Ryan Warsofsky Full Introductory Press Conference

Ryan Warsofsky Full Introductory Press Conference

for hey scar scar scar the San Jose Sharks proudly present Sharks hockey digest here’s your host Dan rosanowski from sap Center at San Jose an important day in the history of the San Jose Sharks as the 11th coach in the history of the franchise Ryan warski will be introduced to the media we have coverage of that and interviews and lots of reactions here at the Shark Tank I’m Dan rusinowski great to be with you in this offseason alongside Ted Remy and Ted this is a big day in the history of the franchise anytime you have a new head coach it’s a big deal yeah I’ve been saying it for the past week or so this feels like a very exciting day a very big day as we’ve been building towards it and like you alluded to it’s the dawn of a new era for the San Jose Sharks this is going to be the start of what we feel is the the buildup from what was previously and and now we’re looking forward towards a a new timeline for the San Jose Sharks there’s going to be new faces there’s going to be a lot that we don’t even know of uh at this point things that we’re going to learn in the next few months about who’s going to be populating the team and obviously there’s a very big draft on the horizon but really it does start today with this press conference uh to introduce like you said the 11th head coach in the history of the franchise and of course a lot of questions will be answered today about the direction that Mike Greer the general manager who was on hand along with Ryan warski the head coach and the entire staff will take but one thing’s for certain last season was a very painful experience for sharks fans but I have to say it was that way for the coaches as well it was a necessary step that the franchise had to go through as you’re trying to create cap space you’re trying to create more draft Capital you’re trying to give yourself a better opportunity for the future so it doesn’t always lend itself to having the um most painfree of existences as we’ll say but hopefully uh Ryan wowski as he’s been through all of that he knows what those painful moments are like the growing pains he’s been through them to an extent especially with that NHL experience on top of the other coaching experience he’s had so he knows that he can handle it he’s seen what this league can throw at him he’s been through it and I think that arms him with um what he needs in his Arsenal to take as the head man for this staff he’s got a very interesting background for the person who would be named for this position one of the interesting factors is that he’s been an assistant coach of a team and then assumed the role as head coach after that that doesn’t always work very well but I think that he’s really prepared to do that he did that with the South Carolina Stingrays he did that with the Charlotte Checkers in the ECHL and the AHL respectively and then of course he won a cder cup with the Chicago Wolves back in 2022 that is the championship of the American Hockey League that’s a big big deal to be able to win that Trophy and he did that with a combination of veteran players that were on that team people like former shark stepan n Josh Leo who’s played for a couple of teams in the NHL but also young players like Luke Evangelista who’s now playing for the Nashville Predators and it’s kind of funny I talked to Luke Evangelista about Ryan warski he was one of the kids on that Chicago Wolves team and he told us what it’s like to play for this man uh one thing I loved about uh being coached by waro he was he was super passionate super fiery like you know in the in the games in meetings that kind of thing he you know he he cared a lot and I I I think you know in that sense he kind of rubbed off on the rest of the team like like he kind of even as a coach he kind of drags you into the fight like you you can’t help but you know um get fired up by by his attitude toward towards the game and um no I just yeah he he was uh he was a fun guy to play for super passionate so uh yeah some good memories there I think that’s a very interesting memory from an opponent now Luke Evangelista because he talked about one phrase that I really loved he drags everybody into the fight I think that that’s a huge deal yeah that’s what I focused in on as well because it tells you that he’s getting through to the players whether they be younger whether they be veterans they’re all feeling that what he’s pitching to them is genuine it’s authentic it’s not contrived it’s not just a tactic to get the team to try and give that much more of a performance out there on the ice that only works if the coach means it if he’s coming from a place that’s authentic and I think when you hear a player say something like that and you’re talking about a guy who worked with veterans and worked with young players that’ll probably be pretty similar to what he’s going to be dealing with here in San Jose there are going to be a number of young faces we’ve known that’s been coming but there are these veterans that are sprinkled into the mix and knowing how to find that balance to motivate the players at different stages of their career I I have to assume that’s one of the reasons why Mike Greer honed in on him without question of a doubt and of course knowing where the roadways are so to speak I’d like to use the phrase where the bodies are bued but maybe that’s the wrong way to put it knowing where the roadways are in San Jose knowing the players themselves being able to coach the defense on this team the last two years work with them on the penalty kill but also work directly on the five on five with the defensive players and help a player like Eric Carlson an established Superstar have an amazing season two years ago and yet at the same time working with a young player like Henry thr or Shakir mamad Dulan or a player of that nature these are are things that the new head coach of this team is going to have to understand because the sharks are going to be developing young players at the NHL level and certainly with the the number one overall draft pick and the 14th overall pick in the first first round this season I think that that’s another factor that you’re probably going to work with those guys this year 36 years old going to be 37 right around the time that the season does start but you have to imagine that he’s he’s been around enough to where he’s got the experience but he’s going to have that younger mindset to where he understands how to deal with what we would call the modern athlete we know that’s something that changes what we call the modern athlete every 10 years or so but having a coach that understands the mentality the motivations the different aspects of their entire existence as a player now the pressure that comes from social media the pressure that comes from the podcast sphere that comes from all these things that are outside of traditional broadcast media that didn’t exist 20 years ago this is something that young players are dealing with when they’re 15 16 17 years old ask Conor Bard about that how long people have been talking about him or any number of top level prospects he knows that these players have been dealing with that and I think him having that understanding being aware of what the media landscape is like and the pressures that these young players that he’s going to be tasked with developing that’s a huge asset and of course he’s going to depend on some of those veteran players on the shar’s roster now the great hope obviously is that Captain Logan curo can recover and return to the level of play that he has always brought to fans in San Jose and the NHL but he’s also got mikyle granin under contract for this coming season he led the team in scoring he had a total of 60 points on the year really an outstanding player and a great mentor to his linemates William Eckland and Fabian zerland both of whom showed a tremendous amount of progress a coach depends on those players and in fact granin was part of one of the great successes of the Season that crazy comeback in Detroit back on December the 7th off the draw Red Wing skate on the attack zedin checks it away from Lin but Lin’s a great skater he goes back to his own Zone to get that loose Puck ah head man feed Raymond he’s played well tonight crosses to San Jose line throws it across the rink Walman in deep drops it back to the right point off the skate of Raymond it’s poked at by zet and he’s giving it a race he might have a breakaway comes in delayed penalty throws it across grin shoots and he scars mik grin just won the game for the sharks in the most spectacular comeback in many year the Sharks win 65 in overtime the most dramatic of the 19 wins that the Sharks had last season meet Kyle granin the winner I know you agree with this he’s just such a good person to have around this dressing room but also to lead those young linemates of his on the ice nothing phases him I think that was the most easily identify aspect of his personality you would talk to him after wins you’d talk to him after losses he would obviously be sometimes dismayed with the results but he wasn’t phased by it he was not getting too high or too low no matter the outcome and obviously once he was healthy after he took a knock early on in the season he was productive he was effective I talked to him on a number of occasions and he talked about how he felt that he was playing the best hockey of his career and I think that that’s something that the sharks are going to have to look to get even more out of him with this upcoming season while he’s able to maximize his linemates we have an idea of what we think it’s going to be talking about that lond line but obviously things change from year to year but it’s it’s very exciting and I think we look at some of those aspects from last year and we also have a guy you know like a Matt Benning coming back from injury his veteran presence and what that will be able to uh add to the San Jose Sharks and there’s some other restricted free agents and that we have our relative expectations about I won’t uh go too far deep into that but there are guys who are going to be here that warski is going to be able to lean on that he can count on for their veteran experience that he can count on for them to show the young guys the right way of doing things the shark way of doing things and one of the really exciting things is that one of those young guys is Will Smith coming out of Boston College they were the number one team ranked in the country for most of the year and I think that he developed a tremendous amount was one of the people in the discussion for the Hobie Baker award which for fans that might not be concerned or aware of that is the equivalent of the Heisman Trophy in college hockey and of course the other guy that actually won the award Macklin selini yes I dare say his name is obviously the consensus thought for the number one overall pick which the sharks have in the upcoming NHL entry draft and may I promote Ted that we’re going to have a live coverage show from the draft party right here at sap Center on the 28th I think it’s going to be a very exciting time I’m hearing there’s about 12,000 people that are going to be packed into sap Center at San Jose for the draft party and I think that that just goes to show you how excited the fan base is emphasis on Party by the way we know the draft is going on but last year the atmosphere that we had here was phenomenal obviously a very big draft for the San Jose Sharks and this year just as big if not bigger and so with all those fans and attendant here at sap Center we’re going to be broadcasting live on the Sharks audio Network I encourage