Green Bay Gamblers


The Green Bay Gamblers are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Conference of the United States Hockey League. They play in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, at the Resch Center.

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 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 United States Hockey League. 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 teams 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, five Anderson Cups, four Clark Cups, 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 Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena. For the start of the 2002-2003 season, the Gamblers moved into the Resch Center, 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 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
SeasonGPWLTOTLSOLPTSGFGAPIMFinishPlayoffs
1994–954893414023147264—11th of 11Did not qualify
1995–9646321130067219737—1st of 11Won Clark Cup
1996–975441110208426018718821st of 6, NorthWon Quarterfinals, 4–2 vs. Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks
Won Semifinals, 4–3 vs. North Iowa Huskies
Lost Championship, 4–0 vs. Lincoln Stars
1997–985631200055115718315763rd of 6, NorthLost Quarterfinals, 4–0 vs. Des Moines Buccaneers
1998–995641110408621314315681st of 4, EastWon Quarterfinals, 3–0 vs. Thunder Bay Flyers
Lost Semifinals, 3–0 vs. Omaha Lancers
1999–005835180057523217413182nd of 7, EastWon Quarterfinals, 3–1 vs. Waterloo Black Hawks
Won Semifinals, 3–2 vs. Des Moines Buccaneers
Won Championship, 4–1 vs. Twin City Vulcans
2000–015632130110751771539941st of 6, EastLost Quarterfinals, 3–1 vs. Tri-City Storm
2001–026135200607618417912571st of 6, EastWon Quarterfinals, 3–0 vs. Des Moines Buccaneers
Lost Semifinals, 3–1 vs. Sioux City Musketeers
2002–03601636—354013921513415th of 5, EastDid not qualify
2003–04602728—415917117611445th of 6, EastDid not qualify
2004–05602137—20441412209715th of 6, EastDid not qualify
2005–06603026—136418218311273rd of 6, EastLost Quarterfinals, 3–0 vs. Des Moines Buccaneers
2006–07602430—155417619813174th of 6, EastLost First Round, 4–0 vs. Indiana Ice
2007–08601341—243213022413466th of 6, EastDid not qualify
2008–09603917—048223716513631st of 6, EastWon Quarterfinals, 3–0 vs. Waterloo Black Hawks
Lost Semifinals, 3–1 vs. Indiana Ice
2009–10604510—239521214013941st of 8, EastWon Quarterfinals, 3–0 vs. Waterloo Black Hawks
Won Semifinals, 3–1 vs. Indiana Ice
Won Championship, 3–2 vs. Fargo Force
2010–11604115—22861891317902nd of 8, EasternWon Quarterfinals, 3–0 vs. Indiana Ice
Won Semifinals, 3–1 vs. Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
Lost Championship, 3–1 vs. Dubuque Fighting Saints
2011–1260479—22982501388821st of 8, EasternWon Quarterfinals, 3–1 vs. Youngstown Phantoms
Won Semifinals, 3–0 vs. Indiana Ice
Won Championship, 3–2 vs. Waterloo Black Hawks
2012–13643723—317823420710692nd of 8, EasternLost Quarterfinals, 3–1 vs. Youngstown Phantoms
2013–14603024—33661831768874th of 8, EasternLost Quarterfinals, 3–1 vs. Indiana Ice
2014–15601834—354415621310109th of 9, EasternDid not qualify
2015–16603716—43811911358812nd of 9, EasternLost Quarterfinals, 3–1 vs. Dubuque Fighting Saints
2016–17603422—2272173145—5th of 9, EasternDid not qualify
2017–18603024—4266172170—3rd of 9, EasternLost Quarterfinals, 2–0 vs. Dubuque Fighting Saints
2018–19621934—63471732509678th of 9, EasternDid not qualify
2019–20482419—23531681478403rd of 8, EasternSeason cancelled

Players

Current roster

Team captains

NHL

On March 25, 2013, former Gamblers head coach Jon Cooper was named the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He is the first USHL coaching alumnus to lead an NHL team. Former Gamblers head coach Derek Lalonde was hired by the Lightning as an assistant coach on July 12, 2018, joining Cooper's staff.

