Mike Santos, Florida Panthers assistant general manager and San Antonio Rampage general manager, announced today that Tom Rowe has been named the new head coach of the Rampage.
Rowe replaces Peter Horachek, who was named the interim head coach of the Panthers earlier today. Chuck Weber will remain with the Rampage as associate head coach and director of hockey operations.
“We are excited to welcome Tom to the organization,” said Santos. “He is an experienced and well-respected coach and we expect this to be a seamless transition. Both Tom and Chuck will work together to ensure that our prospects continue to develop in a winning environment in San Antonio.”
Rowe, 57, most recently served as head coach of Yaroslavl Lokomotiv in the Kontinental Hockey League where he led the club to a 34-18-0 mark. Prior to working in the KHL, he served as an assistant coach with the Carolina Hurricanes (2008-11).
Rowe’s American Hockey League coaching experience includes serving as the head coach for the Lowell Lock Monsters (2004-06) and Albany River Rats (2006-08), and as assistant coach in Lowell from 2001-04. He compiled a record of 156-144-20 in four seasons as head coach, and his teams qualified for the Calder Cup Playoffs three times.
The Lynn, Mass., native played in 357 National Hockey League games for Washington and Hartford registering 185 points (85 goals, 100 assists) and 615 penalty minutes. Rowe was the first American-born player to score 30 or more goals in an NHL season, accomplishing the feat in 1978–79.