everyone to listen in I know that we are getting our friend Drew Renda in town as well so he’ll be joining us that’s going to be a phenomenal night and even though we do have a a pretty good idea of what’s going to happen with that number one overall pick I know that there’s a lot of different questions that still surround the 14th overall pick and obviously the entirety of the draft for the San Jose Sharks I mean we’ve been talking about these big decisions that Mike GRE has been tasked with since he took over as the general manager for the San Jose Sharks and maybe this year the number one is a is a relatively easy one but he’s still got some big decisions to make he’s still got big moves to make in free agency all these topics are going to be on the horizon we’re going to have a lot to get into for that draft again emphasis party that’s happening here on the 28th today’s a party too because it’s always a celebratory moment when the team introduces a new head coach we’ve done this 11 official times in the history of the club and Ryan warski is not the youngest head coach in the history of the San Jose Sharks he’s right up there a little bit younger than Kevin Constantine was back in 1993 Kevin was 34 years of age when he was named the coach of the Sharks and Ryan warski 35 36 is going to turn 37 in late October after the shark season has started and that’s another thing that we always look forward to uh whenever a season is upcoming the first thing you want to look at is the schedule and it has not been released yet we’re very excited about it I don’t know about you Ted but what broadcasters tend to do play-by-play announcers that are traveling with the team we don’t look at the home schedule we look at the road schedule find out where we’re going yeah exactly no and that that’ll be fun we know those obviously there’s going to be those East Coast road trips and I’m sure there’s some steakhouses that you’ve identified over the years and some other some other good restaurants but here’s my question for you Dan because you have been here since not the official day one of the franchise but about as close as we can get to that they won for the first game yes for the first game we’ll go to that one but when we are talking about these coaches when you’re watching these introductory press conferences since you’ve seen it well what are you looking for personally what are you hoping to hear what are you going to be looking at in this first year we know he’s a good talker broadcasters always appreciate that when the guy can be a good interview but what do you hope to hear what do you hope to see today and throughout this first year at the helm what the most important thing that a coach can do Above All Else as side of the usual things have a system have a plan um be organized and so forth the most important thing that a head coach can do is to express to the players that he believes in them and that’s because there going to be some times when a head coach who’s been an assistant coach has a different role and he might have to have an uncomfortable conversation with a player at certain points in the year the player has to understand that that’s coming from the coach because he’s trying to make them a better player and a better person and that’s the goal so to me that’s the most important thing that the coach can communicate that to the players that he can get the Buy in from the players to the system that he wants which often happens when that belief is there and I think that Ryan is is an ideal candidate for that uh the players at work with him all of the defensemen really enjoyed uh the the type of feedback that they had with him and realistically I think that that’s that’s another Factor why they named him the head coach he knows where the roadways are as I mentioned but he also understands where the team is headed and I think that that’s an important thing too that he’s able to deal with all of those challenges there is the air of conu and the fact that he’s been here that he knows the players that he knows what motivates these guys that he knows their games in terms of the importance there and him getting named this 11th head coach in franchise history how important is that because it it it doesn’t make everyone coming with a clean slate he’s obviously got his own system his own tactics his own ideas of what he wants to do but it feels like gives everyone a better chance to hit the ground running on day one well we’re talking about that obviously and we will get the idea of who his assistant coaches will be we obviously have several on staff um we’ll see how that all transpires I I I talked to him this morning and he said that he has not really made a final conclusion as to how his staff is going to be assembled and of course they have to make decisions too so that’ll be part of the process in the next few days but I don’t think it’ll take very long one thing that he mentioned this is really important he says that we’re all in this together so to speak and he says that uh basically you want to have it so that uh not only everybody’s in on the fight but that the coaches are very tight because they’re going to be spending all sorts of time uh together and in the meantime we’ve got our press conference assembling and we want to make sure that that we’re ready to go in a moment Kyle stutzel of the San Jose Sharks media relations department will be stepping forward and getting started with our news conference and here comes Mike Greer and Ryan warski and Jonathan Becker the president and CEO of the organization so let’s go to the news conference right now good afternoon everyone my name is Kyle stel I’m the uh media relations manager for the San Jose Sharks I’d like to welcome those here in attendance at SCP Center and those who are watching today on all of our sharks digital platforms including the sharks plus sip Center app presented by Western Digital NBC Sports at Bay area.com and listening on the Sharks audio Network in just a moment we’ll uh start with some prepared remarks from our president of shark sports and entertainment Jonathan Becker and sharks general manager Mike Greer at that point we will introduce today’s distinguished guest following the prepared remarks we’ll open it up for questions to our media here in attendance at the end of the Q&A we will have a photo opportunity with our three guests at the front of the stage so with that I’d like to introduce shark sports and entertainment president Jonathan Becker thanks I’d like to add my welcome to everyone that’s been able to join us today um for the last couple of weeks we’ve been saying the future is teal and today the future looks even more teal ran I got to say it looks great with that PIN on Your Collar there ultimately the job of hiring a general manager hiring a head coach goes to the general manager but consistent with Mike’s collaborative style he’s invited several other us to be involved in the process including me and similar to how we hired Mike as a general manager we started with a very broad brush of candidates but relatively quickly narrowed it down to a handful obviously and not surprisingly this was a role that attracted a ton of candidates although amusingly several of them tried to circumvent the process I had some candidates in quite few agents try to contact me directly to say why they should be the next head coach of the San Jose Sharks but ultimately Ryan really separated himself from the pack yes for all the hockey reasons his game plan preparation his attention to detail and frankly the fact that he’s been a very successful head coach before but it’s beyond that Ryan’s communication style his authentic way of dealing with everybody his deep knowledge of the situation that we’re in right now now and frankly Ryan one thing that really stood out that last time we talked is your passion for San Jose and the community you are authentically a shark and so it gives me great excitement to welcome Ryan as the next head coach of the San Jose Sharks congrats Ryan thank you with that I pass the puck to our general manager Mike Greer thanks Jonathan um hope every yall the dads out here had a good Father’s day yesterday first and foremost um but thank you all for being here um you know I see a lot of familiar faces and a lot of people put on a lot of time and effort behind the scenes um to make the Sharks organization such a special place and for you guys to come out here today to support us means a lot and um it’s a real special day for the organization um for the city for our team um to be here where we are today and and I’m thrilled and proud and super excited to announce the next head coach of the San Jose Sharks Ryan rowski thank you thank you thank you uh Mike and Jonathan and obviously thank you f from being here um and some familiar faces and and it’s good to come back here uh to the tank and and see some people that I just saw just a few months ago so um this is an exciting time for myself my family um and the Sharks organization to move forward you know I think we starting to see this light at the end of the tunnel um there’s some uh hopes and uh excitement to the Future here and I’m excited to be part of it um I’d like to thank you just some people here that helped me along the way and I’m sure there’ll be a lot of questions about how we’ll play hockey and the systems and the structure so we’ll get to that as we go here but um I want to thank our owner uh hoso partner um for his support I want to thank Jonathan Becker um for his support his communication throughout this whole process um I want to thank Mike Mike Greer uh and his staff Tom hly Joe will Charlie Townson in the process that we had uh was very thorough and I appreciated this opportunity to to sit down with you guys and discuss my vision of the of the next future of the sharks um you know I want to thank some people that are here today and um big people mentors in my life um my agent Neil glassberg who’s been important to me uh so thank you Neil um obviously you guys have seen my start I started division 3 School uh Curry College TJ manki gave me a start into get into coaching so I want to thank him and then uh sorry I’m a little emotional cuz that’s just I I wear right on my sleeve as you’ll probably will see um I emailed the guy uh when I was my first year D at Curry there was an assistant job open in South Carolina in the ECHL Rob conanan who’s here I emailed him 10 minutes later he called me changed my life forever so um he’s uh he’s got some sprinkle dust down there cuz he’s hided three NHL head coaches and Jared bedar and Spencer carbury um he’s one of my great friends and uh love you’re up Spencer carbury um like I mentioned I worked for him for three years head coach in Washington right now he’s the man that molded me to the coach I am so I need to thank Spence um he’s one of my best friends he’s had a huge impact in my coaching career and I can’t thank him enough Mike fuchi who uh hired me in Charlotte uh we won a championship together in the American Hockey League you know Mike uh really took another chance who didn’t really know me um so so I really appreciate uh everything he’s taught me and again winning a championship you kind of walk together for life so I want to thank uh Mike valuchi um David Quinn and he’s a great man he’s a great coach um along with Mike he brought me here two years ago um I need to thank Quinny he um he’s a he’s a really good man he’s a good friend and and I learned a lot and for I’ll be forever grateful for him taking a chance to bring me to the National Hockey League and here in San Jose um a lot of mentors over the years you know Rob brend de Moore Jared bnar Mike Sullivan who got me started into