Green Bay Gamblers sign French defender Paulin Hostein for 2026-27

Green Bay signed Paulin Hostein to a standard player agreement on June 26, locking in the 18-year-old French defenseman for the 2026-27 USHL season after selecting him 131st overall in the eighth round of the 2026 USHL Entry Draft. The Gamblers turned a draft pick into a roster piece before the offseason fully opened, and they did it with a player whose résumé already stretches well beyond junior hockey.

Hostein, a 6-foot-2, 176-pound left-shot defender from Pontoise, France, spent the 2025-26 season in the French pro system. He skated for Cergy-Pontoise in Ligue Magnus and produced two goals and seven points in 30 games, then added a goal and seven points in eight U20 games before moving up. He also appeared in two games for Neuilly-sur-Marne in France’s second professional division, a sign that he was already being pushed into tougher ice time against older competition.

That track record is exactly why Green Bay views him as more than a depth signing. Patrick McCadden said Hostein has already played against men at a high level and brings size, mobility and poise, three traits that matter when a 17- or 18-year-old defenseman has to survive the USHL’s pace without getting buried in his own end. For the Gamblers, the move fits a clear roster-building idea: load the back end with players who are not just skilled, but seasoned enough to adjust quickly.

The international file on Hostein is just as strong. He was on France’s roster for the 2026 IIHF U18 World Championship Division I, Group B, with Cergy-Pontoise listed as his club, and the tournament named him its top defender. France finished third, and Hostein led all defenders with a plus-6 rating. His 2025 IIHF U18 Division I, Group B profile shows five games and one assist, another marker of a player who has been in the national program’s core for multiple seasons.

Green Bay’s announcement also framed Hostein as part of a larger wave of French players looking north for development. That is the bigger signal here: the Gamblers are not just adding a prospect, they are shaping a 2026-27 identity around international defenders who have already been tested in pro settings and on the IIHF stage. For a team trying to harden its blue line, Hostein looks like an organizational bet, not a flyer.