The Florida Panthers announced Tom Rowe will be returning to coach the club’s AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage this season. Scott Allen, who was previously with the Rampage organization from 2002-2004, has been added as an assistant coach.
Rowe took over as the Rampage’s bench boss last season when Peter Horachek was tabbed to replace Kevin Dineen as Florida’s head coach sixteen games into the NHL campaign. The Lynn, MA native led the Silver and Black to a 26-31-3-5 record the rest of the way.
The 58-year-old’s prior head coaching experience includes stints with Yaroslavl Lokomotiv of the KHL, as well as the AHL’s Albany River Rats and Lowell Lock Monsters. He was an assistant coach for three seasons at the NHL level with the Carolina Hurricanes from 2008-2011, and began his pro coaching career as assistant with a three-year run under Ron Smith in Lowell back in 2001. Rowe is a former NHL forward who suited up for 357 regular season games with the Washington Capitals, Hartford Whalers and Detroit Red Wings.
Allen is back for a second time in San Antonio. After six years with the ECHL’s Johnstown Chiefs, he joined the Rampage as an assistant under John Torchetti for the 2002-03 season, which was the franchise’s first in Texas, and ended up as the team’s head coach for the final 14 games of the campaign. The next year he returned to his assistant post, this time under Steve Ludzik, but ended up replacing him as head man after just 12 games. Since leaving San Antonio, Allen has spent time as an assistant coach with the Lowell Lock Monsters (working under Rowe), Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights, Quad City Flames, New York Islanders, Peoria Rivermen and Chicago Wolves.
It was also announced that equipment manager Steve Passineau and strength coach Eddie Reyes will be returning to the Rampage, while Steve Ruhmel was added to the staff as the club’s new athletic trainer.