coaching when I was just 16 years old he was coaching the Boston Bruins and I’d go in there and and you know try to learn from him be a sponge um to this day he’s he’s a phone call away and I he’s there to support me so I have to thank um to Sully out in Pittsburgh um the hard part to get to this point the way I got here is probably a little bit different than some people and you need support from your family I got three brothers Adam Jared and David uh who keep me humble they’ll also be my Monday Morning Quarterback I’m sure I’ll get a lot of texts and calls of things they want me to do differently um but they’re a great sound system for me and soundboard and um I’m so grateful to have three loving Brothers my [Music] parents um they’re here today uh like I said I I started uh in E not making a lot of money and I had to had some support so I thank my mom and dad for all those times bringing me to the rink supporting me through the tough times tough decisions I love you guys so much and thankful you guys are here today um my lovely wife and beautiful wife Caroline uh who’s been the rock of our family when I’m not around um we’ve been there together since day one at Curry at this small freezing cold rink in Milton Massachusetts she’d sit up there with a hot chocolate and try to stay warm and here we are in the National Hockey League as a dream come true with you by my side I think in whatever we do in life we all have a why my why is I love to win okay I love to win it’s what drives me I love being in a locker room after a game seeing the team celebrate together I love seeing individuals have success and grow and develop and reach their goals that they never thought were possible I love all that stuff that’s really important to me but my real wives my kids Callen Lucy who probably don’t really know what’s going on right now but when I’m not there a lot and after a tough loss or a tough road trip they’re there to greet me at the door with a big smile on their face they’re the reasons why I do this um so I thank you guys and my support my family for being here today again I’m super excited for this I’m humbled by this I can’t wait to stick it started the process is is already uh in full force and I can’t wait for September so I thank you guys very much for all being [Applause] here thanks Ryan so with that we will now go ahead and take some questions from our media and attendance uh since this press conference is being broadcast we do ask you to utilize the wireless mic that we have over here if you have any questions just uh raise your hand we can take it from there first of all Ryan um congratulations just through the process it obviously took a while and you you’ve talked about your path what was the first like when you took a second to kind of look back and like I’m I’m now the head coach of the San sharks what went through your mind um probably all the the work that took to get here um you know the ECHL is not a easy lead to coach in you’re you know booking the bus the plane the meals the rooms um you know there’s a lot of hours that you need to put into it um so probably just the hours and the work that I’ve I’ve put in um throughout my career and I know it’s fast-tracked in in certain moments but um you know it it’s it’s still sometimes I’m still trying to hit me a little bit but again I’m excited and I’m fortunate to have this opportunity uh Ryan over here I’m sorry uh Curtis Bala News Group um what’s the identity that you want the Sharks team to have and how will it be any different from maybe how the Sharks were the last couple of years yeah I think I mean it listen there’s been a lot of new coaches and that one coach has got up and said we want to play slow and we want to be passive um so we want to be fast we want to get on teams uh there’ll be a very distinct look of what our team looks like I can tell you that right right now I think fans will leave our building and say wow that was a fun team to watch win or lose uh the opponent will say man that was a tough team to play against um so I I think there’ll be some changes structurally for sure um but I think what we you’ll be proud of the team that we put on the ice it will be clean there’ll be structure um and there’ll be an they effort-based that will be distinct throughout the whole building question for for Mike was your process like in terms of how many people you you spoke to um how many finalists you might have had and ultimately why was was Ryan the right guy for this team right now uh we had a pretty thorough search um not going to get into the numbers of how many people we talked to but we talked to um you know a good amount of people we wanted to be thorough and make sure that um you know we were checking all the boxes that need to be checked um but at the end of the day we went down do unique see it today you can see the passion um the emotion that Ryan has and that meant a lot to me and the staff um that’s at the end of the day that’s that’s what matters you need you need to care you need to have passion um you need your team to play that way um it’s a 82 Game season it’s a long season and we have to play with theemotion and play with energy and and I think those those things really resonated with me and the fact he’s won um he’s always won whatever level he’s been at um and he’s a great communicator which is going to be important we’re going to have a young group here and connecting and and speaking with and bonding with these young players is going to be it’s going to be super important it’s going to be a big big part of us taking the next step forward so um he just checked every box there was um and on top of that he’s a a a great human being and a great person and that’s what we’re striving to have in this organization as much as possible Ryan congratulations wanted to ask you about your coaching staff um there’s a report that your maybe Brian weisen will come back um also other members of the coaching staff can you speak to that yeah we’re you know Mike and I are still going through that process and um you know I think in the coming days and weeks we’ll finalize the staff but um you know we just just started that process will you be looking for uh under David there are three assistants would it be three assistants too or two assistants yeah we’re probably going to go with you know three assistants so we still working through the details and and going through that process as we you know we started that kind of today all right congratulations again U Mike I have a question for you um last year obviously was a struggle for the Sharks and so I think the obvious question is you know what made Ryan stand out in such a tough season that you would promote a guy from you know that team well it’s a lot of things I just kind of went over um you know he stayed positive throughout um he did a great job communicating and coaching our D I think if you ask um Henry thrund and Ty emberson and and uh Shakir when they were up here the care he gave them each and every day and the ability to keep working and developing them and spending time with him through video and on the ice when like you said it was a long season it would have been easy just to soon as practice is over to hit the road and get out of there and but he never did that he never hid from the situation we were in and he kept putting the the time in and working with these kids and that’s something that um you know meant a lot to me as a as as a GM and uh Mike a reports were that it was down to Ryan and Marco Sturm so do you have any comment on Marco and uh just talking with him about the job was that your report that it came down to those to or yeah actually yes yeah uh so it was that’s not accurate uh but no I I talked to Marco Marco did interview um he did a good job and I spoke to him after afterwards and and let him know that you know Ryan was just a better fit and we had a good conversation about you know maybe some of things he can in in my view that maybe he can improve for his next job but he’s a good coach and a good person and very passionate about the Sharks all right Michael Robertson uh African-American athlete so I have a question for you and then Mike you’ll have a backup one um so you take over this job pretty prestigious job but you also have the number one pick is that going to add pressure to it or are you going to go into it that we’re going to have to develop this young man whomever it is and uh we’ll see what happens after that yeah I don’t I mean it’s the National Hockey League there’s pressure everywhere um I think it it’s exciting to have the first overall pick and um it gives our fans some hope that we and we what we have already in in the cupboard here with prospects that we’re not far away and this is just going to enhance uh our Prospect pool and and get a player and you know two players that are really going to help our our team for the future all right Mike uh I don’t want to rain on Ryan’s parade but how tough was it to let David go being that you guys had the beu connection and you came in together yeah it was very difficult um you know Quinny and I have been friends for probably close to 30 years and uh I get a lot of respect for him he’s a good coach even better person um and you know this is something that affects his not only his profession but his family so it wasn’t something that I took lightly at all it’s um unfort it’s the unfortunate side of the business but um you know I think it was important for for us to move forward at the as an organization and um you know we’re really excited uh for the next chapter here with Ryan uh for Josh with ap for Mike how uh obviously Ryan’s got a lot of experience with young guys and developing you’re going to be a pretty young team how important was that and what you were looking for in your head coach yeah very important um you know he’s he’s did a good job developing players in Chicago and that’s you know I think what’s underestimated is that he had to he had two different organizations trying to give him young players to work with and develop and he did a great job and ended up winning a you know a CER cup down there with with that group so um it was very important I think it’s also the opportunity to to grow with our group like you said we’re going to be young um he’s a young coach and um hopefully the the whole crew can just kind of grow together and win together and and uh take next steps so it was a it was a definitely a part of the process uh question for for you Mike um you know we’ve talked a lot about how Ryan’s been here since David Quinn was brought in was part of the decision made because of his familiarity with that core that you’ve begin to build and then I’ll have another one for you Ryan afterward um I mean it was all everything was kind of considered um when we went into this it definitely did help him that he knows he knows these players he knows what they’ve been through um he knows what they need uh he knows how some of them learn and the best way to teach them and to get across to them so um it was definitely you know a bonus for him to have have been around our players and then Ryan for you it’s a kind of you know we talked about the excitement the number one pick first time in history just you know for yourself being able to connect with the players you are the youngest active NHL head coach in leag does that do you do you almost look at that as an advantage for your coaching style where you are so close in age to some of these guys and can really connect especially with a young team like the Sharks yeah for sure you know I’m I’m not that far away from this generation that’s coming and um you know I think everyone’s taught differently and it’s my job to