(Green Bay, WI) – Former Green Bay Gamblers head coach Jon Cooper was named coach of the Canada men’s ice hockey team for the 2022 Beijing Olympics on Monday. Cooper led the Gamblers to back-to-back Anderson Cups (2009 & 2010) and a Clark Cup (2010).
Cooper is entering his 10th season as Tampa Bay Lightning coach and guided them to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021. The Lightning are 384-197-53 and have reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs seven times during Cooper’s tenure. The Lightning won the Presidents’ Trophy given to the best NHL team in the regular season with 128 points and an NHL record-tying 62 wins in 2018-19.
“To be a part of this, as a young kid in Canada growing up and watching hockey and having your dreams of whether it’s to play in the NHL and win the Stanley Cup or be a part of the Olympics, obviously I didn’t get to do that as a player, but to be a part of that as a coach is, it’s so exciting,” Cooper said.
Cooper has won a championship at practically every level, including a Calder Cup in the American Hockey league with the Norfolk Admirals. (2012). Cooper is currently the longest tenured head coach in the NHL.
Cooper hails from Prince George, British Columbia. Cooper attended prep school at Notre Dame in Wilcox, Saskatchewan. Cooper was a standout lacrosse player at Hofrsta University (Hempstead, New York). The two-time Stanley Cup champion earned his law degree from Thomas Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan and was a public defender for 11 years.
The Gamblers home opener is Saturday, October 2. Single game tickets go on sale Monday, August 23 beginning at 10:00 AM. Tickets available at the Resch Center box office (Hours: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM, Monday – Friday and game days beginning at 10:00 AM) and at www.gamblershockey.com To purchase season tickets or flex packs contact Greg at 920-405-1150 or via email greg.lynch@gamblershockey.com
