The Green Bay Gamblers are a Tier I junior

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team in the Eastern Conference of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

(USHL). They play in

Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin Ashwaubenon () is a village in Brown County, Wisconsin, Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 16,963 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. A suburb of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Green Bay, Ashwaubenon is part of the ...

, at the

Resch Center The Resch Center is a 10,200-seat multi-purpose arena, in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, United States built in 2002. It is the home of the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay Phoenix men's basketball team, the Green Bay Gamblers ice hockey team ...

History

Professional hockey in Green Bay

The first professional hockey team to be based in Green Bay was the Green Bay Bobcats who started playing in 1958 when the

Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena The Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena (more commonly known as the Brown County Arena) was a 5,248-seat multi-purpose arena in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, situated on the corner of Lombardi Avenue and Oneida Street, across from Lambeau Field. The ...

was built. There is some confusion over what league the team played in during its early years or if the team played in multiple leagues. Some sources cite that the Bobcats played in the U.S. Central Hockey League, a predecessor to the current

(USHL). Other sources claim that the Bobcats did not start playing in the USCHL until 1961. The Green Bay Bobcats franchise folded after the 1980-1981 season and 23 years of play. However, since the 2008-2009 season the Green Bay Gamblers have used a yellow bobcat prominently in the team's logo as well as having a bobcat by the name of "Ace" as the teams mascot.

Green Bay Gamblers

Since their inception into the United States Hockey League in 1994 the Green Bay Gamblers have been one of the premiere junior "A" hockey franchises in all of North America. To their credit the Gamblers have won two Junior A, Tier 2 National Championships (Gold Cups in 1996 and 1997), five Anderson Cups (1996, 1997, 2009, 2010, and 2012), four Clark Cups (1996, 2000, 2010, and 2012), four USHL Eastern Division titles, and one USHL Northern Division title. Since the USHL became Tier 1 in 2002, the Clark Cup also represents that level's national championship.

Home rinks

From when the Gamblers entered the league at the start of the 1994-1995 season through the 2001-2002 season, the team's primary venue was at the

. For the start of the 2002-2003 season, the Gamblers moved into the

, an 8,800 seat arena which was built on the opposite side of Shopko Hall. The team played at the Memorial Arena a few times each season due to scheduling conflicts with the Resch Center until the arena was scheduled for demolition in 2019. During the years at the Arena, other venues were sometimes used due to scheduling conflicts. These include the De Pere Ice & Recreation Center, the Brown County Youth Hockey Arena, the Cornerstone Community Center, Fond du Lac's Blue Line Ice Center, Beaver Dam Ice Arena, Greenheck Ice Center in Schofield. Since 1994 the average attendance of a Gamblers Game is 3,353 people, which is among the top in the USHL. In 2010, the Green Bay Gamblers set a USHL record for the highest attended playoff game when 8,487 fans showed up to see game five of the USHL Playoff championship, a game the Gamblers won resulting in franchise's third

Clark Cup The United States Hockey League began in 1961 as a semi-professional ice hockey league. Starting with the 1979–80 season, the league became a strictly Amateur league, and began awarding its champion the Clark Cup Trophy. All champions of the USHL ...

. The record has since been broken multiple times.

Season-by-season record

Reference ''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes''

Players

Current roster

As of December 24, 2022.

Team captains

Notable alumni

NHL

On March 25, 2013, former Gamblers head coach Jon Cooper was named the head coach of the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

. He is the first USHL coaching alumnus to lead an NHL team. Former Gamblers head coach

Derek Lalonde Derek Lalonde (born August 18, 1972) is an American ice hockey coach who is the head coach of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Lalonde played college hockey for State University of New York College at Cort ...

was hired by the Lightning as an assistant coach on July 12, 2018, joining Cooper's staff. On June 30, 2022, the Detroit Red Wings hired LaLonde as its head coach.

NHL draft picks

Green Bay Gamblers have had the following players selected in the NHL draft.

Olympics

Maris Ziedens appeared in the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

for his native

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. Latvia finished 12th. Blake Wheeler was selected to the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

for the

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...

. They finished 4th. Markus Lauridsen appeared in the 2022 games in Beijing for Denmark.

NCAA champions

Gamblers alumni have played on multiple NCAA men's hockey national champions teams: 2022 Denver University David Carle, head coach Matt Davis McCade Webster

Statistical leaders

Head coaches

Don Granato Don Granato (born August 11, 1967) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career After two years playing with the then named Madison ...

(1994–97) *

Mark Osiecki Mark Anthony Osiecki (born July 23, 1968) is an American ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey player. Osiecki was the head coach of the Ohio State University ice hockey team from the 2010–11 season to the 2012–13 season. Osiec ...

(1997–2004) * Mark Mazzoleni (2004-2008) *Dave Insalaco (2008) ''(interim)'' * Jon Cooper (2008–2010) *Eric Rud (2010–11) *

(2011–2014) *Pat Mikesch (2014–2022) *Michael Leone (2022-present)

References

External links

Green Bay Gamblers Official Website
{{Wisconsinsports Amateur ice hockey teams in Wisconsin Sports in Green Bay, Wisconsin United States Hockey League teams 1994 establishments in Wisconsin Ice hockey clubs established in 1994