Duluth, Georgia, is home to the Atlanta metro area's professional hockey team. The Atlanta Gladiators are in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference, where they face stiff competition from the likes of the Florida Everblades, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, the Jacksonville Icemen, the Norfolk Admirals, the Orlando Solar Bears and the South Carolina Stingrays. The Gladiators play out of the Infinite Energy Arena, which opened in 2003 and currently seats 13,100. Their coach and general manager is Jeff Pyle, who previously had success coaching the Gladiators from 2003 to 2011.

Atlanta Gladiators History

The Atlanta Gladiators continue a long tradition of hockey excellence in the metro Atlanta area. Two National Hockey League franchises have played in downtown Atlanta: the Flames (who played at the Omni from 1972 to 1980 before moving to Calgary), and the Thrashers (who played at what is now known as State Farm Arena from 1999 to 2011 before becoming the Winnipeg Jets). The Atlanta Knights of the International Hockey League lasted only from 1992 to 1996, but in that brief time they won the 1994 Turner Cup, and employed John Paris Jr. as the first black head coach in professional ice hockey, as well as goaltender Manon Rhéaume, the first woman to play a regular season game in men's professional ice hockey.

The Atlanta Gladiators first took to the ice in 1995 as the Mobile Mysticks, where they remained before taking a hiatus for the 2002-03 season and moving to Gwinnett County, Ga., the following year. The Gladiators have a shared history with the Atlanta Thrashers, as the Thrashers' ECHL affiliate off and on from 2003 to 2011, when they were known as the Gwinnett Gladiators. The Gladiators rebranded in 2015 as the Atlanta Gladiators, and became affiliated with the NHL's Boston Bruins and the AHL's Providence Bruins, a partnership which continues to this day.