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Atlanta Gladiators

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Atlanta Gladiators
CityDuluth, Georgia
LeagueECHL
ConferenceEastern
DivisionSouth
Founded1995
Home arenaGas South Arena
ColorsNavy blue, gold, light blue
     
Owner(s)ATL Hockey Group, LLC
Alex Campbell (majority) and Anson Carter (minority)[1]
General managerJeff Pyle
Head coachDerek Nesbitt
MediaECHL.TV (Internet)
680 The Fan
AffiliatesNashville Predators (NHL)
Milwaukee Admirals (AHL)
Websiteatlantagladiators.com
Franchise history
1995–2002Mobile Mysticks
2003–2015Gwinnett Gladiators
2015–presentAtlanta Gladiators
Championships
Division titles3 (2005–06, 2011–12, 2012–13)
Conference titles1 (2005–06)
Current season

The Atlanta 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. They play their home games at Gas South Arena, approximately 22 miles (35 km) northeast of Atlanta.

The franchise originated as the Mobile Mysticks in 1995. They suspended operations in 2002 and moved to Duluth in 2003 where they were originally known as the Gwinnett Gladiators. In 2015, they changed their name to the Atlanta Gladiators.[2] They were the South Division and American Conference champions in 2006, falling four-games-to-one to the Alaska Aces in the Kelly Cup finals.

History

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Birth of the Gladiators

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The franchise originated as the Mobile Mysticks who played in Mobile, Alabama, from 1995 to 2002. It suspended operations in 2002 due to declining attendance. After a year off, Toby Jeffreys, the owner of the Mysticks, relocated his franchise to Gwinnett County, Georgia, in 2003 and was rebranded the Gwinnett Gladiators. He then sold minority stakes of the franchise to local business owners to create Gwinnett County Hockey, LLC.[3] Jeff Pyle—who served as the Mysticks' head coach starting in 1998—returned to the franchise for their first season.

The Gladiators made an appearance in the 2006 Kelly Cup Finals, losing to the Alaska Aces in five games.

On July 13, 2011, Pyle was named head coach of the American Hockey League's Texas Stars.[4] The Gladiators announced on August 3, 2011, that John Wroblewski, former assistant coach for the Wheeling Nailers, had been selected to take Pyle's place as the team's head coach. The Gladiators won the ECHL South Division in the two years of Wrobelski's tenure.[5]

On August 7, 2013, Wroblewski was hired by the AHL's Rochester Americans as an assistant coach. Rick Emmett, a former defenseman for the Gladiators, took over as head coach.[6]

Emmett was relieved of his duties as head coach on December 2, 2014. At the time, assistant coach, and former Gladiator captain, Andy Brandt was named the interim head coach.[7] Brandt would remain the interim head coach through the remainder of the 2014–15 season before being named to head coach on March 21, 2015.[8] Former Valpellice Bulldogs head coach Mike Flanagan also joined the coaching staff in December 2014, serving as the team's assistant coach.[9]

Rebranding as Atlanta Gladiators

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Following the 2014–15 season, the Gladiators became the affiliate of the Boston Bruins and their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins.[10] On September 9, 2015, the Gladiators organization announced that they would be known as the Atlanta Gladiators to expand their brand to include the entire Atlanta metropolitan area.[11] As part of the name change, the Gladiators updated their “primary” and “wordmark” logos to reflect the Atlanta designation. The rest of the Gladiators logos remained the same, as did the team colors.[12]

After two seasons as head coach, Andy Brandt left to take the associate coaching position with St. Norbert College in 2017. The Gladiators would then hire two-time Kelly Cup winning coach Chuck Weber as his replacement.[13]

During the 2017–18 season, the franchise was purchased by Virginia-based ownership group called Danor Vienna LLC, headed by real estate developer P. Daniel Orlich.[14] Head coach Weber left after one season to take an assistant coaching position with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) NCAA Div. I men's team in order to be closer to home.[15] Jeff Pyle was then brought back as head coach and general manager after leaving for the AHL in 2011.[16][17]

In 2019, the Gladiators updated their primary colors from garnet and black to navy blue and gold.[18]

On October 1, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Gladiators enacted the ECHL's COVID-19 voluntary suspension policy and opted out of playing in the 2020–21 season.[19][20] The team announced they would return to play in the 2021–22 season.

