The Gwinnett Gladiators are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Duluth, Georgia. The Gladiators play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. The Gladiators play their home games at the Arena at Gwinnett Center.
The franchise originated as the Mobile Mysticks in 1995. The team suspended operations in 2002 and moved to Duluth in 2003. They have qualified for the Kelly Cup playoffs for six out of their eight seasons of play as the Gladiators. They were the South Division and Eastern Conference champions in 2006, falling one game to four to the Alaska Aces in the finals.
The Gladiators announced their affiliation with the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes and their AHL affiliate Portland Pirates on August 17, 2011.[1]. They later announced an affiliation agreement with the Buffalo Sabres, and their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.[2]
[edit] History
[edit] Inception
The franchise originated as the Mobile Mysticks who played in Mobile, Alabama from 1995 to 2002. It suspended operations in 2002 following poor performance and declining attendance.
[edit] Birth of the Gladiators (Jeff Pyle, 2003–11)
The franchise moved to Gwinnett County in 2003 and was rebranded the Gladiators. Jeff Pyle—who served as the team's head coach starting in 1998, when they were still the Mysticks—remained with the franchise.
The Gladiators made an appearance in the 2006 Kelly Cup Finals, losing to the Alaska Aces in five games.
[edit] New blood (John Wroblewski, 2011–present)
On July 13, 2011, Pyle was named head coach of the American Hockey League's Texas Stars.[3] The Gladiators announced on August 3 of that year that John Wroblewski, former assistant coach for the Wheeling Nailers, had been selected to take Pyle's place as the team's head coach.[4]
[edit] 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 left the organization. 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.[5][6]
On August 17, 2011 the Gladiators announced their affiliation with the Phoenix Coyotes and the Portland Pirates for the 2011–12 season.[1] They later announced an affiliation agreement with the Buffalo Sabres, and their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.[2]
[edit] Recent seasons
This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Gladiators. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Gwinnett Gladiators seasons.
[edit] Regular season
| Season |
Games |
Won |
Lost |
Tied |
OTL |
SOL |
Points |
Goals
for |
Goals
against |
Standing |
| 2006–07 |
72 |
41 |
24 |
— |
5 |
2 |
89 |
289 |
256 |
3rd, South |
| 2007–08 |
72 |
44 |
23 |
— |
2 |
3 |
93 |
247 |
198 |
3rd, South |
| 2008–09 |
72 |
31 |
35 |
— |
1 |
5 |
68 |
214 |
246 |
4th, South |
| 2009–10 |
72 |
31 |
33 |
— |
5 |
3 |
70 |
243 |
277 |
4th, South |
| 2010–11 |
72 |
30 |
34 |
— |
3 |
5 |
68 |
203 |
250 |
4th, South |
[edit] Playoffs
[edit] Current roster
Updated August 18, 2011.[7]
| # |
Nat |
Player |
Pos |
S/G |
Age |
Acquired |
Birthplace |
Contract |
| 8 |
Canada ! |
Cameron, DustinDustin Cameron |
6.0 !LW |
L |
22 |
2011 |
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan |
Gladiators |
| 15 |
Canada ! |
Flache, PaulPaul Flache (A) |
2.0 !D |
R |
29 |
2010 |
Toronto, Ontario |
Gladiators |
| 21 |
Canada ! |
Jackson, DallasDallas Jackson |
2.0 !D |
L |
22 |
2011 |
Edson, Alberta |
Gladiators |
|
United States ! |
Vock, ColinColin Vock |
3.0 !F |
L |
26 |
2011 |
Plymouth, Michigan |
Gladiators |
|
Canada ! |
Wild, CalinCalin Wild |
4.0 !C |
L |
25 |
2011 |
Winnipeg, Manitoba |
Gladiators |
|
Staff
|
| Title |
Staff member |
| Head coach |
John Wroblewski |
| Athletic trainer |
Danielle Ellis |
| Equipment manager |
Patrick Houlihan |
[edit] Memorable players
Gwinnett Gladiators vs. Pensacola Ice Pilots
[edit] Played In NHL
[edit] References
- ^ a b Press release (August 17, 2011). "Glads sign affiliation agreement with Phoenix". Gwinnett Gladiators. http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=4276850. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
- ^ a b Press Release (September 20, 2011). "Second Affiliate Added". Gwinnett Gladiators. http://gwinnettgladiators.com/site/news/article.asp?art=2057. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
- ^ Press release (July 13, 2011). "Gwinnett's Pyle named head coach of AHL's Texas Stars". ECHL. http://echl.com/gwinnett-s-pyle-named-head-coach-of-ahl-s-texas-stars-p171732. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
- ^ Press release (August 3, 2011). "Wroblewski named Gladiators head coach". ECHL. http://echl.com/wroblewski-named-gladiators-head-coach-p172084. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
- ^ Michael Wagner (December 28, 2008). "Chicago Blackhawks Name Gwinnett Gladiators Their New ECHL Affiliate". bleacherreport.com. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/97587-chicago-blackhawks-name-gwinnett-gladiators-their-new-echl-affiliate. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- ^ Bart Logan (August 25, 2009). "Blue Jackets & Gladiators Become ECHL affiliates". firethecannon.com. http://firethecannon.com/blue-jackets-gladiators-become-echl-affiliates-36479.html. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- ^ "gwinnettgladiators.com: Roster". http://www.gwinnettgladiators.com/site/team/team.asp. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
[edit] External links
|
|
|
| Western Conference |
Eastern Conference |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
South Division
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gwinnett Gladiators
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Sabres |
|
|
| Culture/lore |
|
|
| Arenas |
|
|
| Affiliates |
|
|
| Owners |
|
|
| Other |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| The Franchise |
|
|
| Arenas |
|
|
| Affiliates |
|
|
| Media |
|
|
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small}
.svg)
