(Kate Frese/SB Nation)
By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms have been one of the AHL’s best teams this season after making a return to the playoffs last season. A lot of that has to do with a wave of young talent working its way through the Flyers organization.
It also has to do with the man behind the bench for the Phantoms, head coach Scott Gordon. Gordon is currently in his third season with the Phantoms and will be behind the bench for much longer. Gordon signed a contract extension to remain the Phantoms head coach.
In three seasons, the 55-year-old has a 122-74-19 record as the Phantoms bench boss. The Phantoms 48 wins and 101 standings points were the franchise’s highest in over a decade. The Phantoms reached the playoffs last season, falling to Hershey in the best-of-five series, 3-2.
Gordon has coached at the AHL level for eight seasons with a 343-215-13 record. The Phantoms currently lead the Atlantic Division with a 40-16-3-4 record and 87 standings points and are closing in on locking up a playoff spot.
