John Snowden becomes the fifth head coach in Lehigh Valley history as well as the 12th in franchise history, which originated as the Philadelphia Phantoms in 1996.
Snowden has been an assistant coach with the Phantoms for two seasons, working primarily with the forwards and power-play units. Prior to joining the Phantoms, he held a similar assistant coaching role with the Toronto Marlies from 2021 to 2023 and served as head coach of their affiliate Newfoundland Growlers for parts of two seasons from 2018 to 2020. He led the expansion Growlers to a Kelly Cup championship in their inaugural campaign.
Snowden’s journey into coaching followed an 11-year professional playing career between 2003 and 2014 in which he appeared in 686 games in North America—including 63 with the Reading Royals in 2006–07—and featured stints with various teams in the ECHL, CHL, IHL, and AHL. As a junior player, he competed for the U.S. National Development Program Under-18 Team and the U.S. National Team between 1998 and 2000, and captured a Clark Cup championship with the USHL’s Lincoln Stars in 2003.
“Snowy” began his coaching career with the Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL) during the 2015–16 season. He spent two seasons as an assistant and was promoted to associate coach in 2017–18. He joined Newfoundland the following year, eventually stepping in as head coach mid-season, guiding the Growlers to the Kelly Cup.
The Everett, Washington native will continue to play an influential role in shaping the next generation of talent through his detail-oriented and team-first coaching style. He and his wife Janelle have three children: a daughter named Rowan, and two sons, Aiden and Keegan, who both play in the Phantoms Youth Hockey program.
