The Professional Women’s Hockey League kicked off its offseason with major moves as two of its newest expansion franchises filled major front office positions and the Seattle Torrent made their own moves behind the bench.
The league named Troy Ryan, former Toronto Scepters head coach, as the first general manager and head coach in PWHL San Jose history and hired Meghan Duggan as general manager of PWHL Hamilton. Hours later, Seattle announced it had parted ways with head coach Steve O’Rourke after the team finished last in the standings.
Seattle begins coaching search after inaugural season
Seattle general manager Meghan Turner announced Friday that the organization and O’Rourke agreed to part ways following the Torrent’s inaugural campaign.
“We are grateful to Steve for his contributions to the Seattle Torrent during our inaugural season,” Turner said in a statement. “We wish him and his family nothing but the best in the future.”
Seattle finished eighth in the PWHL standings with 31 points and an 8-1-5-16 record. The club struggled to generate consistency during its first season and missed the playoffs after falling behind the league’s top contenders early in the year.
The Torrent now enter a critical offseason with expansion roster decisions and the June 17 draft looming. Seattle joins several teams across the league preparing for major front office and bench turnover ahead of the 2026-27 season.
Troy Ryan takes dual role in San Jose
Meanwhile, PWHL San Jose hired Troy Ryan as both general manager and head coach, making him the first person in league history to hold the dual role.
Ryan arrives in San Jose after three seasons with the Toronto Sceptres, where he led the club to playoff appearances in each of the league’s first three seasons. He won the PWHL’s inaugural Coach of the Year award in 2024 after guiding Toronto to the league’s best regular-season record.
Before joining the PWHL, Ryan spent nearly a decade with Canada’s national women’s team. He coached Canada to Olympic gold at the 2022 Beijing Games and won three IIHF Women’s World Championship titles before stepping down after the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan where Team Canada took home silver.
PWHL executive vice president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford praised Ryan’s ability to build culture and lead organizations.
“Troy has a keen understanding of what it takes to build and lead a high-performing team,” Hefford said in a statement.
Ryan now faces the challenge of building San Jose’s hockey operations department and constructing the roster for the franchise’s inaugural season. The Bay Area club will make its first selections during the June 17 PWHL Draft in Detroit.
“I’m honored and incredibly excited to help build this organization in San Jose,” Ryan said. “Expansion creates a rare opportunity to shape everything with intention from the standards and culture to the people and connection to the community.”
Toronto announced a search for their new head coach is underway.
Meghan Duggan leads Hamilton front office
The league also named Meghan Duggan general manager of PWHL Hamilton early Friday morning.
Duggan joins Hamilton after five years with the New Jersey Devils organization, where she most recently served as director of player development. She also worked with the PWHL as a special consultant to hockey operations and served on the league’s player safety committee.
The former United States national team captain helped found the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association in 2019, one of the key organizations that paved the way for the creation of the PWHL.
“Meghan has been an effective leader at every stage of her career, and she is a rising star in the front office ranks,” Hefford said in a statement. “Meghan’s long list of on-ice achievements, coupled with her extensive background in development and community-building, make her a seamless fit to guide PWHL Hamilton into its first season.”
Duggan enters the role with one of the most decorated resumes in women’s hockey history. She won Olympic gold with Team USA in 2018, captured seven world championship gold medals, and played across several generations of professional women’s hockey leagues.
She spent four seasons with the Boston Blades in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League and helped the team win Clarkson Cup championships in 2013 and 2015. She then joined the inaugural season of the National Women’s Hockey League with the Buffalo Beauts before finishing her professional career with the Boston Pride during the 2016-17 season.
“I’m incredibly honored and energized to join PWHL Hamilton as general manager,” Duggan said. “Hamilton is a passionate sports city with a rich hockey tradition, and my goal is to create an environment where players can thrive and compete for a championship.”
Like San Jose, Hamilton will begin assembling its hockey operations staff immediately ahead of the expansion franchise’s debut season.
These announcements round out the general managers of the four new expansion teams, joining Manon Rhéaume in Detroit and Dominique DiDia in Las Vegas.