The Anaheim Ducks will face the Los Angeles Kings in a preseason game at Pechanga Arena Friday night, giving San Diego-area hockey fans a chance to see NHL hockey in person for the first time since 1994.
For fans of the AHL’s San Diego Gulls, the game may also be an opportunity to see players who will develop their skills on that same Pechanga ice this season.
Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek and coach Greg Cronin have repeatedly used the word development when discussing the future of the organization.
As Anaheim’s top minor-league , San Diego plays a key role in that process.
“We’ve got a couple drafts under us now, and those players are starting to arrive in pro hockey,” Cronin said.
“They’re starting to compete for jobs on a meaningful basis, and that’s exciting. I think that’s exciting for our fans to be able to see that process in transition right now…I think we have a deep pool of talent coming and I think the one thing that we always have to kind of preach again and myself – Patience. Because these players will develop on different timelines.”
Cronin replaces Dallas Eakins, who coached the Gulls for four seasons prior to taking the job in Anaheim in 2019.
Eakins went 100-147-44 with the Ducks while attempting to guide the franchise through a massive rebuild that included the departure of longtime general manager Bob Murray and a near-total overhaul of the NHL, AHL and ECHL rosters.
Verbeek replaced Murray as general manager late last season as the Ducks finished 23-47-12 with an NHL-worst 58 points while icing the league’s most porous defense.
Anaheim’s struggles were reflected in San Diego, where the Gulls finished 20-49-2-1 with by far an AHL-low 43 points.
Verbeek tabbed Matt McIlvane to replace Roy Sommer as San Diego’s coach in July. Together, the two have gotten a good look at the club’s young talent over the last several weeks during development camp.
The good news for Ducks/Gulls fans: all of that losing and high drafting has indeed created a strong pool of young talent throughout the system.
The Ducks boast the NHL’s top pipeline as rated by The Athletic, which used a metric that looks at each organization’s talent pool covering the 2019-23 drafts and takes into consideration all players aged 22 and younger.
How many of those players will spend time with the Gulls this season remains to be seen. The Ducks’ preseason schedule, which began with a 3-2 overtime win over the Kings on Sunday and continued with a 4-2 win over San Jose on Wednesday night, will go a long way toward sorting that out.
The organization’s newest players, No. 2 overall pick Leo Carlsson and second-round pick Carey Terrance, also gained some valuable experience while going 2-1 in the annual Rookie Faceoff against Kings newcomers earlier this month.
The 18-year old Carlsson posted three points (one goal and two assists) in those three games while anchoring the rookie squad’s top line, while Terrance posted a team-best four point points.
Recent draft picks who could potentially see time with the Gulls include Carlsson, defensemen Pavel Mintyukov (first-round pick, 2022), Olen Zellweger (second-round pick, 2021) and Tyson Hands (third-round pick, 2021) and forwards Nathan Gaucher (first-round pick, 2022) and Sasha Pastujov (third-round pick, 2021).
The Gulls play their lone preseason game next Saturday at Ontario and open the 72-game AHL regular season Oct. 13. San Diego’s home opener will take place Oct. 20 against Ontario. The Gulls will set an initial roster in the week leading up to the regular-season debut.
One face that will be familiar to Gulls fans belongs to defenseman Trevor Carrick. Carrick, who played in 100 games for the Ducks from 2020-22, re-signed with the organization this summer. He is on a two-way contract.
Carrick’s older brother, Sam, was a three-year captain of the Gulls who’s now entrenched with the Ducks.
Notable
• The Ducks played twice in San Diego during the 1994 preseason. They lost 3-2 to the Kings on Sept. 11 and the beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 on Sept. 21. Plenty has changed since then, including names: The Ducks club dropped the word “Mighty” from their nickname in 2006, and what was then known as the San Diego Sports Arena has since been changed to the iPayOne Center (2005-07), Valley View Casino Center (2010-18) and Pechanga Arena (2018-present).
• Fans at Friday’s game can get the first taste of the Gulls Blue Line Blonde Ale, a collaboration between the team and San Diego’s Mason Ale Works. During the regular season, the beer will be available for $5 at Friday home games.
• The Ducks released their television schedule. Of the 82 regular season games, 79 will be broadcast on Bally Sports San Diego.
