The Press

Main Menu

  • News
    • Allouez
    • Ashwaubenon
    • Bellevue
    • Brown County
    • De Pere
    • Green Bay
    • Howard
    • Hobart
    • Suamico
    • Seymour
  • NEW News Lab
  • Sports
    • Ashwaubenon
    • Bay Port
    • De Pere
    • Green Bay East
    • Green Bay Notre Dame
    • Green Bay Preble
    • Green Bay Southwest
    • Green Bay West
    • St. Norbert College
    • West De Pere
    • Seymour
    • High School Sports Scores
  • Obituaries
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
  • Classifieds
    • Place Ad
    • View Ads
  • Legal Ads
    • Our Legals
    • Statewide
  • Sweepstakes

logo

The Press

  • News
    • Allouez
    • Ashwaubenon
    • Bellevue
    • Brown County
    • De Pere
    • Green Bay
    • Howard
    • Hobart
    • Suamico
    • Seymour
  • NEW News Lab
  • Sports
    • Ashwaubenon
    • Bay Port
    • De Pere
    • Green Bay East
    • Green Bay Notre Dame
    • Green Bay Preble
    • Green Bay Southwest
    • Green Bay West
    • St. Norbert College
    • West De Pere
    • Seymour
    • High School Sports Scores
  • Obituaries
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
  • Classifieds
    • Place Ad
    • View Ads
  • Legal Ads
    • Our Legals
    • Statewide
  • Sweepstakes
Green Bay GlorySports
Home›Sports›Green Bay Glory›Gamblers name Leone new head coach/general manager

Gamblers name Leone new head coach/general manager

By Rich Palzewic
April 27, 2022
477
0
Share:
Assistant

By Rich Palzewic
Sports Editor


GREEN BAY – The search is over for the Green Bay Gamblers.

The organization announced the hiring of Mike Leone April 26 as the new head coach/general manager – the eighth in team history.

Leone was introduced to members of the media at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon.

“I want to thank everyone involved for getting me here,” Leone said. “When I first started coaching, Green Bay was a place I wanted to be. The opportunity came, and I couldn’t be more grateful to be here. I know there’s a responsibility – this team means a lot to the Green Bay community. I promise I’ll give everything to the team and organization.”

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.

“(Leone) brings everything we’re looking for in a new head coach,” Gamblers President Jeff Mitchell said. “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 Head Coach Jon Cooper, now the head coach of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning, for three seasons in the North American Hockey League in Texarkana and St. Louis (2005-08).

Leone also played for former Gamblers Head Coach Derek Lalonde while playing for the Toledo Walleye in the ECHL (2014-16).

“Cooper and Lalonde both told me to be myself,” Leone said. “They both stressed being a great teammate and playing for something more than myself – the greater good of the team.”

Leone said when he saw Mitchell had called on the phone, he was nervous.

“I was literally pacing around the rink because I was so nervous to call back,” he said. “I tried to be myself (during the interview).”

The 34-year-old Leone brings previous coaching experience as well.

He was an assistant coach at Bowling Green State University (2018-19) as well as with the ECHL’s Quad City Mallard (2017-18).

“I like to coach hard, fast and smart hockey,” Leone said. “You need players who can get up and down the ice. We need players who can make plays, but I also believe in defending and checking.”

The Dearborn, Michigan, native skated three seasons at Western Michigan University before embarking on a four-year professional career.

In addition to playing for the Walleye, Leone played for the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings.

He also played one season with Villard-de-Lans in France.

Leone said he’s in the process of assessing the current roster and preparing for the 2022 United States Hockey League Draft May 2-3.

“With being at Team USA for the last three seasons, we played Green Bay a lot,” he said. “There are (current) pieces to the team that are huge who we’ll lean on next season. There are also holes to be filled. There might have to be hard conversations with players who might not fit what we’re looking for. We want to have good kids who want to be here.”

Leone said he’s a relationship-based coach.

“If you can ask anyone that’s ever played for me, it starts with the relationship,” he said. “You have to care for players. Today’s players are different than when I grew up. If we can develop a relationship with a player, the sky is the limit. Of course, there will be standards set, too – there’s a certain way we’ll practice and play, and that’s non-negotiable. Communication is the key to developing good habits.”

Leone said he’s not sure he always knew he wanted to coach.

“I wasn’t the greatest player,” he laughed. “For example, when I played in Toledo, Lalonde told me I’d be in and out of the lineup but I’d be on a winning team. I was a healthy scratch for 10 games in a row – winning mattered to me.”

Leone said he has a few assistant coaches in mind, but he didn’t delve into names.

“I have to hire the best people available,” he said. “I like to delegate duties and surround myself with people I trust.”

Leone said one area he doesn’t know much about is goaltending.

“I will for sure hire a goalie coach – I don’t speak goalie,” he laughed. “I just want someone to deal with the goalie. It’s important if they have a tough night, someone is there to talk with them. I just know when they stop the puck.”

The Gamblers recently ended their season in last place in the Eastern Conference and missed the playoffs.

They parted ways with Pat Mikesch, who was the head coach/general manager for eight seasons, after the final game April 24.

Facebook Comments
TagsDerek LalondeGreen Bay GamblersJon CooperMike LeoneRich PalzewicThe Press-TimesUnited States Hockey League
Previous Article

Green Bay Southwest girls’ soccer battles Pulaski ...

Next Article

Strickland brings wealth of experience to De ...

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • News

  • Sports

  • Four members of the GBMFD call it a career

    By The Press
    August 18, 2022
  • Main Street mural paints a picture of early Seymour

    By The Press
    August 18, 2022
  • Shipyard development shifts course of riverfront from work to play

    By Nick Wood
    August 18, 2022
  • Kirst, running game to pace Jaguars

    By Greg Bates
    August 17, 2022
  • Hornets hoping to rebound from a 2-7 campaign last season

    By Rich Palzewic
    August 17, 2022
  • Ready to defend the FRCC crown
    Under a new coach, the Redbirds return a solid nucleus ...

    By Greg Bates
    August 17, 2022

About Us


The Press Times is published every Friday by Multi Media Channels, and is Green Bay's number one newspaper covering local news and local sports. The paper is locally owned and operated and written. Subscriptions are $49.00 annually. Delivered via US Postal Service. To subscribe go to https://www.shopmmclocal.com/product/the-press-newspaper/ or call 715–2 58–4360

Copyright © 2019 Multi Media Channels LLC.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted without the prior written consent of Multi Media Channels LLC.
×