Green Bay (April 26, 2022) – The Green Bay Gamblers have named Mike Leone as their new head coach and general manager – the eighth in team history.
Leone joins the Gamblers from the USA Hockey National Team Development Program where he served as an assistant coach for the past three seasons. Additionally, he served as an assistant coach at the 2021 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship.
“Mike brings everything we were looking for in a new head coach,” said Gamblers President Jeff Mitchell. “He’s well respected in the hockey world and is a proven winner with ties to two former successful Gamblers coaches.”
Leone played for former Gamblers coach John Cooper for three seasons in the North American Hockey League during the 2005-06 season while Cooper was head coach of the Texarkana Bandits and then during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons when the Bandits moved to St. Louis. Leone also played for former Gamblers coach Derek Lalonde while Lalonde was head coach of the Toledo Walleyes in the ECHL during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.
“I couldn’t be more excited to be the next head coach of the Gamblers,” said Mike Leone. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to lead this team and organization.”
Leone brings previous experience coaching at both the collegiate and professional levels as he was the assistant and Bowling Green State University (2018-29) as well as with the ECHL’s Quad City Mallards (2017-18).
The Dearborn, Michigan native skated three seasons at Western Michigan University before embarking on a four-year professional career that took him through the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings and Toledo Walleye, in addition to one season with the Villard-de-Lans in France.
