‘Right time for change’: Troy Ryan hints at Hockey Canada future after silver medal
Change could be coming behind the bench for Hockey Canada’s national women’s team, as head coach Troy Ryan’s future looks to be in doubt, less than two weeks after leading the team to a silver medal at the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympics.
Ryan, who has been Canada’s top head coach since 2021, spoke to reporters upon returning to his role as head coach of the Toronto Sceptres, and suggested that it could be the “right time for change” when it came to the future of coaching the Canadian women.
“I’ve had those conversations consistently over the last few years with Hockey Canada on when the right time to transition into either a different role, or just completely transition out of the program,” he said at a press conference alongside Canada and Sceptres forward Emma Maltais.
“The finer details within those decisions still need to be worked out. Succession Planning is always important, I believe, in national team programs, and I can only speak for my part in it, but I would definitely encourage some succession planning.”
During his time with Canada, Ryan has led the team to gold medals at the Beijing 2022 Olympics and the World Championships in 2021, 2022, and 2024. At the same time, he has struggled against an improving American program, earning a silver medal at the 2026 Olympics and silver medals at the World Championships in 2023 and 2025.
Against the United States, he has also coached Canada to nine straight losses, most recently in overtime, as Megan Keller scored the gold medal-winning goal for the U.S., despite the loss being one of Canada’s better performances in recent history.
Any change to his role with Hockey Canada will also create potential tension, as the national women’s team general manager, Gina Kingsbury, also holds the same role with Ryan on the Sceptres in the PWHL.
While his future has yet to be determined, Ryan dropped the names of Montréal Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie and University of Concordia women’s coach Caroline Ouellette, both of whom have served as assistant coaches for Canada under Ryan’s leadership.
“There are different coaches that I’ve had the opportunity to work with in the national program,” added Ryan. “I think it’s really important I look at someone like a Kori Cheverie and her future development as a coach to potentially get opportunities, and someone like a Caroline Ouellette, they’ve worked with me as assistant coaches for a number of years, and at some point, it’s someone else’s opportunity and someone else’s stage to do their thing.”
While Ryan’s coaching tenure as the boss of Canada’s national women’s team looks to be coming to an end, he will continue in his role with the Sceptres for now, as they look to qualify for the 2025-26 Walter Cup playoffs.
The Sceptres resume regular season action following the Olympic break on Friday with a visit to the Seattle Torrent.