understand that and to figure out these players not just as players but as human beings first um I’ll get to know him as a human being then I’ll gu get going on him as a player um but understanding what they take what each player goes through often ice on the ice there’s different things that happens in players lives there’s social media that’s in in play now um there’s pressures from the outside world agents family um so we have to have an understanding of that as a coaching staff um but first and foremost I got to understand what these are they are as human beings how they’re taught you know are they a visual learner can they look through video does it need to be on I instruction um so that’s going to be the this my job um with the younger generation that’s coming and I really do feel like I I I you know I’m not that far away from removed from them so I understand where they’re coming from hey Ryan Markovich Bayer Sports upup you must be really excited to work with these kids that are coming up the Smiths the Beast Deads the soon to be number one pick when you went going through this interviewing process was that the thing that really got you excited about wanting to take this job as the S Sharks next head coach yeah I think that was you know it was important part of it and uh the other part is is I know the players that are here um we just went through two really tough years I know what they they need um they’re beat up a little bit um we need some new life we need some energy we need some positivity um you know now we have some hope with with our prospects that are coming um but this is an exciting really exciting chapter in this franchise with the prospect that Mike prospects that Mike’s brought in and drafted and um we’re starting to see develop through you know the American Hockey League and now with this draft we have coming up so exciting times are are definitely ahead and for Mike the familiarity that Ryan’s had with the core group of these young players coming in uh is that something that was kind of gave him the edge to this coaching stop uh coaching uh position over maybe the other people you get interviewed with um I wouldn’t say game and Edge I think it was you know it was it was a bonus for him but um you know the other things I’ve talked to talked about already today is probably What mattered most um you know the the person he is and the energy and the ability to connect and the fact that he he knew our group was a was a bonus but I wouldn’t say it was a a huge Advantage Curtis question for for Ryan and and for Mike I mean we mentioned the prospects Will Smith just signed here you know it looks like malcol zabini is going to be in the Sharks organization what is the best way to develop these young players obviously they’re huge parts of this team’s future what is the best way to develop them going forward here is it time of the American League is it just if they’re in the NHL next year just seeing how they adjust like what is the best way to to go about it um I don’t think anyone knows if if anyone if teams knew I think everyone would be doing it I think we’ll you know we have an idea what’s what’s best for these kids and and how we’re going to proceed with their development but um you know hopefully it works out but like I said I don’t think anyone knows right now when you’re dealing with 18 19 year old kids I don’t think anyone has the the magic remedy to what’s going to work we have things that we think are going to work and things we’ll do um but at the end of the day we’ll have to just kind of see how it goes and just when I this team gave up I believe it was 331 goals last year tactically what what is the top priority in terms of just cutting that down and just and just I guess what is your number one priority I guess once you get to talk to the players oh um well the number one priori is start to reach out all the player all the players um start formulating a staff um and then we’ll get going on the structure I have a vision on what it should look like um I know some things that we we we’ll do it differently um you know but we’re still what in June here so far and um I’m not going to sit here and tell you what our system’s going to be and give other teams our advantage so um but it will be different you’ll uh have to stay tuned Bill bich guy right there Hi this is ch beah H from myTV USA uh first questions for Ryan um if you can can you articulate uh what particular changes you’re looking to make as compared to David Quinn and what similarities that we might see going forward in the coaching um stay [Music] tuned I just I’m from New England I’m a big b check guy there’ll be some changes you know I obviously look at like our the numbers weren’t great the analytics wer great um we have to make changes there has to be um a system in place that our players know what’s going on they understand the system we’re not teaching the system in in gamees 62 and 65 uh there’s some predictability with it um we know when we have the puck we know what we want to do with it we don’t have the puck we know what we want to do to get it back so that’s um kind of my vision and the structure part will develop you know through this summer and get ready for training camp and uh one for Mike uh when he took over the helm uh the Prospect pool for the Sharks was not so great to say the least uh where do you feel we are now especially after the number one pick and where do you see the pool do you feel that in the next year or so we’re going to start to see that transition where the focus isn’t on on that so much and it’s more on winning the cup um I mean it’s in a better spot for sure than when I got here um but we have to keep building it and we got to keep plugging holes and um I don’t think you’re ever satisfied with it um you know the the way to win in this league is is to draft and develop so um you know it’s always going to be a priority of ours to keep doing that um we we feel about feel good about where we are as far as um you know some of the guys we have coming but we also have to keep in mind that these kids are 18 19 20 years old and not to put the weight of the world on them um there’s still a lot of growth left in these guys that hopefully we can get the best out of them and the last one for Jonathan you know obviously in the previous years especially where the Sharks were the ticket sales were suffering and a lot of fans griping now the question is when are you looking to go back to getting close to the salary cap and um what do you think about the future of the ticket sales here yeah I think you may have heard me say in various things uh we had the best renewal season at least that I can remember since I’ve got here and probably since the Stanley Cup run uh May sales were I think a record for history of May June is shaping up just as strong as well so it looks like this will be the best offseason we had when comes to ticket sales terms of spending the cap I think we we’re always a cap team this year they’re you know so many people on their entrylevel contract it’ll be hard to get all the way to the cap but uh that that’s the philosophy spend a win so H always gives us what we can to put a successful team around hi Brian curis Chris alvers from ABC7 congratulations uh I’m curious when you thought that you landed the job in the interview process when you’re going through it’s like I think I have it now I don’t know if yeah I got the call from Mike on Tuesday night uh whenever it was um it was a a long process thorough process and um that’s how it should be I think um I thought I put a good plan in place with Mike and his staff when we met you know a few weeks back and um the process unfold fed and we communicated as the weeks went on and um I don’t know if there was only one moment um but I think the the the happiest moment was when he called me that night and um yeah first uh for uh Jonathan I just want to ask you and you just kind of touched on it but just can you tell us about the excitement from the fan base and just this summer from getting the number one one pick and obviously a new coach too but just in general can you speak to that excitement tangible excitement compared to past summers perhaps yeah I was asking Ryan whether I should expect a Ryan ticket sales bump after the announcement and there it was in fact a bump today so I’m going to give it to you um no in fact I mean obviously the mood around the franchise substantially changed after the number one pick and that buck went our way you’ve seen the the gigantic teal number one going around the bay area which has attracted a ton of fans there’s a lot of online sentiment uh I think we’re north of 12,000 people now registered for the draft party here in this building so it seems likely that that will sell out I think the largest ever draft party was Chicago’s last year which was under 5,000 so I don’t know we might have a chance to double the record of the number of people showing up for a draft party so I think there’s a lot of enthusiasm having said this is a young team so it’ll take a while for a young team to come together but uh I think the mood is substantially there and Mike a question for you in terms of next season obviously you want the the results the wins you know more points all that kind of stuff but um what are you looking for to improve besides that kind of obvious stuff just sort of the under the hood stuff that you’re looking to improve well I think uh we we’ll have a call next week to kind of get into kind of more of this this stuff not to brush you off or anything but I want today is about Ryan and his family and and his journey here um so we’ll celebrate to that that that other stuff uh we’ll have our pre-draft call and I’m happy to get into that stuff with you but today’s more about Ryan and perfect my last question is for Ryan uh Ryan I wanted to ask you um in your previous stops uh in South Carolina and in the the Hurricanes organization you went from assistant to head coach within the same organization so just what is that like like how are you going to be different now you’re a head coach as opposed to assistant coach yeah I think um I’m not going to change very much you know obviously the role changes the title changes um The Players know me if I go in there and act someone like I’m not they’re going to see right through me so um I’m going to be myself I’ll probably be a little bit more demanding and and a little bit more um black and white at times um a little bit more harder on on some on some you know topics and some issues but um I’m still going to have the relationship I’m a relationship based coach um you know I’m I’m going to you know kind of push these guys and challenge them um but you know I want these guys to have individual goals I I think that’s really important but we have to remember we’re not going to get those individual goals if we don’t play as a team so um again not a whole lot’s going to change I’ve done this been in this role situation before like you said uh and I’m excited about it we’ll take our last one over here all right okay Mike and Ryan um at what point will you guys realize that this number one player whomever it is uh when are you guys going to realize if it’s going to be a Bard situation where he’s playing right away or might be like Byfield where he did miners for a while so at what point do you make that decision well first we meet with Macklin and his family and if it is Macklin did I say mlin um um we’ll meet with we’ll meet with them and uh see mlin um we’ll meet with his agents and his family and and um just to try and decide what’s best for him in his development and and he’s different than those other guys that he’ll go back to school you know