Ryan also gained his first major coaching experience at the university level. Starting in 2001, Ryan enjoyed a pair of seasons with the
Acadia Axemen men's varsity ice hockey program. Following his initial coaching foray in university ice hockey, Ryan joined the Maritime Junior A Hockey League in 2003, becoming general manager and head coach of the
Antigonish Bulldogs. Afterwards, he served in those dual roles with the
Pictou County Weeks Crushers from 2004 to 2009, taking the team to the semi-finals of the 2008 RBC Cup. From 2013 to 2016, Ryan served in multiple capacities with the MHL's
Campbellton Tigers, including head coach, general manager, and president. He also served in the same roles with the league's
Metro Marauders from 2009 to 2011. Sandwiched in between those two stints in the MHL, he was head coach for the
St. Thomas University Tommies men's ice hockey team of
U Sports'
Atlantic University Sport conference.
Women's ice hockey In 2015, Ryan took on head coaching duties in two different women's ice hockey events. At the
2015 Canada Winter Games, Ryan served as bench boss for Team Nova Scotia, finishing in seventh place. As a side note, he had also served as head coach for the Nova Scotia men's team at the
2007 Canada Winter Games. For the 2015 National Women's Under-18 Championship, Ryan served in the same role with Team Atlantic, finishing fifth. One year later, Ryan was named Atlantic Canada's female coach mentor with the Canadian Sport Centre Atlantic. In July 2020, Ryan became the head coach of the
Dalhousie Tigers women's ice hockey program. On September 15, 2023, it was announced that Ryan would be leaving the Dalhousie Tigers to become the inaugural head coach for
PWHL Toronto. During the
2023–24 season, he led
Toronto to a 13–4–0–7 record and a league-leading 47 points. Following the season he was named
PWHL Coach of the Year.
Hockey Canada With the
Canadian women's national under-18 ice hockey team, Ryan enjoyed his first experiences as a head coach with
Hockey Canada. In August 2016, Ryan served as bench boss for a three-game series in
Calgary between the under-18 teams of Canada and the
United States. He served in the same role, leading the Canadian contingent to a silver medal at the
2017 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship in the Czech Republic. Later in 2017, Ryan served as an assistant coach on the staff of head coach
Perry Pearn with the Canadian national team at the
2017 4 Nations Cup in
Tampa, Florida, a silver medal finish. He gained another silver as an assistant coach at the
2018 4 Nations Cup in
Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan. During 2019, Ryan took on two different roles with Hockey Canada. In August, he was head coach for the Canadian national women's development team, facing off against the United States during a three-game series hosted in
Lake Placid, New York. Additionally, Ryan was part of the coaching staff that gained a bronze medal at the
2019 IIHF Women's World Championship in
Espoo, Finland. In May 2021, it was announced that Ryan would serve as head coach for the Canadian women's team that competed in
ice hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympics. He served behind the bench as Canada claimed gold in the
women's ice hockey tournament at the
2022 Winter Olympics in
Beijing. He is contracted to continue as head coach of the Canadian national team through the
2026 Winter Olympics in
Milan. ==Awards and honours==