Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Flyers Retain Ian Laperriere as Phantoms Head Coach, Agree to 2-Year Extension
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms, in conjunction with the Philadelphia Flyers, announced on Wednesday afternoon that head coach Ian Laperriere would remain with the Phantoms after signing a two-year contract extension lasting until 2026.
Laperriere, 50, has been the Phantoms’ head coach for the last three seasons and guided the AHL club to the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs this season. As a player, Laperriere played 16 seasons in the NHL and spent his final one–the 2009-10 season–as a member of the Flyers. The NHL veteran of 1,083 games has held various roles in the Flyers organization since retiring, which, of course, includes his current position as Phantoms head coach.
“In his three years behind the bench, we have seen consistent improvement and valuable experience gained from our prospects playing with the Phantoms, and they have been able to step in seamlessly to the Flyers when called upon,” Flyers general manager Danny Briere said of Laperriere. “In addition, the team has had a steady increase of success which saw the Calder Cup Playoffs return to the great fans in Lehigh Valley. I strongly believe that is a credit to Ian and his staff, and we are happy to have him lead our top development club for the next several years.”
Through three seasons at the helm of the Phantoms, Laperriere has a record of 98-92-30 and has coached several Flyers players during that time, including Cam York, Tyson Foerster, Egor Zamula, Olle Lycksell, Bobby Brink, Sam Ersson, and Morgan Frost.
Looking ahead towards the future, Laperriere will be tasked with further developing other top Flyers prospects, including the recently re-signed Adam Ginning, Emil Andrae, Alexei Kolosov, Samu Tuomaala, Hunter McDonald, Massimo Rizzo, and potentially other players added in the 2024 NHL Draft.
In a few months time, London Knights standouts Denver Barkey and Oliver Bonk, among others, will be joining Laperriere’s crew in Allentown.
Former NHL Star Evgeny Kuznetsov Offers Sound Advice for Matvei Michkov
Aleksei Kolosov Proving to Doubters He is an NHL Goalie
Philadelphia Flyers Could Unexpectedly Trade Top Young Winger
Flyers Rumors Intensify with Key Players Drawing Trade Interest
Emil Andrae Goes Wild for First NHL Goal as Flyers Blow Another Lead
Are Flyers Playoff Contenders? We Examine in Latest Podcast
Flyers Podcast: Lots of Positives, But Ryan Ellis Was Mistreated
Will Flyers get a shot at drafting Shane Wright? Here are the intriguing prospects
Tyson Foerster injured on scary hit into end boards
Ugh. I guess I’m missing something here, but I’m just not seeing a good reason to extend his contract.
The Phantoms seem to me to be a place where good players go to have their skills die and their spirits crushed. When they get called up to the big club I don’t see the immediate fit that I’d like to see.
We all know Tortorella is a task master at the NHL level, yet player-after-player doesn’t seem ready for the demanding 200 ft game that Tortorella needs to see from his players. They all seem to end up in Tortorella’s dog house anyway.
I’d love it if we had an AHL coach that was more aligned style-wise with the big club and was just as demanding.
Again, I’m probably (hopefully) missing something here.
There hasn’t been a whole lot for him to work with over his tenure in LV. I don’t get to see Phantoms games very much, but I don’t see a completely different style of play there. Maybe you might need to temper your expectations a little. You cannot deny that they were a better team this year; & I’d expect to see a better team again next year with the addition of some real potential NHL talent on the roster. Stay hopeful my friend!
I guess I’m just frustrated with constantly hearing how our prospects need “seasoning” in the minors, but then never really get a chance to play with the big club or have their minutes severely limited when they come up (like Bobby Brink, Ginning, Attard, etc).
Maybe they just aren’t real NHL talent as you say, but they’re being touted as such. I realize Briere just had his first draft last year, but not all of our picks from previous years can be busts, right? I mean we have a whole scouting department and I don’t know that our prior year picks went all that far outside of what national hockey scouts were predicting the top players to be (in those prior drafts). Surely a few of them should be success stories.
I worry that the organization isn’t creating an environment where young players feel they are improving and have a legitimate chance at moving up. Yes, they need to draft the right players but they also need to give young players hope to keep them hungry. I’ve been to enough Phantoms games to wonder if there’s a killer drive in anyone there (players, coaches, management).
As you suggest, I’ll try to stay hopeful though. But it feels like I’m watching the same show each year, often with the same actors.