Byfield and some of those other guys go back to Junior or or situations like that but um you know I think we’ll work together and just try and figure out what the best plan of his for him and and go from there yeah I mean like Mike said there’ll be a plan in place and um you know everyone’s developed differently and you know spikes at different times in their careers and um we’re going to sit down and we’ll talk and and make a plan and go they and execute it before we get to the uh Jersey presentation Mike uh you have one more remark to make yeah uh thanks everyone for coming out we appreciate the support as always um you guys have been great great here um since I’ve gotten here and supporting myself and uh the hockey team and um just one more thing I wanted to put to bed for you media guys is stuff’s out there that I’m looking to trade Logan Couture or anything like that that is absolutely false um if you look at us bringing in young players here and having a young team he’s exactly the type of person you want to have around your young players he’s our captain he’s our leader he had a tough year um but we we love him as a person most importantly and he’s still a heck of a hockey player so um any of those you guys can put any of those thoughts about me looking to trade our captain put those to bed so with that uh i’ like i’ like to ask Mike Greer and Jonathan Becker to present Ryan with his team’s Jersey for a photo opportunity boy [Applause] with this jersey Ryan we want to get your family up here as well yeah [Music] okay you want to come up and take a photo with Ryan yeah if you it’s up to you if you want them all together you’re listening to Sharks hockey digest on the San Jose Sharks audio Network news conference has concluded here at sap Center at San Jose and a lot of exciting things happening including some news made by general manager Mike Greer a moment ago Ted Remy and that any type of rumor involving a potential trade of Captain Logan Couture is absolutely false which is something that we kind of knew anyway but just to quell any speculation about that and I think that’s big news for for the new head coach of the San Jose Sharks is right now Ryan and his family are right now posing his his lovely wife Caroline and the two kids are there and a lot of people that have made a big difference in in his life are here here to celebrate really a big moment in the in the career of of a young coach who’s got a lot of upside in terms of what he’s going to produce yeah it was great to hear him talk about just the things that his family meant to him his brothers people who helped him along his journey I think that we got to see some of that emotion and fire that we’ heard alluded to which I thought was again we talked about it earlier authentic we talked about that genuine nature that we’ve heard people reference about him and to see it in this press conference I thought was very very special as uh we now have the general manager of the San Jose Sharks Mike Greer sitting down with us and uh Mike uh good to see you congratulations on the hire a a very big day for you on uh what is the start of what’s going to be a very big summer for you yeah thanks for having me guys good seeing you yeah it’s um it’s a big day for for uh the organization and our in our group um you know we got our leader to kind of lead us and uh you know I think I think we’re in good hands with with Ryan I think the players they’ve all been excited whether they’re uh you know reaching out to me and reaching out to him I think um there’s some excitement with our returning players within the group so um I’m thrilled I’m really happy for Ryan he’s worked hard um he’s G it kind of gone about it a little bit of the oldfashioned way like he said working his way up from division three and through the East Coast league and and um you know the American League and then being assistant he’s kind of he’s chucked off a lot of boxes and worked his way up so um you know I’m excited to see what’s next for him I think there’s a lot of potential for him to to be a really good coach in this league but one thing’s for sure Mike is he’s been a winner wherever he’s been he’s won the championship twice in the American Hockey League once as an assistant coach in Charlotte and the other time as the head coach with the Chicago Wolves and that wolves team was interesting in that he was working with some veteran players there but he also had some young kids too and he helped develop them while being in the atmosphere of trying to be a winner kind of sounds like that’s what he’s got to do at this level it’s a big challenge to do it but what about that factor of his his skill set that helped you decide that he was a good choice in that regard yeah no it’s a good point I think even if you even go back to I think his when he his first had coaching job I think he was 31 um in the east coast League where you got a lot of older players he took that team to the finals um they lost in the finals but so that shows you be being a young guy being able to relate with some of the older players and then you know I actually did a lot of a lot of background in vetting with players from those um those Chicago teams some guys that were veterans and then some of the young players and they all had the same thing you know how well he related to them and how he coached everyone the same but cared about them off the ice and pushed them and challenged them so um you know it’s pretty unique to be able to um be his age and and relate to the young guys and but push the young guys but at the same time keep uh keep the older guys kind of in check and be able to be able to be hard on them and maybe set them out of the lineup when you know you know when he was coaching that there was probably some guys in the lineup that were probably even older than he was so he’s got a good um good way with people and a good way to manage the players Mike a lot of questions to Ryan were about tactics about structure but I was kind of thinking about another difficult task for him and and you as well is getting the team to forget about last year as they move forward and make sure there’s no I don’t know if hangover is the right term but to remember that any challenges they faced in The Season’s that doesn’t have an impact on what they’re embarking upon this upcoming season yeah that’s definitely um definitely something that’s going to be a challenge for for not only him but myself and um our leadership group coming back I think um you know people talked about the the bonus that he had of knowing the players but at the same time he’s also been a part of the last two years so he had some that going against him so it’s definitely going to be something I think he’s working on he’s reached out to our players already and and um talking with them and and I think it’s a it’s a clean slate um you know we got through the the last couple years especially last year was tough but um it’s a new start um we got some fresh blood coming in and um I think everyone’s excited to get going he has experienced Mike at being an assistant coach and then being promoted to becoming head coach of that same team before and I heard him in his in his his news conference statement he was talking about getting to know guys and I think what he’s talking about is in his role because it’s different being an assistant coach and being a head coach obviously he’s very capable of doing that but what do you think the biggest difference is right now in this modern NHL ERA with becoming a head coach as opposed to being an assistant yeah so from even my my personal experience as an assistant you’re you’re kind of the the friend a little bit um you know it’s a good cop bad cop thing a lot when you’re the assistant and you know it’s all don’t worry about it you’re doing okay like you’re going to be fine and and um you know making sure guys leave meetings or or leave practices feeling good about themselves um and not taking the message too hard where when you’re the head guy you got to be able to drop the hammer um you got to challenge guys you got to push them a little bit and and sometimes there those are going to be uncomfortable conversations um and I think that’s that’s uh something that Ryan’s not afraid to have those types of talks but um to his point I think his whole thing is um getting to know the person first and letting the players know that he cares about them individually um about their lives and their on I success and uh they off by success and I think he does a good job of that and that gives him the ability to kind of be hard on them and push them how big of a factor was Ryan’s age with this hiring and he even alluded to talking about the pressures on social media that modern athletes deal with we know he’s going to be dealing with a lot of young players on this sharks team did that play a role in your decision making or was it part of your decision making the fact that he is maybe able to relate to them a bit more closely uh maybe a little bit not too much um you know we talked to some good candidates of all different ages but um you know I think whether how old he is or not I think it’s just ability that he has to connect with people and and bond with them so um you know it probably locked out maybe that he’s on the younger side but um you know overall if if you were someone who’s in their 50s and you had the ability to to really relate and and communicate people and and get the most out of them then you know we would have gone that route but Ryan had a lot of other boxes checked as well we’re visiting with Mike Greer the general manager of the San Jose Sharks on this very special day Ryan warski has been officially named the head coach of the San Jose Sharks and Mike I wanted to ask you about the whole process of of arriving at the conclusion that Ryan was the best man for the job one little thing that happens during that process when you talk to people outside the organization is you might learn things about your organ gation from a different perspective that you didn’t know did you did that happen with you yeah I mean it’s interesting uh to definitely kind of hear what people think and what perception is out there and and uh as you go through the interview you learn a little bit about the organization um about how it’s perceived and and you also able to pick up little bits and pieces about what other organiz organizations do or other coaches do so um you know I think one of the main things that kind of came through was how exciting of a job this is I think people were really excited about the prospect of um coming here and and turning this around it’s been a franchise that’s been successful for so long um that I think a lot of a lot of people really excited about about the challenge of of turning it around it’s a great building to play in it’s a great got great fan base and you know we have some young Talent on the way so um you know going into the job going into the search I was not sure how it would be received but um um you know people were calling me from on of the woodwork people who were coached in the league a long time and and um and very good coaches and they were interested so I think it’s um you know that was the main thing I think how people kind of uh are excited about about the direction uh we’re headed you were very forthright Mike about your statement and Logan could sure not being on the trading block how important and you can speak to this as your experience as a player with the shark but how important is it to have those veterans to teach these young players that are coming in what it means to be a s Jose shark that remember how things were when this franchise was humming along in a contender each