Keys To Success: PWHL San Jose

PWHL San Jose is set to drop the puck on their inaugural PWHL season. Like all expansion teams, they hope for success both on and off the ice. California's Bay Area has already shown up for the team and looks excited to welcome more professional women's sport to the region.

The problem for many sports fans however, could be that San Jose will need a number of factors to go right for them to be competitive. 

San Jose has only 20 goals on their roster from the 2025-26 season, lowest of any team, expansion or returning, in the PWHL. They also only recruited 64 points, also the lowest of any team. Strangely enough, the second lowest for each total comes from San Jose head coach and GM Troy Ryan's former team, the Toronto Sceptres, who were hit hard in the offseason by expansion and free agency. 

Ryan did recruit a mix of upside and speed to his inexperienced roster, which he'll need to foster from potential to output in the opening days of the season. It's one of several keys to success that PWHL San Jose will need to monitor this season.

When you look at PWHL San Jose's roster, the team is young, inexperienced, and full of potential. Kristin O'Neill is the oldest player on San Jose's roster at 28. When it's all said and done, half of San Jose's roster will be first timers in the league. Still, even a veteran like O'Neill has untapped potential. An talented scorer prior to the PWHL, O'Neill was quickly pigeonholed as a checking line center, and her offense never followed her to the PWHL. In San Jose, O'Neill will be the unquestioned first line center, unless rookie Sloane Matthews steals the spot. But the biggest areas of untapped potential for San Jose are in young players like Anne Cherkowski, Natalie Mlynkova, Maddi Wheeler, Maggie Connors, and Daniela Pejsova. Cherkowski looked ready for a breakout with New York last season, and is capable of a top six role in the league, as is Mlynkova who far outperformed, in terms of production, the ice time she got in Montreal, and she brings a Walter Cup resume to California. Wheeler was good in New York as well, and Connors has seldom got the chance to play scoring line minutes in Toronto. Pejsova was highly touted coming into the league, but her development stalled in Boston, and a change of scenery could propel the third year veteran who is still only 24 into a new echelon. Overall, however, San Jose needs most if not all of these players to take a major step in their personal and offensive development.

San Jose needs their rookies ready from day one. Few question that Laila Edwards will be able to contribute as a top pairing defender or first line wing, however she's deployed, from day one. Already one of the premiere players in the world, an Olympic All-Star, World Championship MVP, and NCAA All-American, Edwards can score, defend, and is a player every opponent must pay respect to. But for San Jose to be successful, they'll need more than just Edwards ready to go. Sloane Matthews and Mckenna Van Gelder could be tapped as San Jose's second and third line centers, Lily Shannon will take a middle six position on the wing, and after signing her for three years, it's clear San Jose believes Tia Chan can take starts. Reichan Kirchmaier is unsigned, but enters camp with potential to make an impact as well. Overall, San Jose must get meaningful contributions from their rookies. Their rookie class does not have the luxury of making mistakes and protected starts, they'll be thrust into the fire immediately. Scoring is the biggest concern for San Jose with no player aside from Edwards considered an elite offensive player at this level on their roster. It means they'll need to score by committee, including the rookies.

Corinne Schroeder is a well respected netminder in the PWHL, evidenced by her invitation to Canada's national team camp this summer. What she doesn't have, however, in her three seasons as a PWHL starter, is a playoff appearance. Schroeder is used to being on losing teams, and she'll be key in San Jose to not be on a losing team again. She's also at risk of missing time this season after suffering an injury at Canada's camp. San Jose has some of the better crease depth in the PWHL with Tia Chan, the reigning NCAA Goaltender of the Year, and veteran backup Abbey Levy on board. Schroeder will get the load, but Chan could steal that with a few strong starts, and Levy is going to be pushing hard for her own opportunity. Overall, this looks like an area of strength for San Jose, and to be in the playoff mix, San Jose needs it to be a tangible strength. 

347 players will step on the ice looking to claim roster spots at PWHL training camps in November, with the December 5 start to the PWHL year looming. In San Jose, it includes a group of 10 free agent training camp invites — Justine Reyes, Kennedy Bobyck, Savannah Norcross, Rhea Hicks, Evelyne Blais-Savoie, Megan McKay, Stephanie Bourque, Katina Duscio, Millie Rose Sirum, and Ava Rinker. Unlike many PWHL teams, San Jose not only needs to sign a larger number from this group, they also need those they sign to make an impact. San Jose turned away a number of free agents who wanted to be in their camp, so this group needs to step forward. On the blueline, San Jose has only five defenders in their organization. Ava Rinker, a draft pick of Minnesota's, may have the inside lane to a roster spot, but not if NCAA grads Stephanie Bourque, who was among NCAA ice time leaders captaining Union College, or Clarkson grad Megan McKay have anything to say about it. In all likelihood, two of those three will make the roster outright. Up front, Justine Reyes is a pro hockey veteran who San Jose might need to take even if she doesn't thrive in camp given their lack of veteran presence to help settle the youth on this roster. She played at the Olympics, and has performed in every league she's played in. Kennedy Bobyck has multiple seasons of European experience under her belt following the NCAA as well, and Savannah Norcross is a proven checking line forward in the PWHL. Millie Rose Sirum will make her first attempt at a PWHL camp after multiple seasons in Sweden as well, and Evelyne Blais-Savoie played in Sweden last year too. Rhea Hicks was perhaps the top undrafted forward this year, and has built in chemistry with Anne Cherkowski. She could grab a depth, or scoring line role.

Hiring a single individual to serve as coach and general manager in the top professional league in the world is perhaps the most amateur thing the PWHL did this offseason. It risks being unsafe for players and creating an environment where conflict and unfettered power could impact success. Ryan comes from the Toronto Sceptres where he served as head coach the past three seasons, a role he also held with Team Canada. Ryan however, lost a good chunk of support from both the Sceptres and Canadian players over the last two seasons, and it showed in the results, as well as with the need for Canada to replace their staff. There were other individuals in the PWHL who sought the chance to be a coach/GM combo this season, but Ryan was the only person the PWHL granted this dual role power to. If Ryan loses favor on the bench, it could necessitate roster moves. If Ryan makes roster moves that are unpopular, it could impact bench support. And the fact that players will have no viable route to voice concern without risking their own spot in the league, this experiment in cost saving could crush San Jose's organization. Troy Ryan also has the chance to do something special, and create an unmatched culture where players can thrive, but it will be a fine balance as he walks the line between coach and general manager.