{"id":426899,"date":"2026-08-07T23:57:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:57:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/426899\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:57:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:57:02","slug":"inside-how-a-pair-of-college-coaches-powered-pwhl-san-joses-inaugural-draft-the-ix-hockey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/426899\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside how a pair of college coaches powered PWHL San Jose\u2019s inaugural draft | The IX Hockey"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just past midnight on June 18 \u2014 deep in the bowels of Detroit\u2019s Fox Theatre \u2014 Troy Ryan began to share what was becoming a familiar story. Surrounded by a handful of reporters, PWHL San Jose\u2019s dual general manager and head coach was asked about his decision to draft Northeastern\u2019s Lily Shannon with the team\u2019s fourth-round pick.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cShe went a little bit later than I anticipated, so when we got to that point, we were like \u2018we\u2019ve got to take her now,\u2019\u201d Ryan said. \u201cThat she was still available at that point \u2014 we were excited, very excited that we were able to select her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

As Ryan tells it, Shannon\u2019s slide down the draft board to San Jose wasn\u2019t unique. Instead, nearly every pick the expansion team made had a similar story. From No. 4 overall selection Laila Edwards to San Jose\u2019s final addition, Reichen Kirchmair, Ryan\u2019s explanation was roughly the same: When the clock got to San Jose, there was a name too good to pass up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s another similarity between Ryan\u2019s six selections \u2014 one that goes beyond his excitement to have them joining the newly constructed roster. All six played in a league in which Ryan has no previous coaching experience: NCAA Division I women\u2019s hockey.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So how did Ryan \u2014 who admitted to putting hiring a hockey operations staff \u201con the back burner\u201d to focus on expansion after being announced<\/a> as PWHL San Jose\u2019s general manager just 27 days before the draft \u2014 create his draft plan?\u00a0<\/p>\n

With the help of a pair of college hockey head coaches turned \u201cdraft consultants\u201d \u2014 Clarkson\u2019s Matt Desrosiers and Connecticut\u2019s Chris MacKenzie \u2014 who for a month traded in their university colors for San Jose\u2019s orange and blue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat draft would not be as successful if it wasn\u2019t for those two people,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cJust being able to pick their brains, to be able to tap into the knowledge they have of the players\u2019 families, their background, all those things were so valuable for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joining the Team<\/p>\n

While Ryan may lack college hockey experience, he has plenty of college hockey connections. Thanks to his six-year reign as Canadian National Team head coach and his years in the national team\u2019s U-18 program, Ryan\u2019s roots stretch deep into the Canadian hockey world \u2014 one which relies heavily on college hockey to develop 18-to 22-year-olds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Those connections don\u2019t just include the players he\u2019s coached \u2014 although that certainly helped him in both the expansion and draft processes \u2014 but also include the dozens of coaches who have joined him on the national team\u2019s bench and at development camps. Needing help preparing for his first draft as a general manager, Ryan used two of those connections to build his draft team.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it would be the best way to do it. Instead of scrambling to put together a staff, hire people that are actively involved at the NCAA level,\u201d Ryan said. \u201c[They] have recruited these players since they were 15 or 16 years old, so they have a really good understanding of the players.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Desrosiers\u2019 perspective, joining San Jose was a simple process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI just got a message from Troy. Troy and I have gone back a little ways, we worked at Hockey Canada together for quite a few years now,\u201d Desrosiers \u2014 whose Hockey Canada resume includes coaching<\/a> at the 2019 World Championship and a decade of work at various camps and junior teams \u2014 told The Ice Garden. \u201cHe just reached out and asked if I\u2019d be interested in helping out with the draft.\u201d<\/p>\n

Muzerall\u2019s assistants: Alison Domenico (Ottawa) and Marc-Andre Cote (Moncton)<\/p>\n

Sunohara\u2019s assistants: Matt Desrosiers (Clarkson) and Jennifer Wakefield (Penn State) https:\/\/t.co\/IUxYCibjq5<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Kyle Cushman (@Kyle_Cush) July 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

MacKenzie\u2019s story is similar. Alongside his 13 seasons behind the bench in Storrs, Conn. \u2014 which include a national Coach of the Year<\/a> and a pair of Hockey East Coach of the Year awards \u2014 MacKenzie made his international coaching debut last summer with the Canadian National Women\u2019s Development Team, where he served alongside Desrosiers.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Ryan] called me probably a month before the draft, maybe a couple weeks, it happened pretty quick. He was just asking about players, and one thing led to another,\u201d MacKenzie told The Ice Garden. \u201cI think what happened is a few other teams have hired college coaches to be consultants, and it\u2019s something that I think caught his eye. He knew Matt and myself, so he asked us to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udf89 COACH OF THE YEAR \ud83c\udf89<\/p>\n

