Troy Ryan had a blank slate when he took over as General Manager and Head Coach of PWHL San Jose.

There was no roster to inherit and no franchise history to work around. Ryan had to build an entire team, starting with the expansion draft and continuing through the 2026 PWHL Draft.

The blue line is one of the more interesting parts of what he put together.

Rory Guilday brings a season of PWHL experience and a history of leadership. Mariah Keopple has spent three years in the league. Daniela Pejšová has international experience and was a top-10 pick in the 2024 PWHL Draft. Hadley Hartmetz brings a physical element after winning two NCAA championships at Ohio State.

And then there is Laila Edwards, the fourth overall pick in June.

When Ryan discussed San Jose's expansion selections earlier this summer, he pointed to something that went beyond what the players could do on the ice.

“I think one of the biggest things that popped out to me was their desire to be in San Jose,” Ryan said. “They were good quality players with good character that are excited about this.”

The former Cornell captain arrived in San Jose after helping Ottawa reach the Walter Cup Final this past season. She finished second among Ottawa defensemen in scoring in 2025-26 while leading the Charge in both blocked shots and hits. 

Guilday has captained at the college level, represented the United States internationally and has played through a full professional season with a deep playoff run, experience that should be valuable on a blue line with several players still establishing themselves at this level.

Her ability to contribute at both ends of the ice is another part of the appeal. Guilday has shown she can be trusted defensively without being limited to that role, giving Ryan a defenseman who can move the puck and contribute offensively when the opportunity is there. In San Jose, that versatility could give Ryan more options as he figures out how his defensive pairs fit together.

Edwards was one of the more surprising players still available when San Jose picked fourth in the 2026 PWHL Draft.

The 6 foot 1 defender has the size that immediately stands out, but her skating and puck skills make her particularly intriguing. Edwards spent the majority of her career playing forward before moving to defense, and many of those instincts are still evident in her game.

She is comfortable carrying the puck, joining the rush and looking for offense rather than simply making the first safe play available.

That could give San Jose another way to move the puck out of its own end. A defenseman who can win a retrieval and turn it into a controlled exit can change the way a team starts its attack, and Edwards has shown she can do that.

The adjustment to professional hockey will still be significant. Edwards has never played a PWHL season, and Ryan will have to determine how much responsibility she is ready to take on immediately.

If she plays alongside Guilday, the two could complement each other. Guilday brings the experience and defensive reliability, while Edwards has the potential to drive more offense from the back end.

Exactly where Edwards fits will be one of the more interesting questions when San Jose's season begins.

Keopple gives Ryan another defenseman who already knows the league.

She spent her first two PWHL seasons with Montreal before joining Seattle and has played in different systems since entering the league. At Princeton, she served as captain, adding another layer of leadership experience.

Pejšová has a high defensive ceiling that Ryan will try to utilize from day one. The Czech defender was selected seventh overall in the 2024 PWHL Draft and was named the best defender at the 2022 World Championship. She has a high offensive upside and plays a versatile two-way game.

Hartmetz offers something different.

After winning two NCAA championships at Ohio State, she joined Boston and played 27 games last season. Her game is more physical than offensive, and she can give Ryan a defenseman who is willing to compete around the net and along the boards.

Those differences should give Ryan some flexibility when he puts his pairings together.

The challenge will be making those combinations work.

Defensemen have to learn each other's tendencies, particularly in transition. They need to know when a partner is going to join the rush and when they need to stay back. Those reads become especially important for a new team that has never played together.

San Jose will have several players learning the professional game at the same time, while veterans will be adjusting to new teammates and Ryan's systems, too.

Ryan has talked about the preparation that went into building the roster, particularly when it came to players coming out of the NCAA.

He told The Hockey News that his previous work gave him familiarity with many of the players available in the draft, which helped San Jose make decisions quickly when it was time to pick.

“It was a nice feeling when we went through the exercise and we were able to make decisions really quickly because we had already discussed it with a clear head,” Ryan said.

The blue line reflects that preparation.

Guilday gives San Jose an experienced defenseman who can handle difficult minutes. Edwards has the potential to become an important offensive player from the back end. Keopple provides another veteran option, while Pejšová and Hartmetz give Ryan different styles to work with.

The pairings will determine how much of that potential shows up on the ice.

Guilday and Edwards are an obvious combination to watch because of how different their games are. Keopple could provide a veteran presence alongside a younger defenseman, while Pejšová gives Ryan another puck-moving option on the back end.

Special teams could also shape the roles. Edwards' offensive instincts could make her a candidate for power-play time, while Guilday and some of the team's more defensive-minded players could see more penalty-killing work.

None of that is guaranteed yet.

For now, Ryan has a defense corps with a mix of experience, size, puck skills and physicality. The next step is finding the combinations that allow those different pieces to work together.

This article is the second installment of a series examining the current PWHL San Jose roster. An analysis of the team's forwards will follow.