Green Bay re-signs Oliver McKinney for 2026-27 USHL season

Green Bay locked in another young forward for its 2026-27 roster on June 30, bringing Oliver McKinney back on a standard player agreement. The 17-year-old from Lake Forest, Illinois gives the Gamblers a 5-foot-10, 170-pound center with USHL experience, scoring touch and a clearer path to a larger role in a forward group that is still taking shape.

McKinney’s return is more than a routine depth move. Green Bay first brought him in on a Phase I tender in March 2025, when the organization identified him as a Chicago Mission product after a prolific 15O season. In that tender year, he was credited with 30 goals and 57 assists in 53 games, and Green Bay’s own release described him as a 16-year-old center from Lake Forest with the same numbers. The scoring profile was enough to make him a target then, and it still matters now because the Gamblers are trying to build an attack with younger pieces who can grow together.

His first USHL season showed why Green Bay wanted him back. McKinney played 37 regular-season games in 2025-26 and finished with 8 goals and 14 points, a respectable line for a player still early in his junior career. Two games stood out. On Jan. 4, he scored both Green Bay goals in a 2-1 road win over the Des Moines Buccaneers, his personal USHL best for one night and a performance that showed he could decide a tight game. On Feb. 20, he added a goal and an assist in Green Bay’s 8-4 win over the Dubuque Fighting Saints, another example of him producing when the pace opened up.

The timing of the signing also fits the Gamblers’ bigger picture. Green Bay was one of the league’s stronger clubs late in 2025 and early in 2026, running off a 14-game winning streak around the turn of the year and clinching a playoff berth in March. Bringing McKinney back now suggests the organization sees him not just as scoring depth, but as a controlled offensive option down the middle who can fit into a faster, more aggressive identity. His health ended up limiting his first season, but the underlying message is clear: Green Bay expects him to be part of the next wave, not just a name on the roster sheet.