TORONTO – He spent two seasons behind the bench with the Newfoundland Growlers, leading the team to the 2019 Kelly Cup in their inaugural season as the ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs. Now, John Snowden has been moved up the ladder to the AHL, where he’ll serve as the Marlies’ new assistant coach.
While the Growlers season was put on hold last season due to COVID-19, Snowden guided the Growlers to a 42-17-1 record during the 2019-20 season. Just one season before that, Snowden held the reigns to a Kelly Cup Championship on home ice.
Snowden will take the place of Rob Davidson, who mutually decided to part ways with the club at the end of last season. Davidson served on the special teams’ side of the bench, highlighting powerplays and defense in his time with the club. Davidson spent three seasons with the Marlies and was at the end of his contract.
One of the big questions is, “Will he be able to replace the void of Davidson?” Looking into the numbers may give us some answers. Snowden’s Growlers registered a 24% success rate during their last season of play. This is up from the Marlies numbers in 2020-21 with a 16.9%.
On the other side of the scale, Snowden’s penalty killing wasn’t scorching while on the Growlers either. The last time the Growlers were on the ice, their penalty-kill was hovering around 79%. Meanwhile, the Marlies had a penalty-killing rate, just south of 83% in 2020-21.
Words can not describe the impact that John Snowden, and his family, has left on our organization.
Congratulations on the new role with the @TorontoMarlies!#StandOnGuard pic.twitter.com/3DPsMF83jF
— Newfoundland Growlers (@NLGrowlers) July 18, 2021
As for the Growlers, it’s expected they’ll keep the head coach position vacant while the City of St. John’s and Deacon Sports & Entertainment iron out several issues over Mile One Centre.
The Marlies will start the 2021-22 season in the fall, with the league slated to start play on October 15th. Meanwhile, the Growlers will begin their 2021-22 campaign at 7 PM on October 21, visiting the newly formed Trois-Rivères Lions at Nouveau Colisée de Trois-Rivières.
