With their 10th season around the corner, the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League are looking to turn the page following a 29-35-8 record and second-to-last place in their division.
The Gulls are the Anaheim Ducks’ minor league affiliate and compete in the Pacific Division of the AHL. Led by head coach Matt McIlvane, the team hopes to make the Calder Cup Playoffs, which they haven’t done since the 2021-2022 season.
Players to watch
The Gulls will be without their leading goal scorer from last season in forward Sam Colangelo (22 goals in 40 games), as he made the Ducks’ roster out of training camp. However, they have defenseman Tristan Luneau, last season’s assist and point leader, with nine goals and 43 assists for 52 points in 53 games on the roster.
Luneau aims to continue his strong stretch as the Gulls’ best player. The Ducks’ second-round pick in 2022 led rookies in assists as he was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team. He was a contender to make the Ducks’ opening night roster, but was sent down to have more consistent playing time instead of serving as a reserve defenseman.
The top three forwards from the Gulls last season were captain Ryan Carptener, Jan Myšák and Sasha Pastujov. Pastujov faced some adversity at the start of the season because he was with the Tulsa Oilers, who play in the league below the AHL, before coming back to the Gulls and emerging as a top offensive threat.
Another name to watch out for is defenseman Stian Solberg, a first-round draft pick in 2024, who had two goals and three assists in 10 games after joining the team at the tail end of the season. Like Luneau, Solberg was another contender to make it out of training camp; however, he was also sent down.
The goalies
Ville Husso is the third goalie on the Ducks’ depth chart, behind Lukáš Dostál and Petr Mrázek, so he will most likely slide in as the Gulls’ starting goaltender. Following a mid-season trade from the Detroit Red Wings, Husso had a 7-2 record with a 2.56 goals against average and a .906 save percentage with the Gulls.
The other goaltender for the Gulls will be Calle Clang, who had an 11-13-5 record with a 3.17 goals against average and a .895 save percentage in 31 games played last season.
The Gulls kick off their season against the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Oct. 10 with a 7:00 p.m. puck drop. Their first home game will be against the Henderson Silver Knights on Oct. 18 at 6:00 p.m.
