The South Carolina Stingrays, ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Washington Capitals and AHL's Hershey Bears, are pleased to announce that Ryan Warsofsky has been named the 11th Head Coach of the NHL's San Jose Sharks. He becomes the youngest head coach in the NHL.
Warsofsky's appointment marks a significant milestone for the Stingrays. He becomes the third former Stingray head coach to serve as a head coach in the NHL, joining Jared Bednar (Colorado) and Spencer Carbery (Washington). Additionally, former South Carolina head coach Cail MacLean is an assistant coach with the Calgary Flames.
"I'm overwhelmed with gratitude and excitement to be named as the head coach of the San Jose Sharks," said Warsofsky. "This is a tremendous opportunity to continue to be part of a well-respected organization, and my family and I couldn't be more excited for this next chapter."
Warsofsky, 36, becomes San Jose's head coach after serving as an assistant coach with the team the previous two seasons. He spent two seasons as head coach in South Carolina from 2016-18, posting an overall record of 88-44-12, serving as a coach at the 2018 ECHL All-Star Classic, and leading the Stingrays to the 2017 Kelly Cup Finals. During the 2017-18 season, South Carolina set league records for fewest goals allowed in a season (153) and lowest goals-against average per game (2.13). Before becoming the head coach of the Stingrays, he spent three seasons with the team as an assistant coach.
Following his time with the Stingrays, Warsofsky headed to the American Hockey League, where he was an assistant coach for the Charlotte Checkers in 2018-19, helping the team capture the Calder Cup title, before taking over as head coach for the 2019-20 season. Warsofsky led the AHL's Chicago Wolves to the 2022 Calder Cup title as head coach before joining the Sharks staff for the 2022-23 season.
