A front-runner for an AHL head coaching role already has previous ties to the Pittsburgh Penguins general manager.

PITTSBURGH – The hunt for coaches is on for many teams across the NHL, and the Pittsburgh Penguins have certain holes that need to be filled. The Penguins aren’t looking for a head coach but rather at least one assistant and someone to lead their American Hockey League affiliate.

Assistant general manager Jason Spezza is leading the search for a new head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and a potential candidate has been named. According to Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast, John Snowden has emerged as a front-runner.

Snowden is currently the Lehigh Valley Phantoms assistant coach, the Philadelphia Flyers’ AHL affiliate. The Phantoms recently saw their playoff push come to an end, but Friedman notes there is a reason Snowden might be a top candidate for the Penguins.

“He worked in the Toronto organization,” Friedman said. “There is a connection with the Penguins GM.”

Before joining the Flyers organization, Snowden spent five years in the Toronto Maple Leafs minor league system under the watchful eye of Kyle Dubas.

Snowden started his Toronto tenure as an assistant coach of the Newfoundland Growlers of the ECHL. As head coach in 2018-19, he led the Growlers to a Kelly Cup championship. In 2020, he was promoted to director of hockey operations for the Growlers.

From 2021 to 2023, Snowden was promoted again, this time to assistant coach with the Toronto Marlies, the Maple Leafs AHL team. After two years, he became an assistant with the Phantoms, and his next stop may be the Penguins organization.

Even if Spezza is in charge of the AHL search, Dubas is sure to have a hand in it. Spezza also hails from the Maple Leafs organization and has his own connection with Snowden as the AGM in Toronto.

Snowden is the first name to be discussed as a possible candidate for the WBS head coaching job.

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