Chris MacKenzie has been named @hockey_east<\/a> Coach of the Year for the second straight season\u203c\ufe0f<\/p>\n

Big congrats to Coach Mac and his entire staff! \ud83d\udc4f pic.twitter.com\/BRtHPwKrKp<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 UConn Women’s Hockey (@UConnWHOC) March 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Pre-Draft Planning<\/p>\n

While this summer\u2019s draft was Ryan\u2019s first with San Jose, his three years as head coach of the Toronto Sceptres gave him experience prepping for the entry draft. After the list<\/a> of 235 draft-eligible players was finalized, Ryan created a spreadsheet with each player sorted by position and other player-specific details. However, the goal wasn\u2019t necessarily to create an overall list of the top 50 or 100 players. Instead, the three coaches focused on figuring out which players would line up with San Jose\u2019s picks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt made sense to me how he wanted to do it: basically [to] have a group of players right around your pick, so that you know you\u2019re gonna have an opportunity to take one,\u201d MacKenzie said. \u201cSo as it leads up to your pick, you know what your needs are and you\u2019re looking at anywhere from three to five players that you think you\u2019re gonna take.\u201d<\/p>\n

With an understanding of what Ryan needed, MacKenzie and Desrosiers got to work.<\/p>\n

\"\"A view of Fox Theatre\u2019s stage an hour before the draft began. (Photo credit: Eli Fastiff | The Ice Garden)<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of [the pre-draft preparation] was going through the draft list trying to find out information on the players that were in the draft. Making phone calls to coaches that we know around the NCAA and getting background information on some players,\u201d Desrosiers said. \u201cThen, just trying to put together a list for Troy on where we saw players fitting in and where we thought they might go within the draft.\u201d<\/p>\n

This part of the process is where Desrosiers and MacKenzie\u2019s time with the draft class made the biggest impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think with our experience in the NCAA, we know a lot of the kids from [both] our league and different leagues, since we\u2019ve recruited them for years,\u201d Desrosiers said. \u201cWe were able to build relationships with them and their families throughout the [college] recruiting process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once the trio finally arrived in Detroit with their draft lists, they came together to finalize the draft-day strategy. In addition to comparing their varied player rankings, they also discussed San Jose\u2019s roster needs.<\/p>\n

What do Troy Ryan and #PWHLSJ<\/a> need to target in tonight\u2019s draft? Here\u2019s an attempt at lines based on @PWHL_SanJose<\/a>\u2019s current 10 players:<\/p>\n

Wheeler \u2013 tbd \u2013 tbd
Connors \u2013 O’Neill-Cherkowski
Ml\u00fdnkov\u00e1 \u2013 tbd \u2013 tbd<\/p>\n

Guilday \u2013 tbd
Keopple- Hartmetz
Pejsov\u00e1- tbd<\/p>\n

Schroeder
Tbd https:\/\/t.co\/V1V2wvntQZ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Eli Fastiff (@Eli_Fastiff) June 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe sat down together \u2026 and had conversations about certain players and what Troy was looking for with his draft picks,\u201d Desrosiers explained when asked about how the group created its final draft board. \u201cWhat type of players he wanted, what the main priorities were position-wise, and certain things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The biggest priority? Finding a center. San Jose entered the draft with just one rostered center \u2014 28-year-old Kristin O\u2019Neill \u2014 and the brain trust recognized that \u201cthere was a need for centermen and \u2026 players that had a little bit of flexibility and were able to play center and wing,\u201d Desrosiers said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Draft Day<\/p>\n

Ryan, MacKenzie and Desrosiers\u2019 preparation efforts paid off. Of the draft\u2019s first 36 picks, MacKenzie remembers only one being \u201coff the grid of where we thought they would go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Desrosiers, who like MacKenzie was participating in his first PWHL draft, described the trio\u2019s attitude during the draft as \u201ccalm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way we had our draft board laid out, it ran pretty smoothly,\u201d Desrosiers said. \u201cSurprisingly, it was pretty close to the way that we thought it was gonna go down.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Edwards, San Jose\u2019s second pick was Sloane Matthews, a center from Ohio State who\u00a0the group had circled early on in their scouting process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Sloane Matthews stands alongside Troy Ryan after her selection by PWHL San Jose. (Photo credit: PWHL)<\/p>\n

\u201c[Matthews] was someone we liked right off the bat from this whole process,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cWe were like, \u2018Where do we have to position ourselves to find a way to get Sloane?\u2019 We were really very happy that it landed that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

