are 18 19 years old that are trying to find their way um and they top prospects and have the older players that are trying to uh resurrect their career in the stepan n and and Josh Leos and um and we have to get all have that common goal to win and and if we want to have success and uh as a team uh individual success usually comes with that so um I was a big preacher of let’s play together and that individual success will come with that so um I’ve enjoyed my time in the American Hockey League it’s again where I grew a lot as a as a player and I mean as a coach and as a person of what it takes to to get to player to the next level and um you know the Chicago was a great spot for me and my family uh obviously winning a championship was important and it was a it was a fun ride through the playoffs and I learned a lot about of those moments of adversity and and getting players to to buy into the common goal of winning a championship it was it was a lot of fun that year and all of that comes to fruition here in the National Hockey League is your opportunity to become a head coach you’ll turn 37 in early late October when uh when the season starts you’ve been described as someone who drags people into the fight as a head coach one of your former players players told me that he said Ryan warski drags everybody into the fight would that describe what you have to do here yeah I would I would say so I think um I’m a motivator um I’m going to be right in there with the guys I’m going to have their backs um we’re going to be in this together uh I’m no bigger than you know the 25th guy in the roster or the equipment manager and Mike y I’m no bigger than anyone on this team uh and no one else is going to be any bigger we got to be in this together um we got to be pulling the Rope the same way um doesn’t mean I’m not going to push and Challenge and and and pride players uh to be their best every single night I expect a lot and I demand a lot um but I also understand understand that there’s a lot of stuff going on in the world the social media there’s going to be outside influences on and things happen there’s you know the social media the anxiety of coming and playing in the National Hockey League there’s a lot of pressure um through family and agents and friends so I understand that there’s a there’s a human element to it um but if we’re all in this together and we all have each other’s backs um I think you know magical things can happen if if everyone’s believing um we can do some special things here and um it’s not going to happen overnight we got to take this thing and I’m going to you’re going to hear me say it a lot we’re going to focus on one day and we’re going to try to get better that day if it’s a practice if it’s a video session if it’s a game um we’re going to focus on that that day to get better and continue to have this process of where we want to get to at some point uh in in this organization’s future what’s your theory about running practices because again I’ve been told that you have a very organized method when you’re a head coach of making sure that you’re working on specific it items each and every day yeah uh we’re going to be we’re going to be prepared we’re going to be organized um we’re not going to be throwing darts at the board and trying to patch holes um I know what it looks like our staff is going to know what it’s going to look like we’ll be prepared in in our practice and our in our process um you know I think that’s important to me so you know everyone learns differently every generation learns differently I learn differently than maybe you learn different so I have to understand which what makes each guy tick um but I think if we continue to hammer out you know what we want it to look like whether that’s in our video sessions through our practice now it becomes a habit and now it becomes you know that practice habit becomes a Game reality and and now we start seeing some progress so um I’m excited to get started and and get planning for a training camp and you know just you know talking to some of the staff we we’re excited to kind of get that that plan prepared part of that is knowing the differences between the guys that are on your roster and we know that the San Jose Sharks roster is going to change a little bit it does each and every year but you’ve coached veterans like Eric Carl and you’re working with the defense and you were there when he scored over a 100 points and then you’re also working with a young guy like Henry thrund what’s the difference between that what’s the balance that you have to forge and how do you do it yeah I think trust right trust trust is important in any coach and football basketball we’re going to put the guys out there that we trust the most and the players will understand that they’ll understand exactly where they stand with me what their role is and that was same with Eric and Henry Eric knew his role was on the first Power Play he had a little bit more leash than than probably a Henry Throne that’s coming up and trying to learn learn the the professional game of the National Hockey League so um it’s a little bit understanding what the human who who the human is really uh I’ll learn about the hockey player second I’ll find out what the person’s all about um how they’re you know what they buy into how they’re taught um how they learn um all those different circumstances that come out throughout the season that will will continue to form that relationship but uh it starts you know today and and