The franchise originated as the Mobile Mysticks who played in Mobile, Alabama, from 1995 to 2002. It suspended operations in 2002 due to declining attendance. After a year off, Toby Jeffreys, the owner of the Mysticks, relocated his franchise to Gwinnett County, Georgia, in 2003 and was rebranded the Gwinnett Gladiators. He then sold minority stakes of the franchise to local business owners to create Gwinnett County Hockey, LLC. Jeff Pyle—who served as the Mysticks' head coach starting in 1998—returned to the franchise for their first season. The Gladiators made an appearance in the 2006 Kelly Cup Finals, losing to the Alaska Aces in five games. On July 13, 2011, Pyle was named head coach of the American Hockey League's Texas Stars. The Gladiators announced on August 3, 2011, that John Wroblewski, former assistant coach for the Wheeling Nailers, had been selected to take Pyle's place as the team's head coach. The Gladiators won the ECHL South Division in the two years of Wrobelski's tenure. On August 7, 2013, Wroblewski was hired by the AHL's Rochester Americans as an assistant coach. Rick Emmett, a former defenseman for the Gladiators, took over as head coach. Emmett was relieved of his duties as head coach on December 2, 2014. At the time, assistant coach, and former Gladiator captain, Andy Brandt was named the interim head coach. Brandt would remain the interim head coach through the remainder of the 2014–15 season before being named to head coach on March 21, 2015. Former Valpellice Bulldogs head coach Mike Flanagan also joined the coaching staff in December 2014, serving as the team's assistant coach.
Rebranding as Atlanta Gladiators
On September 9, 2015, the Gladiators organization announced that they would be known as the Atlanta Gladiators to expand their brand to include the entire Atlanta metropolitan area. As part of the name change, the Gladiators updated their “primary” and “wordmark” logos to reflect the Atlanta designation. The rest of the Gladiators logos remained the same, as did the team colors. After two seasons as head coach, Andy Brandt left to take the associate coaching position with St. Norbert College in 2017. The Gladiators would then hire two-time Kelly Cup winning coach Chuck Weber as his replacement. During the 2017–18 season, the franchise was purchased by Virginia-based ownership group called Danor Vienna LLC, headed by real estate developer P. Daniel Orlich. Head coach Weber left after one season to take an assistant coaching position with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute NCAA Div. I men's team in order to be closer to home. Jeff Pyle was then brought back as head coach and general manager after leaving for the AHL in 2011. In 2019, the Gladiators updated their primary colors from garnet and black to navy blue and gold.
Affiliations
The Gladiators served as the ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers and their AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves from their inception in 2003 until 2011, when the Thrashers franchise moved to Winnipeg and the Gladiators ended their affiliation with the franchise. The team also served as an affiliate for the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2008-09 season and for the Columbus Blue Jackets during the 2009-10 season. On August 17, 2011, the Gladiators announced their affiliation with the Phoenix Coyotes and the Portland Pirates for the 2011-12 season. They later announced an affiliation agreement with the Buffalo Sabres, and their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. That affiliation lapsed at the end of the 2011-12 season, leaving the Gladiators affiliated exclusively with Phoenix for the 2012-13 season. The Gladiators would carry that affiliation through the end of the 2014–15 season. On August 6, 2015, the Gladiators announced a two-year affiliation deal with the Boston Bruins and their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. In February 2017, the Gladiators and Bruins extended their affiliation for another two seasons and then added fifth season for 2019–20.