and every year no it’s definitely important to have a little bit of Legacy here in history and the guys who have been through it and know what it’s like when this tank when the Tank’s rocking and and to win here so um it’s very important um you know we’re going to be young we’re going to have some good young players in the lineup and you need good vets around here to support them and insulate them and and so these guys don’t feel like the weight of the world’s on them that they got to produce every night and then and also teach them what it’s like to be a nutrition sleep um all that stuff stretching taking care of your body hydration all these little things that we have some good Pros in the room um that can help these guys and it’s uh I don’t think you can ever underestimate their their importance and uh like I said Logan’s our our captain and the leader of the group and um you know I think I got all the respect in the world for him so um you know I think he’s the exact type of person uh I’d like to have be around our young players and of course all of that relates to the job that you have now you have a draft coming up you have the first selection the 14th selection at this point four picks in the top 42 and then some picks coming in the next couple of years but how much does the fact that you have that first pick that you have Will Smith signed uh to perhaps attract uh players with some experience because you are going to change your roster a little bit does that make the Sharks a more enticing place to play um for sure I think um you know you if you’re a you know a veteran out there and um a scoring Winger I think it you know it’s definitely become a more attractive place you know you can play with a young player who can get you the puck and plays with a lot of energy and is very talented and um you know I think that’s those are the types of players that people want to want to play with and um so I think it’s definitely um be we’ve definitely become definitely more intriguing for for some of the free agents out there well we are intrigued and we are certainly excited about this time and uh Mike thanks a lot for the time that you’ve you’ve spent with us today all right thanks for having me guys appreciate it thanks Mike that is Mike Greer the general manager of the San Jose Sharks we are at a very special news conference naming Ryan warski the head coach of this San Jose Sharks hockey team really exciting times here and you know um I I I think that uh that we’d like to welcome somebody else to our broadcast that would be Randy Han stepping into our little sphere here how are you it’s a little little one compared to the real sphere that’s for sure no kidding cheaper though much cheaper big big day for the organization Randy and you and I have been through this a number of times over the years he is the second youngest head coach in the sharks um Kevin Constantine still has that by just a little bit he was 34 turned 35 Ryan’s 36 he’ll be 37 when he becomes the head coach in the first month of the season but uh just your thoughts on on today well first of all very happy for Ryan uh you know your first NHL head coaching job is the culmination of a dream I you know I didn’t get a chance to ask Ryan or haven’t asked him yet when he first started dreaming about being an NHL head coach it probably wasn’t when he was N9 or 10 years old laying in bed because kids don’t dream about becoming coaches they want to be players uh but at some point that transition occurred where coaching was going to be his his calling and I just wonder when in that process he started thinking about this day the possibility of this day and when that plan started to be put in place because he strikes you as being a an organized person and someone with goals and dreams and a and a plan of attack on how to get there and I’d be interested to know just when that that switch flipped but most happy for him because of what it represents today getting to the NHL as a head coach it’s huge uh as we know there’s just 32 of them and actually there’s a job available now as uh Columbus just fired their coach about five minutes ago so the carel Carousel continues to turn but uh that’s the first thing that strikes me is is the happiness for Ryan who we’ve gotten to know over the last couple of years as an assistant coach and and I think it’s uh it’s an exciting time for the organization this this kind of the kickoff before celebrini you know coming at the end of the month in the draft and then the players who will be picked after that uh and then the uh the development Camp when we start seeing some of these players who we’ve been hearing about and see how they come together but uh it’s it’s certainly a nice kickoff to what should be an an interesting summer leading up to training camp we’ve heard a lot of former players uh that Ryan’s worked with talk about him kind of bringing them into the fire with him and we got to see some of that emotion on stage today and what Dan and I talked about that if players talk about a coach that way that means that it’s authentic it’s not a contrived methodology of trying to motivate somebody that’s who he is and I just I thought it was refreshing to see that from him you could see how much it truly means to him yeah and you can’t be it it can’t be contrived you have to be yourself and you know he addressed that how do you transition from being the assistant coach which sometimes is that bridge person between the players and the head coach to being the head coach now how do you change and you do change a little bit but I think your core values stay the same and he understands that and uh you know the players are all very sophisticated and uh depending on how long they’ve been in the league they’ve gone through a few coaches already ready some of them uh with other teams um so they they can detect um you know somebody who’s not authentic right away I think so that’s that’s key for him and and you know I have to say that that’s always been the way he’s dealt with us and um and I and I felt that’s the way David Quinn always dealt with us too and you know all these coaches they as they come up they they grab a little bit from each person they come into contact with as far as what they want to add to their way of doing things and I’m sure if you sat Ryan down at length he could he could talk to a number of things that he learned from from David Quinn in the last two years and hey David Quinn’s the the man who gave him his first job in the NHL as an assistant so that’s a that’s a tie that will will always be strong going forward and he’s got a lot of history with that I mean it goes back to Mike suan who’s from his hometown uh another excellent coach in the NHL and then coaches that some people may not have heard of Mike valuchi for one is somebody that I think that should be mentioned because he was the head coach of the team in Charlotte they won a cder cup together he was the assistant coach and let’s not forget about his brother David who played in the NHL for for a handful of teams and that’s H that family atmosphere I got a real sense of that today yeah you can tell that uh there are lots of uh ties uh both Family Ties and hockey ties in the background of Brian warski going back to his days growing up in Massachusetts all the way to South Carolina uh where he got his first uh pro- head coaching job in the east CHL and what a little coaching Factory that franchise has turned out to be now three of the current 31 head coaches in the NHL all came through the Carolina Stingrays I think they’re called y so that’s uh that’s something they can hang their hat on uh fascinating that a place you talk about non-traditional hockey markets that cradle of coaches yes absolutely Randy is a final one for you I guess you know I was talking to Dan about this and you’ve seen all the previous head coaches what are you going to be looking for for Ryan well you know I I think that uh it takes a little while for a coach to put his fingerprints on a team you know that’ll start in training camp uh but you know what I think you you always learn the most about uh coaches through adversity um and I think we’re we’re probably guaranteed to see a little bit of that hopefully not as much early on as we saw last October and into November but uh you know I I think you just you look for uh how you handle those situations um how you handle um player accountability I think that’s a big thing with a head coach um you know the only way you can really keep players accountable is with ice time and David Quinn wasn’t afraid um to to use ice time in that way and it’ll be interesting to see how how uh warski you know keeps his team accountable those are the things you look for I think especially right out of the bat and and uh I have no doubt that um he’s well versed in that having won championships at the pro level already well Randy we know you’ve got other stuff to do so we’ll let you go but we appreciate your time here today and we’ll be seeing you again on what’s the start of a very fun summer for the San Jose Sharks yes it will be looking forward to it thanks Randy Han joining us today good to see him here at our news conference a place was really really well attended by members of the media we have uh Ryan warski right now having a chat with a variety of members of the media taking some individual one-on ones that’s how these things go you have the official uh unilateral so to speak with people with the microphone that we heard and then afterwards if people have any more questions they’d like to ask they go right in there but we also notice that Mike REI is here we see Charley Townsen who on the shark staff is here we see a lot of people in the Sharks organization that are behind the scenes and of course Ryan’s parents and his uh his mentor Ralph can Canan who is somebody I think that was very important for him too in South Carolina and so all of these people are here uh to have a celebration day it’s kind of a party right oh right now he’s taking a picture with SJ shy that that’s got to be the the highlight of his day yeah they’re getting a frame version of that to put up at home and you talk about all the people here Dan and it kind of got me back to what Jonathan was talking about with the 12,000 people plus going to be here for the draft party where again not to shamelessly self-promote we will be broadcasting live from right here on the Sharks audio network but they also talked about the fact that they’re getting more and more season ticket sales and that’s you know it’s at a at a high that he’s seen since the Stanley Cup Final Run and just to see the excitement building around the franchise right now I think that’s great to hear because we’ve had to deal with the downtimes over the past couple of years we haven’t been to the playoffs since 2019 which was a great run to the Western Conference Final but now I think fans and the sports Community here in the Bay Area can see that this is the starts of the next stage of of Sharks hockey and the fact that this new head coach Ryan wowski gets to be here for all of that gets to bring in Will Smith and what we would assume would be macel abrini and you know see the the Shakir Muk Mulan start to develop and all these other players that we’re so excited about we like Randy alluded to we am we are sure there’s going to be some hard times still in the future but the exciting young players the exciting Talent the excitement around the Sharks right now Dan I feel that’s palpable in a way that it wasn’t maybe three four months ago well I talk about it in the word relevancy you know the fact that the sharks are becoming relevant again in terms of the overall discussion in the National