Prior to the start of the 2022–23 season on October 19, 2022, ownership of the team was transferred to ATL Hockey Group, LLC, led by businessman Alex Campbell with former NHL player and NHL on TNT commentator Anson Carter holding a minority stake.[1] On November 7, 2022, the Gladiators unveiled plans to take on the identity of the former Atlanta Thrashers for a single game on December 16 against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits.[21]

On June 6, 2023, the Gladiators announced former team captain Derek Nesbitt as the sixth head coach in team history. Jeff Pyle, who had served as the team's head coach for the previous four seasons, was promoted to Director of Hockey Operations for the club.[22]

Affiliations

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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 ended their affiliation with the franchise. 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.[23][24]

On August 17, 2011, the Gladiators announced their affiliation with the Phoenix Coyotes and the Portland Pirates for the 2011–12 season.[25] They later announced an affiliation agreement with the Buffalo Sabres, and their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.[26] That affiliation lapsed at the end of the 2011–12 season, leaving the Gladiators affiliated exclusively with Phoenix for the 2012–13 season.[27] The Gladiators would carry that affiliation through the end of the 2014–15 season.

On August 6, 2015, the Gladiators announced a two-year affiliation deal with the Boston Bruins and their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins.[10] In February 2017, the Gladiators and Bruins extended their affiliation for another two seasons[28] and then added fifth season for 2019–20.[29] In 2021, the Bruins switched their ECHL affiliation to the Maine Mariners and the Gladiators affiliated with the Ottawa Senators.[30]

On August 25, 2022, the Gladiators became the ECHL affiliate for the Arizona Coyotes for the second time.[31]

On June 6, 2023, the Gladiators became the ECHL affiliate for the NHL's Nashville Predators and AHL's Milwaukee Admirals.[32]

Season-by-season record

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Regular season Playoffs
Season GP W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA Standing Year Wild Card Round
Conf. 1st round (2006–08)§		 1st round
Conf. Quarterfinals		 2nd round
Conf. Semifinals		 3rd round
Conf. Finals		 Kelly Cup
2003–04 72 42 22 0 8 92 248 193 3rd, Central 2004 No WC game in Western Conf. W, 3–2, MIS W, 3–1, LOU L, 1–3, IDA —
2004–05 72 40 24 1 7 88 241 202 3rd, South 2005 — W, 3–1, MIS L, 1–3, CHR — —
2005–06 72 50 15 0 7 107 304 208 1st, South 2006 BYE W, 3–0, SC W, 3–1, FLA W, 4–1, TOL L, 1–4, AK
2006–07 72 41 24 5 2 89 289 256 3rd, South 2007 BYE L, 1–3, TX — — —
2007–08 72 44 23 2 3 93 247 198 3rd, South 2008 W, 3–0, CHR L, 2–3, SC — — —
2008–09 72 31 35 1 5 68 214 246 4th, South 2009 — L, 1–4, FLA — — —
2009–10 72 31 33 5 3 70 243 277 4th, South 2010 — Did not qualify
2010–11 72 30 34 3 5 68 203 250 4th, South 2011 — Did not qualify
2011–12 72 41 20 7 4 93 214 200 1st, South 2012 — L, 1–3, SC — — —
2012–13 72 43 26 2 1 89 211 191 1st, South 2013 — W, 4–0, SC L, 2–4, CIN — —
2013–14 72 29 38 3 2 63 203 227 5th, South 2014 — Did not qualify
2014–15 72 20 45 3 4 47 174 263 7th, East 2015 — Did not qualify
2015–16 72 34 31 5 2 75 189 224 4th, South 2016 — Did not qualify
2016–17 72 27 37 6 2 62 234 278 6th, South 2017 — Did not qualify
2017–18 72 32 35 2 3 69 205 229 4th, South 2018 — L, 0–4, FLA — — —
2018–19 72 31 30 8 3 73 197 211 5th, South 2019 — Did not qualify
2019–20 61 29 28 2 2 62 200 230 4th, South 2020 — Season cancelled
2020–21 Opted out of participating due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 did not participate
2021–22 72 43 24 4 1 91 220 198 2nd, South 2022 — L, 0–4, JAX — — —
2022–23 72 35 30 6 1 91 226 240 6th, South 2023 — Did not qualify
2023–24 72 23 45 3 1 50 187 264 7th, South 2024 — Did not qualify

