The San Diego Gulls are one of the six charter members of the American Hockey League’s west coast expansion, serving as the top affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks and previously playing as the Norfolk Admirals prior to their relocation. The Gulls began play in the 2015-16 season, losing to their top rival Ontario in five games.
The team would get their revenge on the Reign the next season and made it as far as the Western Conference Finals in 2019 but have yet to win a Calder Cup. As a bit of interesting trivia, they are the fourth team to bear the Gulls name, with previous clubs skating in the WHL, IHL, and the ECHL.
In the 2022-23 season, the Gulls missed the postseason and finished at the bottom of the AHL’ s standings board with a record of 20-49-2-1. The team has not won a game in the Calder Cup Playoffs since 2019 and look to improve their fortunes in the highly competitive Pacific Division in 2023-24.
Their current head coach is Matt McIlvane, their current GM is Rob DeMaio, and they play out of the Pechanga Arena.
Notable former Gulls include Troy Terry, Sam Carrick, Tyler Toffoli and Daniel Sprong.