General manager and head coach of the PWHL expansion team in San Jose, Troy Ryan, is assembling a roster and coaching staff that reflect his role as a three-time coach at the Canada Games.

Assistant coach Jessica Turi joins Ryan after the two were adversaries at the 2015 Canada Games in Prince George. Turi’s Team Ontario bested Ryan’s Team Nova Scotia in the quarter finals before taking home a silver medal.

2015 was the last of Ryan’s three stints with Team Nova Scotia, while Turi returned with Ontario in 2019.

Two of Turi’s Canada Games athletes have already been named to the San Jose roster, namely Kristin O'Neill, who scored to send the 2015 final to overtime, and Maddi Wheeler, who registered a goal and an assist in a quarter final win.

When San Jose plays their first games this fall, Wheeler’s teammates will also include Anne Cherkowski, whose two goals and an assist helped Team British Columbia defeat Wheeler’s Ontario in 2019 for bronze, and Maggie Connors, who was the tournament points leader in 2015 with seven goals and 11 assists.

The Montreal Victoire proved that an injection from the Canada Games can be a recipe for success last season, when they won the Walter Cup. Canada Games alumni on the championship roster included Maya Labad (Team QC, 2019), Laura Stacey (Team ON, 2011), Catherine Dubois (Team QC, 2011), Marie-Philip Poulin (Team QC, 2007), Kati Tabin (Team MB, 2015), Nicole Gosling (Team ON, 2019), and Ann-Renée Desbiens (Team QC, 2011). Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie also competed as an athlete for Team Nova Scotia in 2003, before returning to coach her home province to a silver medal in 2023. Hockey hall of famer and Team Quebec alum from the 1995 Canada Games, Caroline Ouellette joined the team as an assistant coach in advance of their championship year.