From there, MacKenzie and Desrosiers\u2019 impact became obvious. The final four picks of San Jose\u2019s draft all hailed from Hockey East or ECAC Hockey, Connecticut and Clarkson\u2019s conferences. That run began with the selection of one of MacKenzie\u2019s former players, goaltender Tia Chan.<\/p>\n

Wow! #PWHLSJ<\/a> takes goaltender Tia Chan with its third round pick. San Jose already has Corinne Schroeder on its roster, so Chan will likely start the season backing up the former Torrent. pic.twitter.com\/sDlXp82S3Z<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Eli Fastiff (@Eli_Fastiff) June 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Unlike in drafting Edwards (a major offensive weapon) or Matthews (likely a future top-line center), the reigning<\/a> College Hockey Goalie of the Year didn\u2019t fill a position of need going into the night. But the availability of a netminder that high on San Jose\u2019s draft board was irresistible.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought she would have been taken sooner,\u201d MacKenzie said. \u201cI really thought she was going to go to Detroit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t go into the draft thinking we [needed to] draft a goalie early,\u201d Ryan said the night of the draft when asked about the decision to select a goaltender despite already signing Corinne Schroeder. \u201cAs the draft went on, we still saw some players on the table that were going to be available later, and we thought what an opportunity to take someone of that caliber at that point in the draft.\u201d<\/p>\n

After grabbing a backup goaltender, the group returned to its primary draft-day goal: finding PWHL-ready centers. San Jose\u2019s final three picks \u2014 Shannon, Mckenna Van Gelder and Reichen Kirchmair \u2014 all served as centers in college, and all were familiar to MacKenzie and Desrosiers.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt that point in the draft we wanted a centerman or two,\u201d\u00a0MacKenzie said. \u201cShannon was a pretty good option at that point in the draft. Kirchmair was the last pick, she was a Player of the Year<\/a> in the conference at one point. So I was familiar with those players. Van Gelder was a Cornell pick. I think Matt was a little more familiar with her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMckenna was a player that obviously played against us for four years. I\u2019ve had some previous experience with her at Hockey Canada camps as well, and she\u2019s a player that was tough for us to play against,\u201d Desrosiers said. \u201cShe could fulfill a lot of different roles.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

With his advisors having plenty of experience with San Jose\u2019s final picks, Ryan seemed eager to talk up all of his selections after the draft, noting he got emotional after Shannon told him \u201cthanks for believing in me\u201d after her selection, how Van Gelder is \u201cmy type of player\u201d thanks to her reliability from the faceoff dot and leadership (\u201cher old coach said she\u2019s the best leader they\u2019ve ever had\u201d), and the strength of Kirchmair\u2019s shot (\u201cthere\u2019s very few people that shoot like she does\u201d).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lessons Learned<\/p>\n

While Ryan exited the draft process with six selections and plenty of new knowledge on the Class of 2026, both Desrosiers and MacKenzie returned to their campuses having learned important lessons as well. The two are now part of a small group of college coaches with PWHL experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was great to work with Troy and get an understanding of the inner workings of the league itself,\u201d Desrosiers said. \u201cThere was definitely a lot I was able to take from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, getting a better grasp of the fundamentals of the PWHL was one of the main reasons Desrosiers agreed to consult.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a big reason why I did it. I wanted to help Troy out \u2026 but for myself, I\u2019m always looking for ways to learn and get better,\u201d he said. \u201cThis was a great opportunity for me to learn some of those things through this process.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the other hand, MacKenzie\u2019s main conclusion from the experience wasn\u2019t a new revelation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I confirmed that you really don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen with a player that\u2019s coming from college to pro,\u201d he said when asked what he\u2019d learned working for PWHL San Jose.<\/p>\n

While MacKenzie usually has four or five seasons to watch his players grow and develop, PWHL front offices sometimes have just a single season to get the most out of a player. So if a team\u2019s locker-room environment, coaching staff or development program mismatches a player\u2019s preferences, there isn\u2019t always time to adjust.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to have that much patience,\u201d MacKenzie said about the difference between putting together a college and PWHL roster. \u201cYou can sign someone for one year, and if it doesn\u2019t work, you can move on to the next situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

PWHL San Jose fans hope that won\u2019t be the case for any of the team\u2019s six draft picks. And on that summer night in Detroit, it was easy to imagine how all six players might fit into Ryan\u2019s budding roster. But only time will tell if relying on a pair of college hockey coaches with no previous professional women\u2019s hockey experience to build a PWHL roster will pay off.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n

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