Troy Gamble

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Troy Gamble
Born (1967-04-07) April 7, 1967 (age 57)
New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Vancouver Canucks
NHL draft 25th overall, 1985
Vancouver Canucks
Playing career 1986–1996

Troy Duncan Gamble (born April 7, 1967) is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender. He played 72 games for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1987 until 1992, as well as several teams in the minor league American Hockey League and International Hockey League until 1996. He was selected by the Canucks in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft while playing junior for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League.

Career[edit]

After winning the WHL Top Goaltender Award in the Western Hockey League for 1984-85 and being named a WHL All-Star First Team after leading the WHL in shutouts and GAA (2.86)[1] while playing for the Medicine Hat Tigers,[2] Gamble was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the second round, 25th overall, in the 1985 draft.[3] Gamble would play another junior season for Medicine Hat before being traded mid year to the Spokane Chiefs during the 86–87 season.[1] He would also make his NHL debut for Vancouver on November 22, 1986,[3] a 5–2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Vancouver returned him to juniors for the 87–88 season to allow him more playing time and to gain more experience before beginning his NHL career.[1] At 19 years, 229 days at the time of his debut, Gamble was the youngest goaltender in franchise history.[4]

In the summer of 1988, the Canucks sent the 21-year-old Gamble and Jack McIlhargey to Russia to support a relationship that would later result in Soviet stars Igor Larionov and Vladimir Krutov joining the Canucks. Gamble endured rigorous off-season training with Dynamo Moscow for two weeks and another two weeks with Spartak.[5]

Gamble's NHL career began well, as in his rookie season of 1990-91 he would post a 16-16-6 record and a 3.45 GAA, while appearing in 47 games,[1] outplaying incumbent starter Kirk McLean, who posted a 10-22-3 record with a 3.99 GAA. Gamble would even start in the post-season for the Canucks playing a memorable Smythe Division semifinals match-up against the Los Angeles Kings. However, due to reoccurring concussion problems Gamble's career was derailed by PCS symptoms including nausea and recurring headaches.[6]

Gamble spent the majority of his career in the minors. He played for 5 teams after his 1991 success and retired following the 1995–96 season as a member of the Houston Aeros. After his retirement from hockey he did color commentary for select Aeros games on their radio and internet broadcasts.[7]

Gamble later took a manager's job with M-I SWACO, a Texas-based company specializing in global oil and gas production. The work took him on trips through the Middle East, including three years' residence in Libya.[5]

Family tragedy[edit]

On March 11, 2010, it was reported that Troy's son Garrett Gamble was killed in Afghanistan while serving as a member of the United States Marine Corps. After attending Stephen F. Austin High in Sugar Land, Texas, Gamble joined the Marine Corps and a family friend stated that “This was something he wanted to do, even before he got out of high school,” and that “He was anxious to go.” In October 2009 Gamble was sent to Afghanistan as a SAW gunner near the front lines. Gamble, 20, was killed after stepping on a land mine device while on patrol in Helmand province, Afghanistan.[8]

Career statistics[edit]

Regular season and playoffs[edit]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1983–84 Hobbema Hawks AJHL 22 6 19 1 1102 90 0 4.90 — — — — — — — — —
1984–85 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 37 27 6 2 2095 100 3 2.86 — 2 1 1 120 9 0 4.50 —
1985–86 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 45 28 11 0 2264 142 0 3.76 — 11 5 4 530 31 0 3.51 —
1986–87 Vancouver Canucks NHL 1 0 1 0 60 4 0 4.03 .818 — — — — — — — —
1986–87 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 11 7 3 0 646 46 0 4.27 — — — — — — — — —
1986–87 Spokane Chiefs WHL 38 17 17 1 2155 163 0 4.54 .862 5 0 5 298 35 0 7.05 —
1987–88 Spokane Chiefs WHL 67 36 26 1 3824 235 0 3.69 — 15 7 8 875 56 1 3.84 —
1988–89 Vancouver Canucks NHL 5 2 3 0 302 138 0 2.38 .913 — — — — — — — —
1988–89 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 42 23 9 0 2198 138 0 3.77 .875 11 5 5 640 35 0 3.28 —
1989–90 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 56 22 21 4 2779 160 2 4.21 — 5 2 2 216 19 0 5.28 —
1990–91 Vancouver Canucks NHL 47 16 16 6 2433 140 1 3.45 .879 4 1 3 249 16 0 3.85 .880
1991–92 Vancouver Canucks NHL 19 4 9 3 1009 73 0 4.34 .859 — — — — — — — —
1991–92 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 9 2 4 2 521 31 0 3.57 — — — — — — — — —
1992–93 Hamilton Canucks AHL 14 1 10 2 769 62 0 4.84 .846 — — — — — — — —
1992–93 Cincinnati Cyclones IHL 33 11 18 2 1762 134 0 4.56 .872 — — — — — — — —
1993–94 Kalamazoo Wings IHL 48 25 13 5 2607 146 2 3.36 .899 2 0 1 80 7 0 5.25 .851
1994–95 Houston Aeros IHL 43 18 17 5 2421 132 1 3.27 .900 4 1 3 203 16 0 4.72 .867
1995–96 Houston Aeros IHL 52 16 25 5 2722 174 0 3.83 .884 — — — — — — — —
NHL totals 72 22 29 9 3804 229 1 3.61 .875 4 1 3 249 16 0 3.85 .880

Awards[edit]

  • WHL East First All-Star Team – 1985
  • WHL West First All-Star Team – 1988

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Troy C. Gamble's profile". Legends of Hockey.com. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
  2. ^ "Vancouver Canucks Goaltending History–Troy Gamble". Goalies Archive.com. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Troy C. Gamble". Hockey Goalies.org. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
  4. ^ @PR_NHL (February 12, 2019). "Michael DiPietro (19 years, 247 days) is the second-youngest goalie in @Canucks franchise history, less than 3 weeks older than Troy Gamble (19 years, 229 days) was at the time of his first NHL start on Nov. 22, 1986. #NHLStats" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ a b Pinchevsky, Tal (6 April 2014). "Trip by two Canucks lifted curtain to Russia". Sunday Long Read. NHL. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  6. ^ "When Random NHL Goalies Get Large - From Craig Anderson to Troy Gamble". The Province.com. Archived from the original on 2009-10-20. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
  7. ^ "Aeros Announce Radio Partner KSEV AM 700". Aeros.com. Archived from the original on 2010-09-17. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
  8. ^ Paige Hewitt (14 March 2010). "Obituary - Marine seemed headed for greatness". Houston Chronicle.com. Retrieved March 16, 2010.

External links[edit]

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