Meanwhile, Doug MacLean has emerged as the leading candidate to become an assistant under head coach Paul Holmgren, the source said. The Flyers earlier this week fired former assistant Andy Murray.
MacLean spent half of last season as an assistant with Washington under Bryan Murray. When Murray was fired and replaced by his brother Terry, MacLean became head coach of the Baltimore Skipjacks, the Capitals' AHL affiliate.
Farwell and Holmgren interviewed Hitchcock on Thursday and MacLean yesterday.
It also is possible that Hitchcock will become an assistant and MacLean will go to Hershey, the source said.
"The assistant's job will be filled first, and that's basically Paul's decision," Farwell said yesterday. "I would never push a guy on Paul who he's not comfortable with. I'd be comfortable with Ken in either spot. He's very, very sound hockey-wise. He's solid technically and in strategy, which would make him a good assistant. He's also solid in player development, which is what we'd like in Hershey. He's an incredible worker."
Farwell said Hitchcock was the first to be interviewed in his search to fill both positions. The new GM said that he had no timetable to make the hirings, but he added, "I'd like to do it as quickly as I can. It's important that Paul have his staff in place, and the people in Hershey are getting a bit anxious."
Former Minnesota North Stars assistant coach Craig Hartsburg and former New York Islanders head coach Terry Simpson were also believed to be candidates for the jobs. But Hartsburg's relative inexperience has been mentioned by some members of the Flyers' front office, and a source in Winnipeg said Simpson is seriously considering becoming an assistant with the Jets.
In six years of coaching Kamloops (in British Columbia), Hitchcock, 37, has a remarkable 291-125-15 record with two league and five division titles. Under Hitchcock, Kamloops has a 66-29 playoff record and has made two trips to the Memorial Cup - junior hockey's equivalent of the Stanley Cup.
"Russ didn't tell me I definitely have a job, but he made me feel really good about my chances," Hitchcock said. "Although everybody wants to be in the big show, I really don't have a preference for either job. And Russ told me Hershey is a really nice place. Both have their pluses. I met with Paul for about five hours and I believe we felt very comfortable with each other.
"All I want is a chance," Hitchcock added. "You've got to know what it's like in junior hockey to know how excited I am about this possibility."
