Members of the 2005 and 2004 Jr Gamblers represented the state of Wisconsin in this season's Minnesota Bantam Elite League.  The team coached by Brian Rafalski went 12-3 over the four week season.  Coach Rafalski's team won 7 straight games over the last two weekends including the final three games to capture the tournament championship. This marked the first time a non-Minnesota team has won the MN Bantam Elite League tournament!  04 Jr Gambler Quinn Finley was named the league MVP. 

Congratulations to Jr Gambler alums Spencer Kring ('01), Brayden Stannard ('02), Simon Ellingson ('01) and Dayne Hoyord ('02) for being selected in the June 4th NAHL draft.  Best of luck boys!

The Jr Gamblers would like to announce the addition of Rob and Jenny Potter to the organization's list of coaches for the 2019-2020 season.  Both Rob and Jenny will be working with a number of Jr Gambler age groups this coming season.

Coach Rob Potter brings a strong 40 years of gift, talent and expertise in hockey as player, coach, mentor and trainer to the Jr. Gamblers coaching staff.  As a player Rob helped lead the University of Minnesota to WCHA championships in '88 & '89 including a Frozen Four and National Championship runner-up finish in '89.    As a coach, Potter trained and mentored alongside legendary Coach Herb Brooks.  His coaching experience includes MN High School, NCAA (Minnesota-Duluth), NHL (San Jose Sharks) and IIHL levels  (Team USA , Team Solvakia & Team Iceland). 

Coach Jenny Potter brings 26 years of hockey experience to the Jr. Gamblers organization as a player, coach/consultant and administrator.  As a player, Potter remains one of the most highly decorated ice hockey players in US history.  As a member of Team USA, Coach Potter earned a gold medal in the 1998 Olympic Games, silver medals in 2002 and 2010, and a bronze medal in 2006.  As a coach/consultant, Potter has completed successful head coaching tenures in the MSHSL (MN high school), NCAA (Trinity College and The Ohio State University) and IIHF (USA Hockey/USNDP Program/Team USA, The Slovakian Ice Hockey Federation/Team Slovakia and Ice Hockey Iceland/Team Iceland).  Giving back to the game she loves so much continues to be a focus for Potter; training and developing future champions at the youth, NCAA, IIHF/Olympians and NHL level, and as a director for USA Hockey.  

Further information regarding Rob and Jenny Potters background can be found here. 

Congratulations to Brayden Stannard ('02) who was selected in the USHL Phase II draft by the Green Bay Gamblers!   Phase II of the draft is for all junior hockey eligible age players who are not currently protected by a USHL team.  Complete coverage of the Phase II draft can be found here.  Best of Luck Brayden!  

Congratulations to Jr Gambler Alum Trey Zagrzebski ('03) for being drafted in Phase 1 of the USHL Draft.  Phase one of the draft is exclusively for 2003 birth year players.  Phase II of the draft is for all junior hockey eligible age players who are not currently protected by a USHL team.  Further information including the Phase I and Phase II selections can be found here.

Congratulation to '03 Jr Gambler alum Trey Zagrzebski for being selected by the Barrie Colts in this years Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Draft.  The OHL is the premier major junior hockey league in Canada.  Trey played his Pee Wee Major and Bantam Minor years in the Jr Gambler program.  Details of the Barrie Colts selections can be found here.

Congratulations to Brayden Stannard ('02) for his recent commitment to the University of Nebraska - Omaha.  Details of Brayden's commitment can be found here.   Brayden is now the fourth Jr Gambler 2002 birth year player to commit to a NCAA division 1 program.  Great job Brayden and keep up the hard work!    

The 06 Pee Wee Majors have received an invite to the Pee Wee Quebec International Tournament.  This world class event is in it's 60th year of existence and brings teams from around the world to Quebec City from Feb. 13-24th.  Tournament organizers have noted that this year's Jr Gambler team is the first team from Wisconsin to participate in the tournament .  Information on the tournament, including a list of the tournaments prestigious participants and past champions, can be found here.   For those interested in helping support the fundraising efforts of the 06 team, further information regarding sponsorship and donation opportunities can be found by clicking here.   Congratulations and good luck PW Majors!

Congratulations to the 05 Bantam Minors who finished 5-0 last weekend at the STX Showcase at the University of Notre Dame.   The Jr Gamblers started the weekend with a 5-2 win Friday morning over the St. Louis Jr Blues followed by a 3-2 win over Carshield that evening.   On Saturday they kept their momentum going first with a 6-1 win over the Rocky Mountain Roughriders and then  a 3-0 shutout of the Colorado Thunderbirds.   In their finale on Sunday  the Jr Gamblers  completed the sweep with an 8-3  win over the Providence Hockey Club.   Congrats boys!

