Kerry Huffman Named Phantoms' Interim Head Coach
ALLENTOWN - With everything that's happened in the last 24 hours, the chips are beginning to fall into place at the AHL level as Kerry Huffman has been named the interim head coach of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, sources have told Inside AHL Hockey.
Huffman, who previously served as an assistant under Scott Gordon with the Phantoms, will be in a situation similar to Gordon's interim tag in Philadelphia, the source said.
In addition, Kjell Samuelsson will be joining the Phantoms' coaching staff. Samuelsson will "assist the Phantoms coaching staff during this transition period", per the team's official release published after our initial report.
More on Kerry Huffman
Entering his third season with the Philadelphia Flyers organization as an AHL assistant coach with the Phantoms, Huffman has been in charge of the defenseman during his tenure - helping develop and get guys like Robert Hagg and Travis Sanheim ready for the NHL as well as continuing to help build the overall games of current Phantoms' blueliners like Phil Myers and Mark Friedman.
Prior to joining the Phantoms, Huffman was an assistant coach and the director of hockey operations for the NAHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights in 2015-16 and the head coach of the Knights' 16U midget hockey team the year prior in 2014-15, coaching on staffs compiling a 225-66-16 record in that time period.
More importantly, who did Huffman work with in practices and summer hockey while with the Knights? How about then 14-year-old Ivan Provorov.
Huffman has been heavily involved in player development for quite some time, from an NHLPA certified player agent to creating Platinum Hockey Group Consulting Company - working with companies that have represented and advised players at all levels including current NHL stars like Mike Cammelleri, Tyler Seguin, Alex Galchenyuk and Nail Yakupov. He's worked with players in the NHL, AHL, ECHL, Europe and Major Junior, and has advised young players in minor hockey and collegiate levels.
Thoughts
With the Phantoms having a game on Wednesday night, it makes sense to promote Huffman on the interim tag and provide a similar situation to Gordon's interim tag with the NHL club. He already knows the systems, the players, the remaining current staff and obviously is very familiar with his new assistant Kjell Samuelsson. A smooth transition is all that can be hoped for in the midst of a coaching carousel in the organization.
Will Scott Gordon remain the head coach of the Flyers for the rest of the season? Will Gordon be "reassigned" back to be the head coach of the Phantoms when GM Chuck Fletcher finds out who the organization wants as their head coach moving forward - if it happens during the season, or after? Will Fletcher bring in his own coach at the AHL level in coming days/weeks or allow Huffman to be the head man for the Phantoms the rest of the season?
All of that remains to be seen.
What we do know is that Huffman won't be out of his comfort level coaching and developing the prospects currently in Lehigh Valley. His track record and years of experience working with young hockey players speaks for itself. He definitely had a big part in completely transforming Robert Hagg's game and getting him fully adjusted to the North American pro game during his time in the AHL. He's also had a hand in developing Travis Sanheim and getting him into the NHL as well. He's been working in the AHL with Myers, Friedman etc.
There's no reason to expect that won't continue with his new title and added responsibilities as the head coach.
