San Diego Gulls

The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team based in San Diego, California, playing in the American Hockey League (AHL). The Gulls began play in the 2015–16 season. The team plays their home games at Pechanga Arena. The Gulls are the affiliate team of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Anaheim Ducks.

San Diego Gulls
CitySan Diego, California
LeagueAmerican Hockey League
ConferenceWestern
DivisionPacific
Founded2000
Home arenaPechanga Arena
ColorsBlack, orange, blue, white
       
Owner(s)Henry Samueli & Susan Samueli
General managerRob DiMaio
Head coachMatt McIlvane
CaptainChase De Leo
MediaSan Diego Union-Tribune
KGB-AM (San Diego Sports 760)
AHL.TV (Internet)
AffiliatesAnaheim Ducks (NHL)
Tulsa Oilers (ECHL)
Websitesandiegogulls.com
Franchise history
2000–2015Norfolk Admirals
2015–presentSan Diego Gulls
Current season

History

On January 29, 2015, the Anaheim Ducks announced that they would purchase their American Hockey League (AHL_ affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, and would be moving the team to San Diego as one of five charter members of the AHL's new Pacific Division. The team plays at the Pechanga Arena San Diego, the sixth professional hockey team to play there, following the original San Diego Gulls of the WHL (1966–74), the San Diego Mariners of the WHA (1974–1977), the San Diego Hawks/Mariners of the Pacific Hockey League (1977–1979), the second San Diego Gulls of the IHL (1990–1995), and the third San Diego Gulls of the West Coast Hockey League (1995–2003) and later the ECHL (2003–2006).[1] The team is the fifth hockey team in San Diego to use the "Gulls" name.

The Gulls' name, logo and colors were revealed on February 22, 2015 at HockeyFest.[2][3] HockeyFest was deemed a success, drawing over 8,500 enthusiastic hockey fans.[4]

The San Diego Gulls played their first home game on October 10, 2015, against the Grand Rapids Griffins. The team finished its inaugural season with an average attendance of 8,675, second in the league after the Hershey Bears.[5]

After four seasons and three playoff appearances, the Anaheim Ducks promoted Gulls' head coach Dallas Eakins to the same position with the Ducks.[6] Former Florida Panthers' head coach Kevin Dineen was hired as the next head coach.[7]

Approaching the delayed 2020–21 season, due to COVID-19 pandemic considerations, the Gulls announced they would temporarily relocate and play the season out of the Ducks' practice rink, Great Park Ice & FivePoint Arena, in Irvine, California.[8] The Gulls finished third in the Pacific Division and lost in the semifinals to the second place Bakersfield Condors in division postseason tournament. After two seasons, the Ducks did not extend head coach Dineen, instead hiring former Laval Rocket head coach Joel Bouchard.[9] After a lackluster season under Bouchard, the Gulls would hire long-time AHL head coach Roy Sommer to be their fourth head coach in team history. In Sommer's only season as head coach of the Gulls, the Gulls finished with the least amount of points in the AHL. He retired at the end of the season.[10][11]

Matt McIlvane was hired as the new coach for the 2023–24 season, specifically due to his experience of working with younger players.[11]

Rivalries

The Gulls consider the Ontario Reign, the Los Angeles Kings' AHL affiliate, to be their main rivals and advertise games as "Rivalry Night".[12][13] The teams faced each other in the 2016 division finals, where the Reign defeated the Gulls 4–1 in a best-of-seven series.[14] San Diego then defeated the Reign in the 2017 Calder Cup playoffs 3-games-to-2 in the division semifinals.

Season-by-season records
Regular season Playoffs
SeasonGPWLOTLSOLPtsPCTGFGAStandingAvg. attendanceYearPrelims1st round2nd round3rd roundFinals
2015–166839234284.6182082002nd, Pacific8,6752016—W, 3–1, TEXL, 1–4, ONT——
2016–176843203291.6692211782nd, Pacific8,8762017—W, 3–2, ONTL, 1–4, SJ——
2017–186836283176.5592021975th, Pacific9,3052018—Did not qualify
2018–196836245380.5882392213rd, Pacific9,0212019—W, 3–1, SJW, 4–2, BAKL, 2–4, CHI—
2019–205730196268.5961851644th, Pacific7,5822020Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–214426171053.6021531423rd, Pacific—2021[lower-alpha 1]—BYEBYEL, 1–2, BAK—
2021–226828334363.4631972237th, Pacific6,9922022L, 0–2, ONT————
2022–237220492143.29918028110th, Pacific6,9532023Did not qualify
2023–2472263510163.4382162459th, Pacific7,2492024Did not qualify
  1. The 2021 Calder Cup playoffs were not held; the Pacific Division held a postseason tournament for the division title. The bottom four teams had single-elimination play-in games to qualify for the semifinals (the first two rounds). The division semifinals and finals were best-of-three for the John D. Chick Trophy (the last two rounds).

