PWHL San Jose did not wait long to identify the player it wanted to build around. Before the roster started taking shape, before the team had its full defensive corps or forward group in place, San Jose made its first move: signing goaltender Corinne Schroeder.

It was a decision that said plenty about what general manager and head coach Troy Ryan valued in the early stages of building the franchise.

For a new team, the crease is one of the hardest positions to get right. A goaltender has to adjust to new teammates, new systems and a new level of responsibility, all while being the player expected to provide consistency when everything else is still coming together.

Schroeder was the player San Jose believed could do that.

"The opportunity to get Schroeder at this point was really, really important to me," Ryan said after the team's initial signings. "That's a goalie that's had a very successful career prior to the PWHL, but also in the PWHL, has played a lot of minutes, has been a No. 1 goalie on two teams, and we're confident that we can surround her with a great team that gives her a career-like year."

There is plenty of evidence behind that confidence.

Through two PWHL seasons, Schroeder has established herself as one of the league's most reliable goaltenders. She enters San Jose with a .921 career save percentage and five shutouts, numbers that reflect both her ability and her workload as a team's primary starter.

However, the appeal of Schroeder goes beyond the statistics.

Her style is built around consistency. She tracks the puck well through traffic, stays composed when plays break down and rarely takes herself out of position chasing a save. She does not need to rely on desperation to keep her team in games because she is usually in the right place before the shot arrives.

That will matter in San Jose.

The reality of building an expansion team is that mistakes are inevitable. Players are learning new systems, defensive pairs are developing chemistry and every team goes through stretches where things don't look clean.

The value of a goaltender like Schroeder is that she can make those mistakes survivable.

San Jose won't need her to stand on her head every night. But there will be nights where the team needs one more save, one more stop, or one more moment of calm while it finds its footing. Schroeder has already proven she can provide that.

While Schroeder will be a central part of San Jose's identity, the organization has also worked to put a defense in front of her that can help ease the workload.

Rory Guilday brings a strong defensive foundation after a standout collegiate career and an impressive first professional season. Hadley Hartmetz adds size and physicality, while Daniela Pejšová arrives with years of international experience and the ability to handle difficult minutes against some of the best players in the world.

The group is still developing, but the pieces complement each other.

San Jose does not need its defense to be perfect immediately. It needs defenders who can make the right reads, limit second chances and make the game easier for the player behind them, because even the best goaltenders need help.

A breakdown will happen. A forward will get behind the defense. A rebound will land in the wrong spot.

When those moments come, San Jose will be relying on Schroeder to do what she has done throughout her career: give her team a chance. That responsibility is something she understands well.

One of the more interesting parts of Schroeder joining San Jose is that this will not be her first experience with an expansion franchise. She was part of the launch of PWHL Seattle and now enters another season helping build a team from the ground up.

That experience was a major reason she was excited about the opportunity.

"Having that experience of expanding to Seattle, I feel that I have a greater idea of what pitfalls to avoid personally, as well as things to look out for within the team," Schroeder said after her signing was announced. "We need to really establish a good culture and a good welcoming culture immediately, and make sure that we're all on the same page."

She continued, "Communication is a huge piece of that. So there's a lot that I've learned this past year that will really be important to take forward."

That perspective could be just as valuable as anything she does on the ice.

The challenge with an expansion team is not simply putting talented players together. Every roster has talent. The harder part is turning a group of individuals from different backgrounds into a team that trusts each other.

Schroeder has already experienced that process. She knows the awkward early stages, the challenges of building chemistry and the importance of establishing a culture before adversity arrives. For a franchise starting from scratch, having someone who has already been through it matters.

Goaltenders naturally become some of the most connected players on a team. They work closely with their defense, communicate constantly during games and often become a steady presence in the locker room.

San Jose will need that from Schroeder. The team's first season will come with plenty of unknowns. There will be nights when the offense struggles to generate chances. There will be games against more established opponents where San Jose spends long stretches defending. The teams that navigate those moments best are usually the ones that have players capable of keeping things steady while the bigger picture comes together.

By bringing in Corinne Schroeder, the franchise secured a proven starter, a leader with expansion experience and the kind of presence that can help define a team before it has played its first meaningful game.

The roster around her will continue to change. The identity of PWHL San Jose will continue to develop, but the foundation is already in place and it starts in net.

This article serves as the first part of a series delving into the current PWHL San Jose roster, with pieces on Ryan’s defensive core and forward group to come.