Phantoms’ Head Coach John Snowden is Pulling the Right Strings, Will it Close the Gap

The Providence Bruins have the best record in the American Hockey League , and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms controlled the play against them on Wednesday night in a 6-3 win. The Phantoms aren’t a better team but they controlled the pace of the play and pulled off the upset. “With the group of guys we have here, we have a chance to compete every night,” Brett Harrison, who was traded from the Bruins two weeks ago, noted after the recent win.

You May Also Like: New-Look Lehigh Valley Phantoms Will Keep Winning with Simple Hockey It speaks to how well the Phantoms were prepared for the midweek game. It is also another prime example of how head coach John Snowden has adjusted to not only win games but get the most out of a Phantoms group that is noticeably less talented than they were early on in the season. Snowden’s Optimizing A New Defense Group In the Saturday night game against the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, Snowden went with a seven-defenseman and 11-forwards lineup.

With Christian Kyrou, Oliver Bonk, and the newly acquired David Jiříček, the Phantoms head coach wants to play all three but runs into problems with the defense. Related: Flyers Prospect Oliver Bonk is Acclimating to the AHL The three pairs have skilled offensive-minded defensemen but suddenly lack the shutdown stay-at-home options to balance out the unit. It’s one of the reasons Snowden moved Kyrou to the forward position.

The common critique for scoring defensemen is that they are forwards and shouldn’t be playing on the defense (see Evan Bouchard). Snowden, however, wants to get the most out of Kyrou and moved him to the forward lines. “He’s got an incredibly offensive brain, he sees plays, makes plays, he scored a big goal for us,” Snowden added after the game.