Flyers officially name John Snowden head coach of AHL Lehigh Valley
Snowden, 43, was an assistant for the past two years under Ian Laperrière with the Phantoms. He recently helped run the Flyers' development camp.
About two months after the Flyers named Rick Tocchet their new coach, the organization has promoted John Snowden to head coach of its American Hockey League affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Terrence Wallin has been hired as an assistant. Nick Schultz has been moved from assistant director of player development to assistant coach. According to a source, Jason Smith and Bill Downey are no longer with the organization, and Brady Robinson remains in his role as goalie development coach.
“We’re excited to have John along with Nick and Terrence lead the Phantoms,” Flyers general manager Daniel Brière said in the press release. “This is an important time for our organization with the young talent we have coming through the pipeline, and we believe this group has the right mix of experience, teaching ability, and leadership to guide our prospects.
“Their impact in Lehigh Valley will be a big part of our long-term success.”
Snowden, 43, spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach under Ian Laperrière, who transitioned to an adviser role in the Flyers’ hockey operations department, where he works with president Keith Jones and Brière, in late May.
Across the last two seasons, the Phantoms went 68-59-17 — the AHL plays 72 regular-season games — and made the postseason each time. This past season, they beat Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the first round before pushing the two-time defending champion Hershey Bears to the brink in Round 2.
As with the Flyers, Brière was seeking a teacher for the AHL post. This season, the Phantoms are expected to be littered with key prospects, including goalie Carson Bjarnason, defenseman Oliver Bonk, and forwards Denver Barkey, Karsen Dorwart, and Devin Kaplan. If winger Alex Bump does not make the NHL, he also would be a major cog in the Phantoms’ offense.
“Well, development is key for us,” Brière told The Inquirer in June. “Someone who can work with our development team is going to be extremely important. We have so many young guys who are starting to come this year, next year, and the following year with all the picks that we have this summer. So the next three years, four years, will be heavily about the development of the younger guys.”
“It’s an exciting time to lead this group with the talent the Flyers have in their prospect pool,” said Snowden. “I look forward to building on the foundation that’s been laid and continuing to help our young players grow and succeed.”
Snowden came to the Flyers after serving as an assistant for two seasons with the Toronto Marlies, the Maple Leafs’ AHL affiliate. He was promoted to that job after he spent a year and a half leading the Newfoundland Growlers, the Maple Leafs’ ECHL team. He led the now-defunct team to its only Kelly Cup after Ryane Clowe stepped down midway through the 2018-19 season because of health reasons.
A career minor leaguer, the native of Everett, Wash., helped run the Flyers’ development camp at the beginning of July. Also on the ice was Anthony Peters, who was recently named the coach and general manager of the Reading Royals, the Flyers’ ECHL team.
Schultz,42, has been with the Flyers for the last six seasons in player development. A former defenseman for the Orange and Black, Schultz played in 1,069 career NHL games and collected 175 points (30 goals, 145 assists).
Wallin spent the past three seasons as the coach of the Maine Mainers, the Boston Bruins’ ECHL affiliate. He led them to a 107-94-15 record in the regular season, with playoff appearances in each of his first two seasons.
Wallin, 33, from Yardley, is a career minor leaguer who played 27 AHL games after graduating from UMass-Lowell, where he played two seasons alongside Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck.
He played two seasons for the Mariners and notched 30 points in 41 games in 2018-19 and 43 points in 56 games the following season. Riley Armstrong, who is now the Flyers’ director of player development, was the coach each season, and Brière was the vice president of hockey operations and general manager across the two seasons.
“Well, if you haven’t heard [Snowden] yell, you have. But I coached against Snowy — he was in Orlando and I was in Wheeling — and I didn’t know him at all, and I met him at a game," Armstrong said during Flyers development camp about their time in the ECHL.
“He went up to Newfoundland, and he was the head coach there. Then I became the head coach of Maine, and then we battled against each other, and we had some pretty good games. And then when I moved into this spot, he moved into my spot in Lehigh as the assistant coach. It was pretty cool that we never really met, but we were always texting each other, talking on the phone, and stuff, about different styles of game play and everything. But having him here, and his mind for development, which is a big part of what we’re going to do with the Phantoms, it helps me out a ton, and then on the other side, I help him out a ton, because we think the game the same way.”