Sharks hire Ryan Warsofsky as new head coach

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The San Jose Sharks have promoted Ryan Warsofsky to become the team's new head coach after two years as an assistant under the recently fired David Quinn.

General manager Mike Grier announced Thursday that Warsofsky will become the 11th head coach in franchise history. He will be formally introduced at a news conference Monday.

“His track record of success at nearly every level of hockey as a head and assistant coach speaks for itself," Grier said in a statement. "Ryan knows our existing group well, has the respect of the players who he will be working with, and will be a great teacher for the young players who will be joining our organization.”

Warsofsky takes over a team that had struggled mightily since reaching the Western Conference Final in 2019. The Sharks went 41-98-25 in Quinn’s two seasons for the worst mark in the NHL in that span, including a league-worst 47 points this past season. San Jose’s 19 wins this season were the fewest in a full season since the franchise’s second year as an expansion team in 1992-93.

But after years of trading away high-priced stars like Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns, Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier, the Sharks are now in position for a revival. They won the draft lottery and are expected to take Hobey Baker winner Macklin Celebrini later this month as a major piece of the rebuild.

“I’m overwhelmed with gratitude and excitement to be named as the head coach of the San Jose Sharks,” Warsofsky said in a statement. “This is an organization that has a rich history of winning, and I can’t wait to get to work on coaching a team that our fans can be proud of.”

The 36-year-old Warsofsky was an assistant the past two seasons for San Jose with the primary responsibilities of overseeing the team’s defense and penalty kill. Working with one of the younger rosters in the NHL, the Sharks penalty kill ranked 18th in the NHL at 78.8% the past two seasons.

Warsofsky previously had been head coach of the Chicago Wolves for two seasons in the AHL. He led the Wolves to the AHL’s best regular-season record with a 50-16-5-5 record in 2021-22 and captured the 2022 Calder Cup.

He also spent one season as head coach of Charlotte in the AHL and two seasons as a head coach in the ECHL.

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FILE - United States head coach David Quinn, right, shakes hands with Ryan Warsofsky, left, as they celebrate winning a quarterfinal match between United States and Czech Republic at the ice hockey world championships in Tampere, Finland, Thursday, May 25, 2023. The San Jose Sharks have promoted Ryan Warsofsky to become the team's new head coach after two years as an assistant under the recently fired David Quinn. General manager Mike Grier announced Thursday, June 13, 2024, that Warsofsky will become the 11th head coach in franchise history. Person at center is unidentified. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)

FILE - San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn and assistant coach Ryan Warsofsky, obscured by a hockey stick, are shown behind the bench in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday, March 14, 2023. The San Jose Sharks have promoted Ryan Warsofsky to become the team's new head coach after two years as an assistant under the recently fired David Quinn. General manager Mike Grier announced Thursday, June 13, 2024, that Warsofsky will become the 11th head coach in franchise history. (AP Photo/Josie Lepe, File)

FILE -San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn yells as assistant coach Ryan Warsofsky, right, looks on during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Florida Panthers, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023, in Sunrise, Fla. The San Jose Sharks have promoted Ryan Warsofsky to become the team's new head coach after two years as an assistant under the recently fired David Quinn. General manager Mike Grier announced Thursday, June 13, 2024, that Warsofsky will become the 11th head coach in franchise history.(AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File)

SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras (AP) — Tropical Storm Sara made landfall in northern Honduras late Thursday and threatened to dump torrential rains across parts of Central America and southern Mexico.

Sara hit land about 105 miles (165 kilometers) west-northwest of the Cabo Gracias a Dios on the Honduras-Nicaragua border, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. That is near Brus Laguna, a village of about 13,000 inhabitants. There are few other population centers nearby.

At 3 a.m.(0900 GMT) the center said the storm was located about 100 kilometers (65 miles) east, southeast of Belize City in Honduras with a maximum sustained wind speed of 45 mph (75 kph).

Mexican authorities warned it could cause “intense rains” over the resort-studded Yucatan Peninsula.

Sara had winds of about 45 miles per hour (75 kph) and was moving west at about 10 miles per hour (17 kph).

It was expected to remain roughly on that path before heading out to sea again and threatening the coast of Belize.

The center said that along the way Sara was forecast to drop 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimeters) of rain, even up to 30 inches (75 centimeters) in isolated areas. Such heavy rain could lead to life-threatening flooding and landslides.

Sara was forecast to pass over or very near the tourist destination of Roatan off Honduras’ coast on Sunday. The storm was then expected to turn northwesterly toward Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

This GOES-East GeoGolor satellite image taken Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, at 1:03 p.m. EST and provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), shows Tropical Storm Sara. (CIRA/NOAA via AP)