After a 5-0 Loss to Team USA, Troy Ryan Leans on Hockey Brotherhood to Steady Team Canada
In international hockey, there are losses-and then there are the kind that linger. For Team Canada’s women’s head coach Troy Ryan, the 5-0 shutout at the hands of Team USA wasn’t just a bad night at the office.
It was one of those rare, humbling defeats that demand more than just a postgame film session. But instead of spiraling, Ryan did what veteran coaches often do: he took a breath, found a quiet café in downtown Milan, and got back to work.
That morning coffee wasn’t about escaping the moment. It was about resetting. And as he scrolled through his phone, the messages pouring in reminded him that in the coaching world-especially in hockey-no one rides the highs or the lows alone.
One message stood out. It came from Rick Bowness, the current head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets and a fellow Nova Scotian. Bowness has seen just about everything in his decades behind NHL benches, and his words hit home.
“More or less, (the message was) that he was thinking of me as a coach and knowing how difficult it can be in those moments,” Ryan said. “A good human who has coached at a high level, taking the time to reach out in the moment, which is pretty special.”
Bowness didn’t offer a long-winded breakdown or a list of tactical changes. His advice was simple: check in with your players, listen to their voices, and keep moving forward. It was the kind of message that only someone who’s lived through the grind of coaching at the highest level can truly deliver.
Ryan also heard from Mel Davidson, a longtime figure in the women’s program, who offered her own encouragement. The theme was consistent: coaches take care of each other. And sometimes, that’s all it takes to get through the tough stretches.
Despite the sting of the loss, Ryan wasn’t wallowing. That’s just not his style. He’s known for being a low-stress, steady presence behind the bench-a coach who understands that the real test isn’t how you respond to a win, but how you regroup after a gut-punch like that.
His first priority? Making sure the team was mentally in the right place.
One of the first signs that things were already tilting back toward normal came when Ryan returned to the athletes’ village and ran into forward Sarah Nurse.
“She had about 12 different shopping bags,” Ryan said, laughing. “So I said, ‘Pretty stressed out, Nursey?’”
That moment of levity told him what he needed to know: the players weren’t dwelling. They were decompressing, resetting, and ready to move forward-just like their coach.
And move forward they did. Canada bounced back with a dominant 5-0 win over Finland to close out the preliminary round. With the quarterfinals looming, they turned their attention to their next challenge: Germany.
Friday’s practice was all about fine-tuning and building momentum heading into the elimination round. The message was clear-Team Canada wasn’t going to let one bad night define their tournament.
Ryan, for his part, continues to lean on the network he’s built over years in the game. One of those connections is with Team Canada men’s coach Jon Cooper, who has been a sounding board since taking over the men’s bench ahead of the 2022 Beijing Olympics. The two have stayed in touch, sharing insights and ideas from their respective corners of the international game.
That’s the thing about coaching at this level-it’s not just about systems and matchups. It’s about people. And in moments like this, when the scoreboard doesn’t go your way, the relationships you’ve built matter just as much as the game plan.
For Troy Ryan and Team Canada, the road ahead is still wide open. And if this past week has shown us anything, it’s that the bond between players and coaches-and between coaches themselves-can be just as important as the hockey being played on the ice.