Northeast Wisconsin Jr. Gamblers AAA Hockey

Jon Cooper is also the Head Coach and General Manager of the USHL Green Bay Gamblers.

Jon came to the  Gamblers after spending the previous 5 years as the GM/Head Coach of the St. Louis Bandits Junior A team of the North American Hockey League. He led the Bandits to two straight NAHL Robertson Cup championships in 2007 and 2008. In the process, Cooper was named NAHL Coach of the Year in 2005-06 and 2007-08. In five seasons with the Bandits, he compiled a combined regular season and playoff record of 223-93-17.

In August of 2008, Cooper was the assistant coach for the USA U-18 team that competed in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament in Slovakia and Czech Republic. Meanwhile, in August of 2007, Cooper was head coach of the USA U-17 hockey team and led them to the silver medal at the 5 Nations Tournament in the Czech Republic. He was also named one of five finalists for the 2007 United States Olympic Committee’s Development Coach of the Year. In the summer of 2006, Cooper was assistant coach on the United States National Inline team that captured the gold medal in the IIHF World Championship held in Budapest, Hungary.

Prior to joining the Bandits, Cooper was the head coach of the Honeybaked Midget AAA team in Oak Park, MI. His squad, ranked #1 in the country by U.S. Hockey News, finished the season 67-7-1 and had more wins than any other midget team in the U.S. In 2001-02, Cooper was head coach the Metro Jets (Waterford, MI) whom he guided to a USA Hockey Junior B National Championship.  Cooper was also named the Lansing State Journal coach of the year in 1999-00 after guiding Lansing Catholic Centrl High School to their first regional hockey championship in 25 years.

Cooper, a dual citizen (USA and Canada), was born in Prince George, British Columbia and played hockey for the Notre Dame Hounds in Wilcox, Saskatchewan. He later moved to Hofstra University in New York where he earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration while competing in both hockey and lacrosse. He obtained his law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, MI. In 2003, Cooper closed his law practice in Plymouth, Michigan to make his move to the NAHL.

Jon and his wife, Jessie, are the proud parents of twin baby girls Julia and Josephine born in May, 2008 . The Cooper family resides in De Pere.

Jon Rogger is a St. Louis native and attended Parkway South High School where he played on its varsity team and also for the St. Louis Jr. Blues. After two years with the Jr. Blues, he went on to play Junior ‘A’ hockey in the NAHL for the Danville Wings in Danville, Illinois. Rogger then received a Division I scholarship to play four years of college hockey for the Ferris State University Bulldogs of the CCHA.

After Ferris State, Rogger moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan to start his coaching career as head coach of the West Michigan Warriors AAA Hockey Club. He also coached the Chesterfield Falcons Midget Minor team of the CSDHL and the Parkway Central High School hockey team. Jon has been the Assistant Coach of the USHL-Green Bay Gamblers the last two seasons where the team has captured the Anderson Cup.

Rogger has two children - a daughter, Bauer (8) and a son, Christian (12).

Brian Garlock is in his second season with the USHL-Gamblers. He was previously with the St. Louis Bandits where he worked with Jon Cooper, Jon Rogger and John Burkart.

Garlock was also the Assistant Coach for the Green Bay Junior Gamblers last season under Head Coach Mike Buchan. Garlock hails from Big Rapids, Michigan where he played on the Big Rapids High School Varsity team for four years.

• Grew up in Appleton playing in the Fox Valley Youth Hockey Association
• Attended Premontre High school in Green Bay as a Junior to pursue hockey
• Played Junior A for the Madison Capitols as a senior in high school under Scott Owens (current Colorado College head coach) and Bob Suter (1980 Olympic Team)
• Selected to Team Wisconsin as a Junior and Senior
• Played 4 years of Division 1 college hockey at Yale University under US Olympic/National Team coach Tim Taylor
• Elected Captain of the Yale team as a senior in 1991
• Coached in several youth programs including New Haven, CT; Dallas, TX, Seattle, WA and Appleton, WI
• Spent the past 5 years coaching in the Jr. Gambler Organization at the Squirt and Peewee levels, most recently as the head coach of the 96 team

John grew up playing hockey from a young age in northeastern Wisconsin. He began coaching some 30+ years ago as a student coach while playing high school hockey in Marinette and has coached ever since. He has coached youth hockey at all levels mite through high school winning numerous state championships. His AAA experience includes coaching in the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League for the Wisconsin Wild at the U14 and U16 levels and most recently, coached the Green Bay Bobcats U19 team in the 2010 Tier 1 national championships.

When John isn’t at the hockey rink, is probably fishing for walleye. In 2007, John and his brother Joe won the Cabelas National Team Walleye Championship.

John, a career educator, is currently the Special Education Coordinator for Menominee County Intermediate School District.

John and his wife Lori have been married for 25 years and live in Menominee, Michigan. They have two sons, Hunter (12) and Andrew (24).

     My family consists of two sons (Zach and Jett) and one daughter (Niah). I am presently employed by Executive Air and have been General Manager for past 13 years.

    My hockey playing background consists of youth and high school hockey at De Pere; Division One hockey for Northern Arizona University; and two years with the De Pere Deacons. Prior coaching experience includes: assistant coach De Pere Varsity, head coach De Pere Mites and De Pere Squirt A’s. Also helped with the initiation program for a few years. My son Zach went through Jr. Gambler program, played for the El Paso Rhinos, and is currently at St. Norbert’s. My son Jett will be entering his third year with the Jr. Gambler program.

     I have very strong leadership skills, and great communication abilities for teaching young kids. I try to establish a positive attitude for all coaches and players, and stress strong team work tactics.

• Wisconsin Scout for USHL Central Scouting
• 15 Years as a Coach in the MidWestern Junior B Leage and the Ontario Provincial A League
• 6 Seasons as General Manager for the Orangeville Crushers Junior B Hockey Team

Matt grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and played AAA hockey with Team Illinois.   After high school graduation, he played one year of junior hockey for the Springfield Jr. Blues of the NAHL.   He then joined the Green Bay Gamblers where he played the 96'-97' season.  He was the part of the team that won the Anderson Cup and the National Championship that season.   Matt earned a full scholarship to Ferris State University in the CCHA, where he played one season.   After his Freshman year, he signed a minor league contract with the Columbus Chill of the ECHL.   Following Columbus, he had stops in Little Rock Arkansas and Jacksonville Florida before being traded to the Peoria Rivermen where they won the Kelly Cup.  He played several season with Peoria including captaining the Rivermen in his final year.

Matt and his wife Angela live in Green Bay with their son Liam and daughter Flynn.