San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky has returned from Sweden after leading Team USA to its first World Championship gold in 92 years.
Even with the youngest team in the tourney, 24, Warsofsky found a team identity through adversity.
“You’re going to go through some things, and especially in this tournament. I know we gave up a lead, maybe we didn’t get a call. The first goal against Switzerland in the prelims game was a bad, flukey goal, and we just stuck with it,” Warsofsky said. “Credit to the leaders of the team, fitting into roles. Maybe their role is a little bit different, where they’re playing in the NHL, and they bought into it.”
After experiencing the tournament in 2023 as an assistant coach, Warsofsky got to achieve a dream of leading his home country.
“We heard that Anthem quite a bit, and that’s something we talked about at the end of the gold medal game, is we wanted to hear our anthem. We want to hear it in Sweden, when there were only about 40 Americans in the building, and that was basically the families, wives, and girlfriends,” Warsofsky said. “It’s something that gives you goose bumps when it’s happening. It [is a great] honor to be from this country. To represent your country, it’s humbling. It’s a special place. I’m so glad I’m American.”
Of course, the gold medal-winning goal from Tage Thompson was the top highlight, the Sharks’ head coach cherished other moments, too.
“You’re over there for three and a half weeks. The first two and a half weeks are just the team, the coaches, the players, and the support staff. The first part of the is really where you do a lot of relationship building, a lot of team building, get to know people that you may have never met,” Warsofsky said. “The next thing you know, a week later, you know what their kids’ names are. You know where they grew up, [and] what their hobbies are. You really bond because you spend time together.”
The San Jose Sharks’ head coach got a winning experience after a tough year in the NHL. He’ll be able to take a lot of what he experienced and bring it to the Sharks next season.
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