Gary Allan "Gubbio" Gambucci (born September 22, 1946 in Hibbing, Minnesota) is an American retired ice hockey forward who played in 51 games in the National Hockey League with the Minnesota North Stars and 112 games for the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the World Hockey Association between 1971 and 1976. Internationally Gambucci played for the American national team at four World Championships.

Gary Gambucci
Born (1946-09-22) September 22, 1946 (age 78)
Hibbing, Minnesota, USA
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Center
Shot Left
Played for Minnesota North Stars
Minnesota Fighting Saints
National team  United States
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 1969–1976

Playing career

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Before turning professional, Gambucci excelled as a scorer for the United States national team at the 1969, 1970 and 1971 1971 World Championships as well as the University of Minnesota hockey team. Gambucci was signed as a free agent by the Montreal Canadiens in the spring of 1971 after scoring seven goals in ten games for Team USA at the 1971 world championships in Bern (he was also elected to the tournament all star team at the world championship "Pool B" qualifying tournament in 1970). The Canadiens immediately traded him and Bob Paradise to the North Stars for cash. However, Gambucci failed to become a regular in Minnesota and left the NHL for the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the rival World Hockey Association following the 1973–74 season. Gambucci retired from professional hockey in 1976 after playing 112 WHA regular season games for the Fighting Saints as well as representing the United States at the 1976 World Championships in Katowice, Poland.

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1965–66 University of Minnesota B1G 28 23 17 40 18
1966–67 University of Minnesota B1G 29 17 10 27 23
1967–68 University of Minnesota B1G 31 12 29 41 31
1968–69 Rochester Mustangs USHL
1968–69 American National Team Intl
1969–70 Muskegon Mohawks IHL 4 2 1 3 5
1969–70 Rochester Mustangs USHL
1969–70 American National Team Intl 6 3 1 4 4
1970–71 American National Team Intl 50 51 47 98 30
1971–72 Minnesota North Stars NHL 9 1 0 1 0
1971–72 Cleveland Barons AHL 56 10 11 21 37 6 0 0 0 10
1972–73 Cleveland/Jacksonville Barons AHL 75 26 50 76 47
1973–74 Minnesota North Stars NHL 42 1 7 8 9
1973–74 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 2 1 2 3 2
1973–74 Portland Buckaroos WHL 21 11 15 26 20
1974–75 Minnesota Fighting Saints WHA 67 19 18 37 19 12 4 0 4 6
1974–75 Johnstown Jets NAHL 7 1 7 8 2
1975–76 Minnesota Fighting Saints WHA 45 10 6 16 14
WHA totals 112 29 24 53 33 12 4 0 4 6
NHL totals 51 2 7 9 9

International

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Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1969 United States WC 10 1 1 2 6
1970 United States WC-B 7 11 7 18 4
1971 United States WC 10 7 3 10 4
1976 United States WC 10 1 4 5 17
Senior totals 37 20 15 35 31

Awards and honors

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Award Year
All-WCHA Second Team 1965–66
All-WCHA First Team 1967–68
AHCA West All-American 1967–68
United States Hockey Hall of Fame 2006[1]

References

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  1. ^ "Class of 2006". United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by WCHA Sophomore of the Year
1965–66
Succeeded by