Hockey League and they lost some of that when they only had 19 wins last year but as mik career said to all of us that was something that they had to do they absolutely had to make these moves they had to free up salary cap space they had to get draft and develop a little bit better and the thing is they want to have players in that same age group that are developing together that’s the hardest part the Detroit Red Wings are still going through that they’re on the verge of getting back into the playoffs but think about it it’s been eight years now for them so think of when you really analyze that you have to say Okay um there could be some long nights but at least now we know that uh that the sharks have started the process and you know what this reminds me of the late 1990s when the Sharks were had already beaten Detroit had already beaten Calgary had already had some playoff runs but then fell out of the conversation for a couple of years and what happened well they drafted people like Scott Hannon and Patrick Marlo Marco Sturm Andre zusen was a firstr draft pick in that same time but you had Marlo and Thornton together and that’s what that’s when really things started to cook and you look at the other teams you’ve got uh definitely uh people like I don’t know Chicago Kane yeah Taves Pittsburgh malan Crosby um you go on and on through the NHL and you find you have to have a couple of guys together dry cidal McDavid right same thing so the Sharks now have Will Smith and they going to get ostensibly Macklin celebrini that is really the start of really some seminal times in the history of this franchise and again it reminds me of the late 1990s where the Sharks did improve right away now are they going to go from 24 points in 1992 93 to 82 and make the playoffs and beat Detroit in the first round I I think that’s a little unlikely but I think that positive steps are going to happen with this team and Ryan is going to be a big part of that and by the way Ryan’s going to join us in a few minutes well I’m excited for that but I also wanted to point out that one of the things that Mike Greer has been consistent about saying as we talk about the excitement moving forward is that he does not want to skip steps and I know that we are expecting to see an improvement over 19 wins but at the same time he knows there’s still the opportunity for this team to acquire more draft capital and keep things running and keep things rolling that to me it’s very exciting because there is clearly a plan at work and he doesn’t want to get ahead of himself there is there is a relative Rush everyone wants to see wins sooner than later but he knows that he can’t try and accelerate things too quickly uh lest it you know interrupt the advancement natural maturation of the team and it was good to hear Mike reer making some news about Logan Couture everybody was waiting to hear some speculation about that he’s going nowhere and we talked to Logan at the end of the season and here was his review of the year better better yeah I feel good um I’ve been been training obviously not not skating or anything but uh better than I was uh you know a couple months ago and that’s obviously something that we’re all happy to hear about other players that came over at the end of the year to talk about what their view of the season was included Mario Ferraro was one of the big personalities on this club yeah I think it’s you know um is obviously it being a tough season um you know we still survived it right and uh you could look at it like you look back and you try and learn things from the season and um you know you you have a some time to to put the work in and be ready for for next training camp and I think that um you know that definitely gives that that’s the positive outlook on it uh obviously you don’t want to take any year for granted right and um I don’t think that this is a wasted year uh I think there’s a lot of growth that we can that can be made from it and um you know that’s what that’s what builds the confidence and um you know at the end of the day you work hard this summer and you earn that opportunity back in in in September October it’s going to be uh clean slate and a fresh opportunity again so um uh yeah that’s uh you know that kind of gives us a little bit of a a mental break um I think right now uh it’s a good opportunity too though to to kind of forget about hockey for a little bit refresh and um enjoy our lives outside of it and then um build up that energy and that motivation to to uh continue to get better and get ready for September well disconnecting is an important part of going through the preparation for the next campaign Mario Ferraro I’m told is the master at disconnecting because I think he’s going out on a a tour of the outdoors with his girlfriend McKenna they’re having fiance now oh right fiance correct and interestingly that that they’ve really discovered some national parks they like to go camping it’s a way to just totally get away from the game for a little bit and he kind of referenced that there I think it’s necessary especially after a year like the Sharks had last year as well as the season prior there have only been 41 wins over the last two seasons being able to disconnect being to disengage from social media from what everybody is constantly discussing about you and your sport and your team yeah you’ve got to do that and I think the Mario Ferraro he’s obviously one of those guys that we look to for leadership he’s got the A on his sweater at such a young age for an obvious reason he he’s brutally honest with us Dan I mean he tells us exactly what’s going on in his mind he tells us about the team and it’s not like this is this is a private conversation he’s facing the cameras after the games and giving us very very detailed answers so he lives it he’s very cognizant and of everything that’s happening around the franchise so for him to be able to pull back that’s that’s a huge thing for him and also we know he’s no slouch in the fitness Department he’s out there being active at the same time while he’s getting away from the sport oh don’t think he’s not training because he’s definitely doing that but he is very honest with us and he’ learned that from people like Logan cure Joe pavelski Joe Thornton before him Dan Bole these are guys that were always very very honest with with us with the members of the media and with with the fan bases to exactly where he feels the team is same thing with miky granin who gave us an overview of his year at the end of The Campaign it’s was a tough uh tough suu for for everybody um not winning a lot and and going kind of being in a situation where we where uh having some of the injuries and all that so um uh but the good thing is um I’m sure we’re going to be better next season and and there’s um obviously some good things about this season as well how can this team beat better and so obviously that’s another important factor is the man is coming aboard Ryan warsavsky the new head coach of the San Jose Sharks is with us it was a very exciting morning and exciting day and a pretty emotional couple of moments for you there as you thought about and reflected on your path to get to the NHL one thing we wanted to know is when did this become a dream for you when did you really want to become a head coach in the na yeah it’s funny I was just you know talking to a couple other reporters about this this and I I’ll never forget it and um Mike suvin was coaching the Boston Bruins and I was in his office I think I was at you know Cushing Academy and we came down for the day and um morning it was morning skate and we were just sitting there talking about certain players and he liked one player and I didn’t like the one one player and he was getting his team prepared to play that night and I just started watching Mike and talking to Mike through the pro his journey of being a coach and um I’ve always followed his playing career and um he opened his door up to me and and I you kind of jumped through it and um you know took it all in and I’ll never forget you know after I left that you know I told him hey I think I want to get in a coaching when I’m done playing he said no you’re not not a chance um and he reminded me that after he got fighted in Boston and and his journey has has been tough too and you know he was out people forget he wasn’t coaching you know for a little while there before he won those two cups and um you know so back when I was probably 16 17 years old it’s probably when it’s hit me where you know this is what I want to do um I’m all in and uh I had known that through my short playing career that once I was done I was going to get into coaching and uh start trying to work my way up to the to the to the ranks when is this reality start to hit in has it yet ah not really to be honest um I’m still going through that process uh there’s been different checkpoints and moments through this you know when Mike called me it was an emotional time I was with my family um and then you know then that the coming days of all the phone calls and the text messages and hearing from people that I haven’t talked to a in a while and and then today this has been a special moment and having Father’s day yesterday my dad here today is really really cool also you you mentioned somebody else Ralph K Canon who had a big influence on your life tell us about who he is and what he means yeah um you know Rob we call him Cooks yeah that’s his nickname and played down in South Carolina played in the miners and became the president there and um he he’s just a the greatest man he’s just he’s always been so supportive he’ll fly to you know Carolina to watch us play lies to you know Vegas to come watch us play he just he’s very supportive of Spencer Jared Bednar kale mlan you know Jason Fitz Simmons who Scouts for for Washington um of this little fraternity we have down there and and he’s the one that kind of orchestrated it all and um he’s just so supportive he’s one of my you know I work for him and now he’s one of my closest friends um because he’s always there for me and but I’m going through you know a tough stretch in the season he’s he’s the one to loosen me up and and make me laugh and um he puts life and perspective at times and uh he always has the greatest quote when I’m complaining about some certain coaching thing that’s going on he’s like hey you signed up for this so um he keeps me grounded but he’s a great great great man one thing I want to ask you about is that fraternity because obviously these are people that you can rely on people don’t realize that coaches actually do talk to each other especially the ones that have worked together yeah you know I I I talked to um you know beds Jared bedar just the other day about things and um he obviously went from the American leag right to the NHL and um you know we were talking about training camp and and how he structured it and um you know I’ve talked to Spencer almost every day since I’ve gotten the job um I’ve talked to Sully um you know hiny and that I I’ve got to know and and Derek Lon who who I worked with at World Championships it’s um you know it’s been I’m I’m very fortunate to have that type of people around me to lean on and ask questions and you know even John torella who who I got to know over the last few years um is he was really you know we’ve had some really good conversations him and I um so I I’ve got a really good network of people around me and and I hope it to like want it to grow and and I want to look reach out to other sports coaches and find out what they do differently and and how we can learn and get better as that’s what I’m all about if I’m going to ask my players to get better I got to try