Mason Appleton ('96) is on his way to Winnipeg.  The 2015 sixth round draft pick of the Winnipeg Jets is in his second year of professional hockey after two years in East Lansing as a member of the Michigan State Spartans.  Since leaving State after his sophomore season, Mason has also proven himself to be a standout for Winnipeg's AHL affiliate the Manitoba Moose as well.  Last season Mason led the Moose in total points and won the AHL Red Garrett Memorial Award as the league Rookie of the Year.  This season he once again leads Manitoba in total points prior to today's NHL call up.   Mason played four years of youth AAA hockey in the Northeast Wisconsin Hockey Association and he joins Jr Gambler alums Max McCormick (Ottawa) and Anders Bjork (Boston) in the NHL this season. 

Congratulations to the 06 Pee Wee Majors who won the 2018 Bauer MoTown Classic this weekend in Detroit, MI.  The Jr Gamblers began their weekend with a 4-3 win over Thunder Bay Friday morning followed by a close 3-2 loss to Victory Honda that evening.  Saturday morning the Jr G's closed out pool play with a solid 5-3 win over Belle Tire.  Their 2-1 pool play record earned them the 4 seed in the single elimination bracket play and a match up versus the 5 seed Dallas Stars.  Their 1-0 victory over Dallas Saturday night earned the Jr G's a semifinal matchup Sunday morning against the Oakland Jr Grizzlies who upset the Barrie Colts 3-1 in their Semifinal matchup.  When the dust settled Sunday morning the Jr G's had prevailed 2-1 in a shootout.  Sunday afternoon's championship game was the opportunity the Jr Gamblers were looking for...a rematch with the 2 seed Victory Honda.  The Jr G's would not be denied and raised the Bauer MoTown Classic victory belt with a 5-3 win.  Congratulation boys on a great weekend!    

'98 Jr Gambler David Fessenden has committed to the University of Alabama-Huntsville for the 2019-2020 season.  The 6'6 goalie has spent the last three seasons in the NAHL with the Bismark Bobcats and the Northeast Generals.  More details of his commitment can be found here.  Best of Luck David!

Congratulations to Jr Gambler alum Brendan Poshak ('02) on his D1 commitment to Northern Michigan University.   Brendan was a 5yr Jr Gambler playing his Squirt through Bantam Minor years.  Great work Brendan and best of luck with the Wildcats!

2002 Danny Laatsch has been selected as one of twenty-one players who will suit up this coming season for USA Hockey's National Development U17 team.  The USNTDP-17 plays along with the USNTDP-18 team in the USHL. In addition to the opportunity to play in the USHL, Laatsch and his teammates will also be competing in the World Under 17 Hockey Challenge, Four Nations Tournament and the 2019 Five Nations tournament.   Congratulations Danny!

Further information can be found here.  

Congratulations to former Jr Gamblers Casey Roepke (Erin, WI), Cade Lemmer (Wausau, WI) and Brendan Poshak (Green Bay, WI) for being selected in tonight’s Phase I of the USHL draft!  

Congratulations to former Jr Gamblers Danny Laatsch ('02), Cade Lemmer ('02) and Carson Bantle ('02) who were selected during the April 7th OHL Priority Selection.  A full listing of the draft can be found here.  

Click here to access the digital copy of USA Hockey Magazine that features former Jr Gambler Chris Nell.  Chris is featured as a rising star goalie for the NY Rangers.  Keep up the good work Chris!

Former 2002 birth year Jr Gambler Danny Laatsch has committed to Coach Tony Granato and the University of Wisconsin.  Details of Danny's commitment can be found here.  Best of luck Danny!

Former Jr Gambler Casey Roepke ('02) has verbally committed to the University of Wisconsin.  Details  of Casey's commitment can be found here.  Congratulations Casey!

Cody Chupp has been named the new head coach for the USHL Lincoln Stars.  The Jr Gambler organization is greatly thankful for the two years coach Chupp served as our hockey director and wish him and his wife Hailey and son Hudson the best of luck in Lincoln.  The official press release can be found here.

