Ryan Warsofsky has completed his first season as an NHL head coach, and the San Jose Sharks bench boss finally took the time to recap how he felt it went.
After one of their worst seasons, the 37-year-old was put in charge of changing the Sharks’ culture. While the win record improved by just one, 20 wins, there was a clear change in the on-ice product.
“A season of some frustration. I think some growth individually and as a group, but obviously we have a lot of work to do,” Warsofsky said. “But again, I thought we did improve in some areas. Some players took the next step. We’ll look back. It’s only been a couple days now, so still a lot of work to be done, as far as reviewing things and how we want to change things and whatnot.”
The Sharks’ season was filled with growing pains, not only from the players but also from the head coach. Warsofsky admitted to being too emotional sometimes, occasionally leading to undisciplined play on the ice.
“I think it got better as the season went on. This is an emotional sport, ultra competitive, and when you don’t get results, that’s when emotion and frustration and all those characteristics come out,” Warsofsky said. “You have to control those emotions. But that’s what happens when you lose, and no one wants to lose here.”
Warsofsky was fined earlier in the season for losing his cool at the referees.
On ice systems can still change for the Sharks
San Jose Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky made a couple of switches to the on-ice system this season, especially in the neutral zone. The Sharks were more successful once they made changes, but all the personnel changes took a toll on the team.
“We had more numbers around pucks when [opposing teams] came into our zone. We cut our line rushes in half, so our D weren’t taking on rush after rush. It also helped our breakouts, being a little bit more predictable,” Warsofsky explained.
The Sharks’ penalty kill was a massive struggle, especially late in the season. Mike Grier traded away many key pieces of the PK, including Jake Walman, Cody Ceci, Mikael Granlund, Luke Kunin, and Nico Sturm. San Jose finished 27th in the league on the PK with a 74.2 percent kill.
“Our special teams need to be better next year. We know that [a] power play [or] penalty kill can cost you a game, and I think a lot of times it did,” Warsofsky said. The game flips really quickly when you don’t have great special teams. That’ll be a big emphasis for the summer.”
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