NHL draft picks

Green Bay Gamblers have had the following players selected in the NHL draft.
Year draftedPlayerDrafted teamPick
1997Aaron MiskovichColorado Avalanche5th round
1997Heath GordonChicago Blackhawks6th round
1999Ed HillNashville Predators2nd round
1999Stephan BabyAtlanta Thrashers7th round
1999Jeff FingerColorado Avalanche8th round
2000John EichelbergerPhiladelphia Flyers7th round
2000Jure PenkoNashville Predators7th round
2002Matt GreeneEdmonton Oilers2nd round
2002Matt JonesPhoenix Coyotes3rd round
2002Nate GueninNew York Rangers4th round
2002Jake TaylorNew York Rangers6th round
2002Joey CrabbNew York Rangers7th round
2002Adam BurishChicago Blackhawks9th round
2004Blake WheelerPhoenix Coyotes1st round
2004Victor OreskovichColorado Avalanche2nd round
2004Kyle KlubertanzAnaheim Ducks3rd round
2004Wes O'NeillNew York Islanders4th round
2004Spencer DillonFlorida Panthers9th round
2004Luke BeaversonFlorida Panthers9th round
2005Greg BellerNew York Rangers6th round
2006Michael ForneyAtlanta Thrashers3rd round
2006Eric GrybaOttawa Senators3rd round
2006Derrick LaPointFlorida Panthers4th round
2007Justin BraunSan Jose Sharks7th round
2009Nick JensenDetroit Red Wings6th round
2009Anders LeeNew York Islanders7th round
2010Ben GallacherFlorida Panthers4th round
2010Christopher CraneSan Jose Sharks7th round
2011Andy WelinskiAnaheim Ducks3rd round
2011Adam WilcoxTampa Bay Lightning6th round
2011Colin SullivanMontreal Canadiens7th round
2011Alex BroadhurstChicago Blackhawks7th round
2011Aaron HarstadWinnipeg Jets7th round
2012Jordan SchmaltzSt. Louis Blues1st round
2013Connor HurleyBuffalo Sabres2nd round
2013Gustav OlofssonMinnesota Wild2nd round
2014Nick SchmaltzChicago Blackhawks1st round
2014Brendan LemieuxBuffalo Sabres2nd round
2014Joe WegwerthFlorida Panthers4th round
2014Matt BerkovitzAnaheim Ducks5th round
2014Christopher BrownBuffalo Sabres6th round
2015Vili SaarijarviDetroit Red Wings3rd round
2015Brent Gates Jr.Anaheim Ducks3rd round
2015Christian WolaninOttawa Senators4th round
2015Karch BachmanFlorida Panthers5th round
2015Adam ParsellsSan Jose Sharks6th round
2015Adam HuskaNew York Rangers7th round
2016Andrew PeekeColumbus Blue Jackets2nd round
2016Rhett GardnerDallas Stars4th round
2017Casey MittelstadtBuffalo Sabres1st round
2017Maksim ZhukovVegas Golden Knights4th round
2018Ryan O'ReillyDetroit Red Wings4th round
2018Demetrios KoumontzisCalgary Flames4th round
2018Jackson PerbixAnaheim Ducks4th round
2018David HrenakLos Angeles Kings5th round
2018John LeonardSan Jose Sharks6th round
2019Michael VukojevicNew Jersey Devils3rd round
2019McKade WebsterTampa Bay Lightning7th round

Olympics

appeared in the 2006 Winter Olympics for his native Latvia. Latvia finished 12th.
Blake Wheeler was selected to the United States national team for the 2014 Winter Olympics. They finished 4th.

NCAA champions

Gamblers alumni have played on multiple NCAA men's hockey national champions teams:
YearPlayerSchoolDivision
2000Jason NotermannNorth DakotaDivision I
2002Judd StevensMinnesotaDivision I
2003Judd StevensMinnesotaDivision I
2006Adam BurishWisconsinDivision I
2006A.J. DegenhardtWisconsinDivision I
2006Josh EngelWisconsinDivision I
2006Kyle KlubertanzWisconsinDivision I
2008Brandon LongleySt. NorbertDivision III
2008Ryan PetersenSt. NorbertDivision III
2008Nick TabiszSt. NorbertDivision III
2009Eric GrybaBostonDivision I
2011Brandon LongleySt. NorbertDivision III
2011Nick TabiszSt. NorbertDivision III
2011Aaron CrandallMinnesota–DuluthDivision I
2011Keegan FlahertyMinnesota–DuluthDivision I
2013Mitch WitekYaleDivision I
2014Patrick McCaddenSt. NorbertDivision III
2014Tony KujavaSt. NorbertDivision III
2014Ryan PetersonSt. NorbertDivision III
2016Christian WolaninNorth DakotaDivision I
2016Nick SchmaltzNorth DakotaDivision I
2018Matt AndersonMinnesota–DuluthDivision I
2019Jesse JacquesMinnesota–DuluthDivision I
2019Matt AndersonMinnesota–DuluthDivision I

Statistical leaders

Player
Chad StauffacherF13573671401.04
Kyle NovakRW12644841281.02
Nick SchmaltzC13037821190.92
Billy PuglieseF9154621161.27
Luke StauffacherRW18939771160.61
Matthew WeisC14142701120.79
Reed SeckelC/LW11435751100.96
Nick SchilkeyRW11848591070.91
Alex BroadhurstC10839671060.98
Kevin GranatoC9845571021.04

Player
Chad StauffacherF73
Billy PuglieseF54
Sergio SommaLW52
C.J. LeeF50
Nick SchilkeyRW48
Alex KileLW47
Kevin GranatoC45
Nolan LaPorteRW45
Kyle NovakRW44
Matt JohnsonRW43

Player
Kyle NovakRW84
Nick SchmaltzC82
Luke StauffacherRW77
Reed SeckelC/LW75
Jeff FingerD72
Matthew WeisC70
Dan CalzadaD68
Chad StauffacherF67
Alex BroadhurstC67
Billy PuglieseF62

Player
John EichelbergerC1.408
Aaron SmithF1.364
Ryan ForbesF1.277
Billy PuglieseF1.275
Casey MittelstadtC/LW1.250
Jason CuppC1.241
Mario LeBlancF1.200
Anders LeeLW1.119
Brian McDonaldLW1.053
Chris LineRW1.050

Player
Luke StauffacherRW189
Dallas StewardF164
Corey CouturierLW164
Dan CalzadaD162
Jeff FingerD161
Anthony HayesF160
Ryan LittleF/D155
C.J. LeeF152
Brandon LongleyD148
Matthew WeisC141

Head coaches