Entering Year 4, Laperriere Hopes Phantoms Take Next Step In 2024-25

With Ian Laperriere at the helm, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms have made positive progress as a team throughout his tenure to date - from missing the postseason in his first year as a head coach, to making the postseason in Year 2 and winning a playoff round last year over rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Entering his fourth year as the Phantoms' head coach, Laperriere is looking for his team to take the next step.

"I think especially for the young guys and even the older guys that have been with me for three years, you know, it's a big step in in the right direction," Laperriere told InsideAHLHockey.com of just how beneficial getting into the postseason and advancing to the Atlantic Division Semifinals round was for his team.  "And for my staff, too. We had never won a series before last year, But for me personally, I'm learning a lot from it, what we did, what we didn't do, and I think it's part of growing the culture. It's part of growing as an organization with the Phantoms."

Lehigh Valley returns several players from last season's squad, including key veteran players like captain Garrett Wilson, forwards Rhett Gardner and Cooper Marody and defenseman Louie Belpedio.

"They've been through it, so it always help them to have good leadership, like Gardner, Wilson, you name it, Belpedio on defense - those guys are very key for those [young players] because I'm a voice, yes, but I really do feel like that leadership group is the biggest voice in the locker room to help those kids grow," Laperriere explained, adding, "having those guys back, it's really going to help us having a quicker start I feel because they know my structure. They know what we're expecting. And again, they're great guys, great leaders. And they're, they're excited to be back."

With several key members from last year's team returning, the Phantoms hope to take the next step in challenging the top teams in the Atlantic Division - like rivals and back-to-back champions Hershey.

The AHL is an unpredictable league, and entering his fourth season as a head coach Laperriere is both more used to and more appreciative of how difficult a league it is to have sustained success.

"Yeah, more prepared, because I'm learning from the mistakes I make. And listen, I'm not perfect. I do make mistakes, but I ask my players to learn from their mistakes, so I'm doing the same," Laperriere said. "It's a tough league, like people don't realize it's not that easy to coach in the AHL, because you have so much stuff that you don't control. But I love it, and I feel like every year my staff's getting better, and I feel like the players are the ones that really get the benefit from that. And, yeah, we're looking forward to that fourth year."