Players

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Notable players

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References

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  1. ^ a b "BOARD OF GOVERNORS APPROVES TRANSFER OF CONTROLLING INTEREST IN ATLANTA" (Press release). ECHL. October 19, 2022.
  2. ^ "Glads Become ATL Gladiators". AtlantaGladiators.com. Atlanta Gladiators. September 9, 2015. Archived from the original on September 14, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  3. ^ "Local Businessmen Join Gladiators Ownership Group". OurSportsCentral.com. May 16, 2003.
  4. ^ Press release (July 13, 2011). "Gwinnett's Pyle named head coach of AHL's Texas Stars". ECHL. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  5. ^ Press release (August 3, 2011). "Wroblewski named Gladiators head coach". ECHL. Archived from the original on March 29, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  6. ^ "Emmett Named Head Coach". Gwinnett Gladiators. August 7, 2013. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  7. ^ "Official Website - Gwinnett Gladiators". www.atlantagladiators.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  8. ^ "Official Website - Gwinnett Gladiators". www.atlantagladiators.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  9. ^ "Official Website - Gwinnett Gladiators". www.atlantagladiators.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  10. ^ a b "Bruins and Gwinnett Gladiators Enter into ECHL Affiliation Relationship". Boston Bruins. August 6, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  11. ^ "Official Website - Atlanta Gladiators". www.atlantagladiators.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-14. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  12. ^ "Gwinnett Gladiators history, Atlanta Gladiators history". www.georgiahockeymuseum.com. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  13. ^ "Atlanta Gladiators name Chuck Weber head coach". axs.com. August 25, 2017.
  14. ^ "Atlanta Gladiators sold to Virginia-based businessman". Gwinnett Daily Post. March 20, 2018.
  15. ^ "Atlanta Gladiators in search of new head coach after Chuck Weber resignation". Gwinnett Daily Post. June 5, 2018.
  16. ^ "Atlanta Gladiators bring back winningest coach in franchise history". Gwinnett Daily Post. July 6, 2018.
  17. ^ "Gladiators Name Jeff Pyle as Head Coach". OurSportsCentral.com. July 13, 2018.
  18. ^ "The New Look Atlanta Gladiators". OurSports Central. August 6, 2019.
  19. ^ "Glad enact COVID voluntary suspension of season". October 1, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  20. ^ "ECHL confirms start date for 2020-21 season". ECHL. October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  21. ^ Ellis, Stephen (November 7, 2022). "ECHL's Atlanta Gladiators to use Thrashers name, jersey in game". Daily Faceoff. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  22. ^ "Nesbitt Takes Over as Atlanta Head Coach". echl.com. June 6, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  23. ^ Michael Wagner (December 28, 2008). "Chicago Blackhawks Name Gwinnett Gladiators Their New ECHL Affiliate". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
  24. ^ Bart Logan (August 25, 2009). "Blue Jackets & Gladiators Become ECHL affiliates". firethecannon.com. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
  25. ^ Press release (August 17, 2011). "Glads sign affiliation agreement with Phoenix". Gwinnett Gladiators. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
  26. ^ Press Release (September 20, 2011). "Second Affiliate Added". Gwinnett Gladiators. Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  27. ^ Press release (August 7, 2012). "Glads back with Phoenix". Gwinnett Gladiators. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  28. ^ "Gladiators Extend Affiliation Agreement with Boston Bruins". Atlanta Gladiators. February 15, 2017. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  29. ^ "Gladiators Re-Up with Eastern Conference Champs". OurSports Central. August 15, 2019.
  30. ^ "GLADIATORS ANNOUNCE AFFILIATION WITH OTTAWA SENATORS". ECHL. August 9, 2021.
  31. ^ "Coyotes Announce New ECHL Affiliation Agreement with Atlanta Gladiators". NHL.com. August 25, 2022.
  32. ^ "Predators Enter Affiliation Agreement with ECHL's Atlanta Gladiators". nhl.com. June 6, 2023.
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