Players

Current roster

Updated April 20, 2024.[15]

Team roster
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
40 United States Andy Carroll Injured Reserve D L 27 2023 Northfield, Minnesota Gulls
– United States Davis Codd Injured Reserve RW R 20 2023 Brighton, Michigan Gulls
39 Canada Anthony Costantini D R 21 2023 Hamilton, Ontario Gulls
36 Canada Kyle Crnkovic LW L 22 2023 Calgary, Alberta Gulls
42 United States Travis Howe RW R 30 2022 Hull, Massachusetts Gulls
14 Canada Ben King C R 21 2022 Vernon, British Columbia Gulls
41 United States Andrew Lucas (ATO) D R 25 2024 Alexandria, Virginia Gulls
37 United States Eddie Matsushima C L 30 2023 Verona, Wisconsin Gulls
15 Canada Nico Myatovic (ATO) LW L 19 2024 Prince George, British Columbia Gulls
38 Canada Luka Profaca D R 22 2022 Mississauga, Ontario Gulls
29 Canada Konnor Smith (ATO) D L 19 2024 Windsor, Ontario Gulls
30 Czech Republic Tomas Suchanek G L 21 2023 Přerov, Czech Republic Ducks
6 United States Nick Wolff Injured Reserve D L 27 2023 Eagan, Minnesota Gulls

Team captains
  • Joe Piskula, 2015–16
  • Jaycob Megna, 2018–19
  • Sam Carrick, 2019–21
  • Greg Pateryn, 2021–22
  • Chase De Leo, 2022–present

Team records and leaders

Scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers for the San Diego Gulls in the AHL. Figures are updated after each completed season.[16]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game;   = current Gulls player

Points
PlayerPosGPGAPtsP/G
Chase De LeoC22869117186.82
Sam CarrickC2228695181.82
Corey TroppRW2056493157.76
Kalle KossilaLW1705190141.83
Nikolas BrouillardD167227092.55
Andrew AgozzinoLW103395291.88
Jacob PerreaultRW161325991.56
Benoit-Olivier GroulxC145395190.62
Brandon MontourD104256489.85
Kevin RoyLW125315788.70

References
  1. "Ducks Launch American Hockey League Franchise in San Diego". Anaheim Ducks. January 29, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2015 – via NHL.com.
  2. "Ducks to Hold 'San Diego Hockeyfest' on Sunday, February 22". Anaheim Ducks. January 29, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2015 – via NHL.com.
  3. "The Gulls Are Back In Town". The San Diego Union-Tribune. February 22, 2015. Archived from the original on July 7, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  4. Loh, Stefanie (February 22, 2015). "Hockeyfest a hit, fans welcome SD Gulls". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  5. "AHL teams establish all-time attendance record". American Hockey League. Archived from the original on 2016-05-22. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  6. Chiappelli, Kirstie (June 17, 2019). "Ducks hire Dallas Eakins as new head coach". The Sporting News. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  7. "Ducks Name Kevin Dineen Gulls Head Coach". San Diego Gulls. July 15, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  8. "28 teams to participate in 2020-21 season". American Hockey League. January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  9. "Anaheim Ducks Name Joel Bouchard San Diego Gulls Head Coach" (Press release). San Diego Gulls. July 9, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2024 – via OurSports Central.
  10. Togerson, Derek (April 15, 2023). "After 60 Years in Hockey, Gulls Head Coach Roy Sommer Announces Retirement". NBC 7 San Diego. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  11. Carter, Ivan (October 12, 2023). "Gulls open hockey season Friday with new coach, roster, expectations". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  12. "Rivalry Night in San Diego". San Diego Gulls. October 15, 2016. Archived from the original on February 18, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  13. "Familiarity Breeds Contempt as Reign, Gulls take Rivalry to Playoffs". Ontario Reign. May 4, 2016. Archived from the original on February 18, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  14. "2016 Playoffs". American Hockey League. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  15. "San Diego Gulls playing roster". American Hockey League. 2024-04-20. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
  16. "San Diego Gulls - All Time AHL leaders". hockeydb.com. April 16, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
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