Lehigh Valley Phantoms head coach Scott Gordon will represent Team USA at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
USA Hockey on Friday announced the five assistant coaches that will serve under head coach John Tortorella. Joining Gordon are Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan, Devils head coach John Hynes, Islanders head coach Jack Capuano and Predators assistant coach Phil Housley.
Gordon is the only AHL coach named to the team, although he does have plenty of NHL experience both as the former head coach of the Islanders as well as an assistant with the Maple Leafs. Gordon was an assistant with USA Hockey at the 2010 Olympics, where they won a silver medal, and he also served as Team USA head coach at the IIHF World Championships in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
Gordon is not the only member of Team USA with Flyers ties: team president and former GM Paul Holmgren is the assistant GM of Team USA.
Here are quotes from the men in charge at USA Hockey:
“We’re extremely pleased with the coaching staff we’ve assembled,” said Dean Lombardi, general manager of Team USA and also the GM of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings. “It’s a group that not only brings great experience on multiple levels, but is in lock step with where we’re going and how we’re going to get there.”
“I’m looking forward to working with our coaching staff in guiding the group of players that are ultimately selected to represent our country in the World Cup,” said Tortorella, who is also the head coach of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. “We have a group of coaches assembled that all bring something different to the table and that is a real positive as we move toward our ultimate goal of winning the tournament.”
The World Cup of Hockey will be held September 17 until October 1 in Toronto.
