Duluth, GA – With call-ups to the AHL last week, the Gladiators have re-signed forward Avery Peterson.  Avery was in training camp with Atlanta this year and spent time with the Glads last season. The former NCAA champ played with three other ECHL teams last year before Atlanta acquired him in a trade. The 24-year-old, left-handed shooting forward from Grand Rapids, Minnesota brings an extremely interesting background.

It began with Peterson being named Minnesota’s “Mr. Hockey,” an award given to the best high school hockey player in the state. He earned the honor by scoring 35 goals, with 30 assists for 65 points in just 25 games, an average of 2.6 points a game, while attending Grand Rapids High. Avery also left as the school’s all-time points leader (203). That same year he was selected in the sixth round of the 2013 NHL Draft by his hometown team, the Minnesota Wild.

After high school, he did one better! Transferring from the University of Nebraska-Omaha, where he spent two seasons, Peterson went back to school in his home state, attending the University of Minnesota-Duluth. In his first season there in 2016-17, he not only helped his team to a 28-7-7 record but made it to the “Frozen Four”, despite losing to Denver in the national championship game 3-2. However, Peterson and the Bulldogs would get to redeem themselves the following season, winning the NCAA National Championship this time with a 2-1 victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Although Minnesota-Duluth would repeat as national champs the next year, Peterson had completed his senior season by then.

Last year, his first as a pro, he was well-traveled. He spent time with four different teams in the Idaho Steelheads, Norfolk Admirals and the Indy Fuel, who would trade him to the Gladiators.  Despite playing in only 15 games combined games with the other three clubs, he spent 26 contests with the Gladiators, scoring three goals and five assists.

The Atlanta Gladiators are members of the ECHL, the nation’s premier "AA" hockey league and are the Affiliate of the Eastern Conference Champion Boston Bruins. All home games are played at the 9,119-seat Infinite Energy Arena, located just off I-85 on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth, Georgia. The Gladiators have established an unrivaled commitment to excellence, maintaining a distinctive reputation for providing fun, friendly, family, affordable entertainment and are consistently ranked as one of the best “Things to Do” in the Atlanta Metro area and across the North Georgia region. Fans can purchase tickets by visiting www.atlantagladiators.com or by calling the front office at (770) 497-5100.