San Diego Gulls 2024-25 Season Review

By Thomas Harrington

For the third straight season, the San Diego Gulls failed to secure a berth in the Calder Cup Playoffs. The Gulls finished with a record of 29-35-5-3, good for 66 points and ninth in the Pacific Division, 14th in the Western Conference, and 28th in the AHL. They improved by three points from the previous season, but finished in the exact same position in the division, conference, and league. After a slow start to the season, San Diego made a push for the playoffs after the new year, but it ended up being too little too late. Injuries in both San Diego and Anaheim really hurt the Gulls late in the season as well.

The Gulls didn’t pick up their first win of the season until their fourth game. This kind of slow start has doomed San Diego for the past few years. Once the new year hit, they were one of the better teams in the entire AHL, but there was too much ground for them to make up. The Gulls weren’t great at home, but were better than the previous season, as they finished with a .500 record of 15-15-3-3. It was the road where San Diego really struggled, as they went 14-20-2-0, worse than the previous season.

In their 10th season as Anaheim’s AHL affiliate, seven players played for both the Ducks and Gulls: Tristan Luneau, Sam Colangelo, Nikita Nesterenko, Jansen Harkins, Ian Moore, Ville Husso, and Drew Helleson. The seven players match the number of players to play for both Anaheim and San Diego from last season, which I believe is the fewest to play for both teams over the past decade. Tyson Hinds and Calle Clang were both called up to Anaheim as well, but didn’t play in any NHL games. 

San Diego’s offense finished with the same number of goals as the previous season: 216. Ryan Carpenter led the Gulls’ forwards with 49 points, which was second on the team, and he was the only player to play in every game for San Diego. Sasha Pastujov was next with 45 points, but he only played in 43 games. He started the season in the ECHL. If he had been with the Gulls for the entire season, it’s possible they would have gotten off to a better start. Jan Mysak was third among forwards with 42 points, and Colangelo was fourth with 40. Colangelo led the team with 22 goals and was the only player to break the 20-goal mark. Carpenter was second with 19 goals and Mysak was third with 18. Carpenter led the forwards with 30 assists, Pastujov was second with 28, and Mysak was third with 24. Jansen Harkins led the team in points-per-game, but only played in 11 games for the Gulls, spending the rest of the year in Anaheim. Similarly, Colangelo averaged exactly one point per game, good for third on the team, but he only played in 40 games. His presence might have been enough to shift a couple of close losses in San Diego’s favor.

Most of San Diego’s offense went through Pastujov, Colangelo, Carpenter, and Mysak. If healthy, Carson Meyer would have been among that group; he scored nine goals and 21 points but only played in 29 games due to injury. Nesterenko only played in 50 games but still scored 13 goals and 34 points. Yegor Sidorov had a successful rookie season, scoring 17 goals and 34 points in 59 games. Justin Bailey was acquired mid-season and instantly fit right in, scoring 12 goals and 22 points in 35 games. Judd Caulfield had a strong sophomore campaign, finishing with 11 goals and 25 points while playing in a career-high 67 games.

Carsen Twarynski was another late season acquisition, and he scored three goals and seven points in 12 games. Nathan Gaucher had a difficult sophomore season and finished the season on injured reserve. He scored eight goals and 19 points in 56 games. Nico Myatovic had a slow start to his rookie season, but finished the year playing much better and scored 10 goals and 19 points. Coulson Pitre’s rookie season saw him score three goals and 16 points in 61 games. Josh Lopina’s third full season in San Diego saw his scoring totals fall to three goals and 13 points in 62 games. Between injuries and spending time in the ECHL, Jaxsen Wiebe only played in 12 AHL games and scored one goal.

San Diego’s defense finished with similar numbers to a year ago. After allowing 245 goals in the 2023-2024 season, the Gulls allowed 251 goals this past season. Luneau had a truly wonderful rookie year. After starting the season in Anaheim, he was assigned to San Diego in November and became their top defenseman. Despite playing in only 59 games, he led the team in assists with 43 and points with 52, while his nine goals were second among defensemen. Roland McKeown led San Diego’s defense in goals with 15, which represents the most ever scored by a Gulls defenseman. His 23 assists and 38 points were both second to Luneau. Hinds scored four goals and 18 points, but more importantly he only missed one game all season. Rodwin Dionicio only played in 24 games, but his five goals were third on San Diego’s blueline and his nine points were fourth. Dillon Heatherington was one of San Diego’s veteran blueliners and he scored a goal and seven points in 59 games.

Stian Solberg joined the Gulls at the end of the season and scored two goals and five points in 10 games. Moore also joined San Diego late in the year, and scored a goal and five points in nine games before signing his entry-level deal and joining Anaheim for a few NHL games. Noah Warren had a quiet rookie season, recording four assists in 60 games. Jeremie Biakabutuka, acquired from St. Louis in the Cam Fowler deal, played in a dozen games and had one assist. Will Francis joined the Gulls when his college career ended and was scoreless in three games. Konnor Smith joined San Diego when his junior year ended and was also scoreless in three games.

The Gulls used five goaltenders last season. San Diego actually would have used six goaltenders, but Tomas Suchanek missed the entire year with an injury. Oscar Dansk led the Gulls with 37 games played, and had a record of 11-18-4 with a 0.886 save percentage and a 3.47 goals against average. Clang was second with 31 games played and had a record of 11-13-4 with a 0.895 save percentage and 3.17 goals against average.

Husso was acquired late in the season and played in nine games down the stretch. It would have been more, but John Gibson was injured and Husso was recalled to Anaheim to be the backup. Husso had a record of 7-2, a 0.907 save percentage, and 2.56 goals against average. Vyacheslav Buteyets spent most of the year in the ECHL but did play in two games. He had a 0-1 record with a .800 save percentage and 5.56 goals against average. Finally, Damian Clara came over from Europe at the end of the season and played in two games with a record of 0-1,a 0.898 save percentage, and a 3.15 goals against average.

The 2024-2025 season was a disappointing one for San Diego. After showing signs of improvement the previous year, the Gulls essentially plateaued this past season. Their goals for were the same and their goals against were almost identical. Injuries and a slow start doomed this season. A three-point improvement in the standings was nowhere near good enough to get the Gulls back to the Calder Cup Playoffs. Hopefully the experience that Anaheim’s young prospects gained this season will help propel San Diego back into the playoff chase next year.

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May 2nd, 2025