One of the biggest decisions facing Troy Ryan before PWHL San Jose takes the ice for the first time will be choosing the franchise's inaugural leadership group.

Expansion teams don't have an established culture or identity to lean on. The players who wear the C and A's will help set expectations in the locker room, establish standards on the ice and shape what PWHL San Jose becomes in its early years.

Fortunately for Ryan, he has no shortage of options. San Jose's roster features a mix of former captains, alternate captains, national team players and proven professionals. As the expansion roster continues to take shape, several players stand out as strong candidates to become the first letter-wearers in franchise history.

If there is a clear frontrunner to become the first captain in PWHL San Jose history, it's Kristin O’Neill. Few players in women’s hockey bring a stronger combination of leadership experience, championship pedigree, and professional credibility than the veteran forward. From the moment GM Troy Ryan selected O’Neill as his Expansion Foundational Offer player, she looked like the player most likely to wear the C. 

Leadership has been a defining aspect of O’Neill’s hockey journey. During her standout career at Cornell, she served as captain for three seasons, and left the Big Red as one of the most accomplished players in program history. Coaches and teammates praised her abilities to unite a locker room, set standards, and lead by example.  

O’Neill has the professional resume to command immediate respect as well. She has established herself as a dependable top-six forward capable of contributing in all situations. She has built a reputation as a player coaches trust in the game’s biggest moments. For an expansion roster that will feature players from different organizations and backgrounds, having a captain whose game is built on consistency and accountability carries enormous value. 

Every expansion franchise needs a player who can connect the front office, coaching staff and dressing room. For PWHL San Jose, O'Neill appears to be that player. If the goal is to establish a culture built on professionalism, competitiveness and leadership from day one, naming Kristin O'Neill the franchise's first captain feels less like a difficult decision and more like the obvious one.

Rory Guilday checks nearly every box teams look for in a leadership group. At 23 years old, the defender brings experience from college hockey’s highest levels, the PWHL playoffs, World Championships, and the Olympics. For an expansion franchise trying to establish its identity, a player who has consistently succeeded in high pressure situations is invaluable. Guilday understands what championship cultures look like because she's been part of them.

Leadership has followed Guilday throughout her career. At Cornell, she served as Captain for two seasons and helped guide the Big Red to one of the most successful stretches in recent program history. Her collegiate resume speaks for itself: 52 points in 106 career games from the blue line, three All-Ivy selections, and back-to-back First Team honors. Most importantly, teammates and coaches trusted her to set the tone on and off the ice, a trait that often translates directly to professional leadership roles. 

Guilday’s rookie PWHL season demonstrated that she can lead through her play even against tough competition. She recorded nine points in 30 games, finishing fourth among rookie defenders in scoring. She ranked third among all PWHL skaters with 57 hits and led Ottawa in blocked shots. She was fourth in minutes played for rookies. Assistant captains are often players who lead through action, and few players embrace the hard areas of the game more willingly than Guilday.

Perhaps most importantly, Guilday represents the future of the franchise. At just 23, she's young enough to grow alongside San Jose's inaugural core while already possessing the maturity and credibility needed to wear a letter. Guilday is capable of helping establish standards now while remaining a cornerstone of the organization for years to come. 

Maggie Connors checks off the boxes for the traditional Troy Ryan leadership model: professional experience, maturity, and dependability. Connors has played on every PWHL roster GM Troy Ryan has coached and his history indicates he values stability in his leadership choices. 

Connors brings leadership experience from Princeton, where she served as an alternative captain, but more importantly, she’s proven herself beyond the college level in the PWHL. 

Where Guilday represents the defensive core, Connors gives the leadership group another respected forward voice without relying on a rookie. That's significant because many of San Jose's other forward candidates, Matthews, Shannon, Van Gelder and Kirchmair, are entering their first professional seasons and would benefit from a steady veteran presence. 

Connors has built her career around consistency, versatility and responsibility away from the puck. Troy Ryan has historically trusted players like that in every situation. Connors feels like the type of player who can help bridge different segments of the roster. For a team establishing its identity from scratch, that combination of maturity, leadership experience and on-ice reliability makes Maggie Connors an ideal choice to wear an "A" in San Jose's inaugural season.

Maddi Wheeler may lack the international experience of some teammates but she has the advantage of familiarity with Troy Ryan. Ryan has repeatedly emphasized the importance of work ethic, adaptability, and team-first play throughout his coaching career, and Wheeler has built her reputation around those exact qualities. For a first-year franchise, there is value in having leaders who already fit the coach's preferred culture.

Wheeler's collegiate journey is a strong example of that adaptability. After beginning her NCAA career at Wisconsin before transferring to Ohio State, she experienced two elite programs with championship standards and learned how to thrive in different systems and locker rooms. That experience could be particularly useful on an expansion roster where players are arriving from vastly different backgrounds.

Troy Ryan has consistently favored players who are dependable in all situations rather than specialists who contribute in only one area of the game. Throughout her career, Wheeler has developed a reputation as a player willing to do whatever her team requires, whether that means taking on difficult match-up assignments, contributing on special teams or playing a support role behind bigger stars. 

Most importantly, Wheeler profiles as the kind of understated leader coaches often select even when outsiders overlook them. Every leadership group needs star players, but it also needs trusted voices who embody the culture a coaching staff wants to establish. If Ryan prioritizes consistency, professionalism and accountability over resume alone, Wheeler reflects the qualities that have defined the teams he has coached throughout his career. 

Selecting San Jose's first leadership group will be one of the most important decisions Troy Ryan makes before puck drop. Expansion teams don't inherit traditions, they create them. Whether Ryan ultimately turns to established veterans like Maggie Connors, emerging leaders like Rory Guilday and Maddi Wheeler, or a blend of both, the players wearing letters this season will help define what PWHL San Jose stands for long after the inaugural roster changes. And it’s also possible Ryan defines San Jose’s future immediately by elevating rookie Laila Edwards into a leadership role.

With Kristin O'Neill as the expected captain, the alternatives chosen alongside her won't simply support her, they'll help build the foundation of the franchise's culture, identity and expectations for years to come.