Gilbert played junior hockey in the Boston Bruins system with the Barrie Flyers and the Niagara Falls Flyers of the Ontario Hockey Association from 1959-61. He then won the Eastern Hockey League rookie-of-the year award in 1961-62. Despite some impressive numbers in the minor pros, Gilbert could not crack the Bruins' lineup. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft but remained in the American Hockey League with the Hershey Bears until 1973. That year he jumped to the World Hockey Association's Quebec Nordiques for two seasons. He retired in 1975.