The Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Philadelphia Flyers have announced that Ian Laperrière has signed a two-year contract extension to remain as Phantoms head coach through 2026.
“In his three years behind the bench, we have seen consistent improvement, and valuable experience gained from our prospects playing with the Phantoms, and they have been able to step in seamlessly to the Flyers when called upon,” said Flyers GM Daniel Brière. “In addition, the team has had a steady increase of success which saw the Calder Cup Playoffs return to the great fans in Lehigh Valley. I strongly believe that is a credit to Ian and his staff, and we are happy to have him lead our top development club for the next several years.”
Originally hired as head coach in 2021, Laperrière has led the Phantoms to consecutive Calder Cup Playoffs appearances in the last two seasons, highlighted by an opening round sweep of their intrastate rivals in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this year.
“I love what I do!” Laperrière said. “I love to work with those young guys. I want to stay here and we talked and I told them I don’t want to go anywhere. I like to help the Flyers get better by working with those kids and making sure they’re ready when they get called up.”
While in Lehigh Valley, Laperrière has overseen the growth and development of players that have made in impact in Philadelphia such as Cam York, Tyson Foerster, Sam Ersson, Morgan Frost, and Egor Zamula, along with others that have played with the Flyers like Bobby Brink, Adam Ginning, and Ronnie Attard.
While doing his job has been rewarding, Laperrière has grown to love the area as well.
“It’s a great place to live too,” Laperrière said. “Me and my wife really love the Valley. It’s a great place to hang out in the summer and there are a lot of nice golf courses. The weather’s been nice so we enjoy our time here. And when the season starts, I love to come to the rink. We have a great facility here and we have everything we need. I didn’t have any reason to look for something else. When the Flyers were more than happy to give me an extension I was very pleased.”
Before being named head coach, Laperrière served as the Flyers’ Director of Player Development in 2012-13 before moving behind the Flyers’ bench as an assistant coach from 2013 to 2021. The Montréal native also played in 1,083 NHL games for the Blues, Rangers, Kings, Avalanche, and Flyers. Laperrière famously blocked a shot with his face against New Jersey in the opening round of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs which left him bloodied above his right eye. He returned to the Flyers’ lineup in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against his hometown Canadiens and appeared in all six games of Philadelphia’s Stanley Cup Final defeat to the Blackhawks before being forced into retirement due to lingering effects from post-concussion syndrome and nerve damage to his eyes.
