The Green Bay Gamblers didn’t have to look very long or far for their next head coach after DerekLalonde left to take the Toledo job in the East
Pat Mikesch
Coast Hockey League last week.
After serving three seasons as associate head coach and director of player personnel under Derek Lalonde, Pat Mikesch has been named the new head coach of the Gamblers.
Mikesch spent the last ten years developing as an assistant, the last three in Green Bay and the previous seven as an assistant at his alma mater, Michigan Tech of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. On the international level, Mikesch led the United States U-17 team to three straight gold medals at the Five Nations Cup (2011, 2012 & 2013). In Mikesch’s three years behind the bench at the Five Nations Cup, the U.S. team was a perfect 15-0.
At Michigan Tech, Mikesch was a four-year member of the Huskies hockey team. He helped them to three WCHA Final Fives in four years. Mikesch is one of the most decorated players to ever adorn the Huskies jersey, as he ranks 7th all-time in scoring with 169 points (57 goals and 112 assists). After his collegiate career, Mikesch played eight years of professional hockey in the AHL, IHL, ECHL and Germany.
Mikesch played two seasons in the USHL with the Des Moines Buccaneers (1990-92), where he was a teammate of former Gamblers head coach Eric Rud on the 1992 squad that captured the Clark Cup.
Following is a portion of Pat Mikesch’s press conference on Thursday at the Resch Center in Green Bay.