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 Green Bay, 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 team's logo as well as having a bobcat by the name of "Ace" as the team's 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''

Players

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. 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.
On June 30, 2022, the Detroit Red Wings hired LaLonde as head coach.

Notable NHL draft picks

Green Bay Gamblers have had the following players selected in the NHL draft.
YearPlayerDrafted teamPick
1999Jeff FingerColorado Avalanche8th round
2002Matt GreeneEdmonton Oilers2nd round
2002Matt JonesPhoenix Coyotes3rd round
2002Nate GueninNew York Rangers4th round
2002Joey CrabbNew York Rangers7th round
2002Adam BurishChicago Blackhawks9th round
2004Blake WheelerPhoenix Coyotes1st round
2004Victor OreskovichColorado Avalanche2nd round
2004Wes O'NeillNew York Islanders4th round
2006Michael ForneyAtlanta Thrashers3rd round
2006Eric GrybaOttawa Senators3rd round
2007Justin BraunSan Jose Sharks7th round
2009Nick JensenPhoenix Coyotes5th round
2009Anders LeeNew York Islanders7th round
2011Andy WelinskiAnaheim Ducks3rd round
2012Jordan SchmaltzSt. Louis Blues1st round
2013Gustav OlofssonMinnesota Wild2nd round
2014Nick SchmaltzChicago Blackhawks1st round
2014Brendan LemieuxBuffalo Sabres2nd round
2015Vili SaarijärviDetroit Red Wings3rd round
2015Christian WolaninOttawa Senators4th round
2015Adam HúskaNew York Rangers7th round
2016Andrew PeekeColumbus Blue Jackets2nd round
2016Rhett GardnerDallas Stars4th round
2017Casey MittelstadtBuffalo Sabres1st round
2018John LeonardSan Jose Sharks6th round
2020Mason LohreiBoston Bruins2nd round
2024Artyom LevshunovChicago Blackhawks1st round

Olympics

YearPlayerCountryFinish
2006Māris ZiediņšLatvia12th
2014Blake WheelerUnited States4th
2022Markus LauridsenDenmark7th

NCAA champions

Gamblers alumni have played on multiple NCAA men's hockey national champions teams:
YearPlayerSchoolDivision
2006Adam BurishWisconsinDivision I
2006Josh EngelWisconsinDivision I
2006Kyle KlubertanzWisconsinDivision I
2009Eric GrybaBostonDivision I
2016Christian WolaninNorth DakotaDivision I
2016Nick SchmaltzNorth DakotaDivision I
2022David CarleDenverDivision 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