to get better too so I was telling my two boys who are 10 and eight about you because they were asking about the new hire and I said oh and he’s 36 and they and they said what does that matter I was like oh it’s young he’ll get along with the athletes they say it’s not that young dad I was like thanks kids that’s great but you reference the social media the pressures that the young athlete faces these days I’m curious the fact that you are aware of that that you’ve grown up with that reality do you think that’ll help you with a lot of the young players that you’re now tasked with coaching yeah I think for sure and and like I touched upon that’s real um like celini and Smith and I mean there’s Instagram there’s likes there’s there’s Twitter there’s people that say stuff about them WR or wrong true or false um that they’re going to see and we got to make sure we have a good structure in foundation around them uh good support system around them um you know they’re going to get pulled in different directions and I I think that can can play with your mind a little bit we’re going to ask them to be physically in shape uh demand physical uh presence about themselves to be well-conditioned athletes but we also have to remember that there’s a brain up there that that goes through some emotions um and that we have to be constant of that and um you know I’m very aware because I’m not that far from that removed from that from that um generation to jump on that they’ve been getting pumped up since they were 15 16 years old some of these guys I mean that’s part of that brain that you have to deal with as well because they maybe haven’t encountered difficulty along the way the same way that they are when they get to the American League or the national league yeah 100% you know Will Smith is is gonna go through his challenges that that’s real you know Conor Bard went through his challenges the numbers are his numbers but he’s still went through his challenges and Will Smith will do that Macklin would do that uh Henry we just saw go through that um you know Gustaf forsling in Charlotte years ago and if you had told me he was going to be a you know top two defenseman in the Stanley Cup finals I don’t know if I could have told you that cuz we just don’t know how this is going to progress and everyone blooms and and kind of goes off their own way um so I I think it’s important to be patient at times um we saw that with Henry me you know individually just working with him he went through his ups and downs of his season and and he got experience from that you know sometimes experience is what you get when you don’t get what you wanted so um you know we got to keep building off of that and learning from that but have an understanding that they’re going to go through their challenges and we got to be there for them obviously your relationship is going to be a little bit different with the guys now that you are the head coach of the hockey team and I wanted to ask about this just the general nature players want to be liked they want to be they want to know that the coach believes in them how important is that to you to convey that as much as possible especially when you might have a difficult conversation yeah and I think when and that’s who I am right I think when they know it’s coming it’s not person um because let’s be honest there’s not this day and age there’s not evil in the in the locker room like there’s a lot of hockey players are really good people they’re all everyone’s a little bit different and it’s up to me to peel young back and find out what makes people different and how they learn and and how they can how we can can push them and challenge them I may be able to push and challenge Henry maybe William eckan I need to give a hug to um you know so it’s up to me to figure that out and I know this group a little bit obviously helps um but I but I think again everyone’s taught a little bit differently and and I think if you can have those hard conversations knowing it’s not personal knowing it’s I care about you it’s cuz I want you to get better it’s cuz I want what’s best for you I want you to see I see something way more than you probably see you know and I always have this conversation with Jake Bean who plays in Columbus I had him in Charlotte and we were working after practice like I can’t do that you know Josh morsey can do I can’t and I said you can’t you got to stop saying that don’t say I can’t he was a first round pick he’s a offensive you know really offensive skilled defenseman I don’t want you ever hear he you say you can’t do it and he started thinking so okay that makes sense like you got to make them believe that they can’t they can do something that maybe they think they don’t think they can do so um I feel like I have a pretty good pulse on that I can push guys a little bit um and I’m excited to get to that that that point to see guys and push them and challenge them and when it’s time to have the hard conversations they know it’s coming from a good place how are you guys going to celebrate now that it’s official uh I think we’ll have a dinner tonight with with my family and um there’s still a lot of work I got to do I got to know we got to start building the staff and and talking to the the staff that was here I’ve still got to reach out to some more players um they’re going start ready getting ready for training camp like it comes quick right so um meetings got to be in place changes in the locker room um there’s a laundry list and it’s funny I’ve leaned on a lot of coaches that have gone through this and Derek law and Spencer that recently have gone through and gotten this job and they just said take a deep breath and just you know just take up check off one box at a time so I got to kind of just slow down times and you know make sure I don’t get too far ahead of myself but um you I continue to build the staff and reach out to players is kind of my next thought part of that just calling but in some cases I remember that coaches have actually visited with players personally that on too uh you know Will Smith lives in Massachusetts I me there in the offseason him and I have already talked um we’re probably going to meet up here uh in the coming weeks to just to you know not talk hockey just see how he is as a person and get start forming this relationship um and I’ll start reaching out to uh some guys maybe if I have to go over overseas to to see some guys the the one thing is I know the Mel granins I know eckan I know zerland um we’ll start talking over the phone and and getting in in that relationship you know from a different perspective but um you know if we’ll talk to Mike here we going to visit some guys too does the continuity that you already know these guys that are part of the team will that help them speak your language obviously I know that your tactics and and your situation are going to be different than what was here previously but do you think that these guys will be able to read you and understand what you’re trying to put in place a little bit quicker since you have been here yeah I I I think so because you know I ran the penalty kill and they see how my not so much the the system but they see how my meetings flow they see how I communicate my meetings they see when the penalty kill is not good and I have a hard meeting um that day they see when I’m I’m happy about what’s going on with our penalty kill they see me so they see me in different emotions um so they know when I’m upset when I’m not upset um they know how I teach they know um certain things whether it’s drills or what not but that that’s probably the biggest thing with with our players is not just the relationships but they know how I communicate through systems and through you know teaching last season was a really tough year it was very painful for everybody coaches especially because you live breath and die this 19 wins out of 82 is tough but the one thing that happened all season is The Players never gave up the ones you had on the roster how did you manage that how did you get them to come to work every day with a smile on their face and to give what they had yeah you know I think there’s a couple things we’re in the National Hockey League you have to show up there’s people that pay hard money to get to go into this building to watch you so you better show up and and ready to play um there’s young kids out there that have role models and you’re one of them so we have they have to understand that um you know credit to the character of our group that you know they just kept playing and fighting through it um but it was tough it it was a tough season for all of us um there’s a lot of bad taste in our mouth from what’s happened in these last few years not just these last two um and we got a move forward now um you know we have some hope now there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and uh you know I’m excited to get going as a last one for you just getting the team to forget about the past two seasons how much of a challenge is that going to be I think it’s going to come almost naturally I I I really do because there’ll be some turnover Mike will obviously make some changes in the roster um we have some draft picks coming in um there’s some prospects that are just on the cusp of of you know joining us um so it’s going to come naturally with the the transition of our roster um but I but I know our team’s a little beaten up they’re a little broken they need to be loved A little bit um I’m going to coach with some love and uh I’m excited we’re excited too and we’re really happy for you congratulations to you and the family and thanks for joining us thank you guys thanks for having me congratulations thank you the head coach of the San Jose Sharks Ryan warski with us here today on the Sharks audio Network Ted what a what a fantastic day yeah this is a a big day I know that Ryan’s already gotten to deal with us and we appreciate his time but you can tell this has been a whirlwind for him and I think it’s been a whirlwind for everybody just to get to know him to feel the changes that are coming for the franchise this is the first step of like I keep on talking about what’s a very very big summer for the San Jose Sharks moves that are going to be made in free agency obviously the draft and a very big number one pick coming up and a number 14 and we don’t know what’s going to we have a good idea of what’s going to happen with that number one after that Dan there could be any number of outcomes so it is it’s very exciting but now the one big p piece is in place and it sets in motion what’s going to happen next and again the era of excitements the idea that you’ve got 12,000 plus fans showing up for the draft party the fact that more people are getting these season tickets that things are back up uh their best number since they’ve been since the Stanley Cup run uh in 2016 it’s just it’s it’s that excitement and it’s good to have that feeling back in the building well the next step for this is going to be the draft party which happen on the 28th of June at sap Center at San Jose we will have full coverage on the Sharks audio Network after that we’ve got development Camp a summer of training and then an exciting training camp to get ready for the 2425 National Hockey League season it’s been great to have you with us today on this special edition of Sharks hockey digest for Ted Ry I’m Dan rusinowski see you next time you’ve been listening to Sharks hockey digest this has been a presentation of the San Jose Sharks audio net Network

Watch the full press conference introducing new Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky with Ted Ramey and Dan Rusanowsky from Sharks Audio Network.