The Winnipeg Jets announced this morning the signing of Jr Gambler alum Mason Appleton to a 3 year entry level NHL contract.  Mason played four years in the Jr Gambler program beginning as a Squirt.   In Mason's two years at Michigan State he registered 53 points (17 goals, 36 assists) in  72 career games.  As a freshman in 2015-2016, Mason earned the Spartans' Outstanding Rookie award with 22 points including a team high 17 assists.  Last season as a sophomore, he lead the Spartans in goals, assists and points earning the Most Outstanding Offensive Player and MVP awards.  

More details on Mason's signing can be found here.   Congratulations Mason!  

Michael Karow ('98) was selected by the Arizona Coyotes in the 5th round of the 2017 NHL Draft.  His first interview with the Arizona media can be seen here.  Michael was a Jr Gambler from Squirt Majors through Bantam Majors.  Congratulations Michael!

Congratulations to Anders Bjork who has decided to forgo his senior season at the University of Notre Dame and instead has signed a 3yr entry level contract with the Boston Bruins.  The Boston Herald press release can be found here.  

We would like to welcome 3 time Stanley Cup champion, 3 time Olympian and 2014 United States Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Brian Rafalski and his family  to the Jr Gambler organization.  Prior to joining the Jr Gamblers, Brian coached AAA youth hockey the last four seasons for the Florida Alliance were his teams finished first nationally for the 2013 and 2014 seasons and 3rd nationally for the 2015 and 2016 seasons.  Brian joins Nate Bolton and Sean Fromolz as coaches of the 04 Bantam Minor team.  

Please click here and use sale code: GAMBLERS19 to order equipment available through the Goal Line on-line store and receive your Jr Gambler discount  Orders are placed on the 15th of each month.  For questions regarding equipment call Jordan Schmidt @ 715-355-1790.

Congratulations to the Jr Gamblers and alums who were selected for the 2019 USA Hockey National Player Development Camp in Amherst, NY.  Players were selected from the USA Hockey Central District Camp held May 10th-12th that included players from WI, IL, MO, NE, KS, IA.  

Jr Gamblers
Quinn Finley ('04)

 

Jr Gambler Alums
2002
Carson Bantle
Cade Lemmer
Brendan Poshak
Holly Gruber (U16/17 Girls)
2003
Drew Sutton
Max Toijala
2004
Turner Richards
Johnny Thrasher
Madison Anderson (U15 Girls)
Sylvia Bojarski (U15 Girls)

Congratulations to this years Jr Gamblers who were selected from the WAHA High Performance Skate Festival to attend the USA Hockey Central District Festival for their birth year!  

2002 - Holly Gruber

2003 - Davis Hackbarth
2003 - Maksim Lakic

2004 - Braydon Beahm
2004 - Quinn Finley
2004 - Evan Hunter
2004 - Colton Jamieson
2004 - Matthew Rafalski
2004 - Kade Smigaj
2004 - Johnny Thrasher
2004 - Ian Engel

2005 - Noah Brunke
2005 - Alexander Carrillo
2005 - Brenden Gruber
2005 - Michael McIntee
2005 - Hayden Rising
2005 - Avery Starzecki 
2005 - Talan Blanck
2005 - Nicholas Voss
 

Congratulations to this years Jr Gamblers who were selected to attend their birth year's Michigan District Festival! 

2002-Cooper Anderson

2004-Jackson Rilei

2005-Beau Kralovec

(Click the image for details on all our sponsors who made this trip possible)

• AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you are already using (same selection, same value, same price) just a different link is used so they can make their charitable donation to us.  
• The Amazon Foundation donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchase directly to our organization.
• Click on the picture to the left to be connected to our organization or go to smile.amazon.com and search for Northeast Wisconsin Hockey Assn Inc.   

The N.E.W. Jr Gambler model:

• Weekly on ice and off ice skill sessions offered
• High intensity weekend team training camps 
  • multiple on ice sessions 
  • dryland sessions 
  • classroom sessions
  • team building activities
• Higher practice to game ratio for greater skill development

The NorthEast Wisconsin Hockey Association is pleased to announced Brian Rafalski has been named the organization's Director of Player Development.      

Thank you to all our volunteers, sponsors, golfers, those who donated outstanding raffle items and the staff at Mid Vallee for your role in a great event this year!

Stop in the Buffalo Wild Wings on Onieda Street and show them this Home Team Advantage card.  10% of your food bill will be donated back to the organization and the end of the season.  

What sets the Jr. Gamblers apart from other hockey associations?  Please click on the following brochure to find out.

SafeSport Handbook