San Diego Gulls

The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in San Diego, California, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks, the Gulls play their home games at the Pechanga Arena.

For other uses, see San Diego Gulls (disambiguation).
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 coachRoy Sommer
CaptainChase De Leo
MediaSan Diego Union-Tribune
Bally Sports San Diego
XEPE-AM (ESPN 1700)
XHPRS-FM (105.7 Max FM)
AHL.TV (Internet)
AffiliatesAnaheim Ducks (NHL)
Tulsa Oilers (ECHL)
Websitesandiegogulls.com
Franchise history
2000–2015Norfolk Admirals
2015–presentSan Diego Gulls
Current season

The team is the fifth hockey team in San Diego to use the "Gulls" name. The Gulls are a relocation of the former Norfolk Admirals franchise, joining six other AHL franchises to form a new AHL Pacific Division.

History

On January 29, 2015, the Anaheim Ducks announced that they would purchase their 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 (1974–77), the San Diego Hawks/Mariners of the Pacific Hockey League (1977–79), 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 (2003–06).[1]

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 longtime AHL head coach Roy Sommer to be their 4th head coach in team history.

Rivalries

The Gulls consider the Ontario Reign, the Los Angeles Kings AHL affiliate, to be their main rivals and advertise games as "Rivalry Night."[10][11] The teams faced each other in the 2016 division finals, where the Reign defeated the Gulls 4–1 in a best-of-seven series.[12] 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————
  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 6, 2023.[13]

Team roster
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
35 Canada Gage Alexander G L 20 2022 Okotoks, Alberta Ducks
29 Sweden Axel Andersson Injured Reserve D R 23 2021 Järna, Sweden Ducks
39 Canada Nikolas Brouillard D L 28 2021 Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec Gulls
14 United States Judd Caufield (ATO) RW R 22 2023 Grand Forks, North Dakota Gulls
30 Sweden Calle Clang G L 20 2023 Olofström, Sweden Ducks
43 United States David Cotton C L 24 2022 Parker, Texas Gulls
19 United States Chase De Leo (C) LW L 27 2022 La Mirada, California Ducks
5 Canada Michael Del Zotto (A) D L 32 2022 Stouffville, Ontario Ducks
31 Sweden Olle Eriksson Ek G L 23 2019 Karlstad, Sweden Ducks
21 Canada Glenn Gawdin (A) C R 26 2022 Richmond, British Columbia Ducks
18 United States Brent Gates C L 25 2021 Grand Rapids, Michigan Gulls
24 Canada Benoit-Olivier Groulx C L 23 2021 Rouen, France Ducks
44 Canada Josh Healey Injured Reserve D L 28 2022 Edmonton, Alberta Gulls
4 United States Drew Helleson D R 22 2022 Farmington, Minnesota Ducks
3 United States Frank Hora Injured Reserve (PTO) D R 26 2022 Cheektowaga, New York Gulls
42 United States Travis Howe Injured Reserve RW R 29 2022 Hull, Massachusetts Gulls
32 Canada Connor Hvidstan (ATO) LW L 18 2023 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Gulls
45 Finland Olli Juolevi D L 24 2022 Helsinki, Finland Ducks
16 Canada Bryce Kindopp RW R 23 2021 Lloydminster, Alberta Ducks
23 Canada Justin Kirkland C L 26 2022 Winnipeg, Manitoba Ducks
10 United States Josh Lopina C R 22 2022 Minooka, Illinois Ducks
15 Russia Dmitry Osipov RW R 26 2022 Moscow, Russia Gulls
11 Canada Jacob Perreault RW R 20 2021 Montreal, Quebec Ducks
6 United States Chase Priskie D R 27 2023 Pembroke Pines, Florida Ducks
38 Canada Luka Profaca D R 21 2022 Mississauga, Ontario Gulls
12 Slovakia Pavol Regenda LW L 23 2022 Michalovce, Slovakia Ducks
26 Canada Dylan Sikura RW L 27 2023 Aurora, Ontario Ducks
36 United States Josiah Slavin LW L 24 2023 Erie, Colorado Ducks
2 Czech Republic Andrej Sustr D R 32 2023 Plzeň, Czechoslovakia Ducks
7 Canada Brayden Tracey Injured Reserve LW L 21 2021 Calgary, Alberta Ducks
17 United States Evan Weinger Injured Reserve RW R 25 2022 Los Angeles, California Gulls

Team captains

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.[14]

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

Points
PlayerPosGPGAPtsP/G
Sam CarrickC2188695181.83
Corey TroppRW2056493157.76
Kalle KossilaLW1705190141.83
Chase De LeoC1544570115.74
Brandon MontourD104256489.85
Kevin RoyLW125315788.70
Andy WelinskiD149245983.55
Nicolas KerdilesLW121373976.63
Chris MuellerRW92284472.78
Antoine LaganiereC121373269.57

References
  1. "Ducks Launch American Hockey League Franchise in San Diego". Anaheim Ducks. January 29, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  2. "Ducks to Hold 'San Diego Hockeyfest' on Sunday, February 22". Anaheim Ducks. January 29, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  3. "The Gulls Are Back In Town". February 22, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  4. "Hockey Fest a Hit". February 22, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  5. AHL teams establish all-time attendance record
  6. "Ducks hire Dallas Eakins as new head coach". Sporting News. June 17, 2019.
  7. "DUCKS NAME KEVIN DINEEN GULLS HEAD COACH". San Diego Gulls. July 15, 2019.
  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". OurSports Central. July 9, 2021.
  10. "RIVALRY NIGHT IN SAN DIEGO". San Diego Gulls. October 15, 2016.
  11. "FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT AS REIGN, GULLS TAKE RIVALRY TO PLAYOFFS". Ontario Reign. May 4, 2016.
  12. "2016 Playoffs". Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  13. "San Diego Gulls playing roster". American Hockey League. 2023-04-06. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  14. "San Diego Gulls - All Time AHL leaders". hockeydb.com. June 10, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
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