going forward and reaching out and you know a lot of these players I already know which is which really helps me a lot right they already know you they understand how you work but your role is going to be a little bit different as the head coach of the hockey team and one thing that’s interesting about your history is you’ve actually been an assistant coach of a team and then become the head coach of that same team what’s that adjustment like how do you do that yeah it’s it’s it’s an adjustment there’s no question about it um you know there’s a process to it I’ll get more comfortable as the days go on um but our players that are coming back know me and what I’m all about they’ve seen me run a meeting they’ve seen me around the locker room not much is going to change in that facet I think um I’m the same person I’m not if I start changing who I am they’re going to see that right through me so um I am who I am they’ll understand that I’ll be a little bit probably a little bit more demanding at times and probably a little bit more black and white and um want a little bit more out of them in certain situations or whatnot but um I’m going to be R rovski that’s who I am I can’t change uh who I am one thing you’re going to also do is depend on your assistant coaching staff and your trainers and your equipment managers to make sure that everything runs smooth smoothly and every once in a while chat with the broadcasters but tell us about your staff and how you might like to make it up have you made decisions about that yet yeah we’re still working through that process you know you know today and tomorrow these next few days and we’ll hopefully get that situated here soon um you know I I think every staff I’ve been on has been really tight and really close um we’ve there’s been a respect Factor where you know I want to be challenged I want I want ideas to be thrown at me um but at the same time we need to be respectful of that um we all think differently we’re all we all coach a little bit differently doesn’t matter whether you’ve been a head coach or an assistant coach whether you’ve experienced not experienced um but we have to have a we need to be a tight-knit group and we got to let the players know that we’re tight in in the as the staff because they see that and we want them to see that wow this staff is really tight we want to be tight and now all of a sudden we have one big tight group and that’s what it needs to be how excited are you about the prospect of the sharks having the number one overall pick and having the 14th overall pick in this draft Yeah I think you know the there’s light at the end of the tunnel as I would say there’s some hope now um obviously Will Smith has signed uh zedin had a great year eckan had a good year um Henry thrund is progressing and and had a you know really I thought his second half was better and he had some lumps but he’s learning um and now we have these two top you know 15 picks two picks in the top 15 is is really exciting the number one overall pick and which you know we all know who that’s going to be most likely so um we’re excited and I’m super excited to work with the these younger players and the Will Smith and help them go through the process of becoming a national hockey leager you’re not only a head coach you’re also a father and you have two young kids a lovely wife tell us about your family and how that’s this change is going to affect them yeah it’s going to be um I don’t think my kids really understand what’s going on a little bit um my oldest my my son Cal he’s starting to figure it out with you know we’re back out here he’s kind of questioning it but um we’re excited my wife is obviously the rock of our family I’m not going to be around a lot more a lot and and and they’ve seen that a little bit um not much will change with that but it’s hard on on your families to you know gone for two weeks come home play the next day um there’s a lot of grind that goes with it and if it’s not for my wife I’m not here today um and you know she was with me since day one in a division three freezing cold drink um so she’s been you know all the way up the ladder with me and just by my side so I’m very very fortunate to to have such a great wife and support system through my three brothers my parents um and then my kids you know that’s my why right so we all have that that char that we love and I love winning and I love preparing and I love challenging players to be their best but at the end of the day our my why is my kids and seeing their dad do something special as we wrap things up tell us about what message you have for the Sharks fan base that you’re going to be coaching in front of here yeah I think like I said there’s hope now we we have that light at the end of the tunnel I think we’re going to be an exciting team to watch I I really do I think we’re going to be up and down um we’re going to make it difficult on teams to play against us uh we’re going to make it so when teams leave this building they say damn with there that a hard team to play against that’s all I can say I can’t sit there and guarantee you how many wins we’re going to have we’re going to win a Stanley Cup when it’s going to be but our goal is to one day win a Stanley Cup get this team back in the playoffs so this place is rocking again congratulations we’re excited to have you thank you Dan I appreciate it

Newly named Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky talks with Dan Rusanowsky ahead of his introductory press conference.