San Diego Gulls 2025-2026 Player Grades

Welcome to the San Diego Gulls 2025-2026 Player Grades. A season that saw a long overdue welcome back to the post-season and although it was another short-lived two game loss and first round exit – it was tangible evidence that the club and team were improving.

The Gulls kept pace with the fourth and fifth placed teams in the division at the height of their success this season and proved they could go toe to toe with some of the division leaders as they finished with a 33-27-8-4 record and 78 points to limp into the final playoff spot in the Pacific. Tucson actually finished with the same amount of points but lost out on the regulation win tie breaker. Some slightly dubious decisions to sit in-form players to allow black-aces a look at seasons end saw the Gulls drop their final three regular season games and go 4-4-0 in the month of April before hitting the play-offs with a somewhat out-of-sync squad. None the less – they saw some growth from some of their youth, steady and consistent contributions form their veterans and a few well deserved call-ups to a Ducks team that had largely had no room for players to get a look for much of the season.

As always I will do this years San Diego Gulls 2025-2026 Player Grades will be in alphabetical order in the hopes that I don’t miss anybody, some I may miss on purpose due to sample size and some because I was pressed for time or did not feel they were relevant. I may or may not throw in some unofficial awards to those that I saw that stood out in my eyes such as in previous years.

His nine game winning goals were a team best and also tops in the league, proving how much of a big game player he is and how important he is to this team.

Once again his veracious velocity was the most important facet of his game, surprising defenders with his closing speed and proving a menace on the fore-check with his pace.

He took a while to get started – going almost the entire month of October without a point but once he hit the back of the net the day before Halloween he strung together 8 points in 8 games thereafter – a trend he would continue for much of the rest of the season with a few groupings of off-days in between as the Gulls were shutout on offense.

His points per game clip was slightly higher than last year – running at 0.59 vs 0.53 last season and he showed much more maturity as teams clearly aimed to get under his skin at each and every occasion. He had 40 penalty minutes – four less than he had combined over San Diego and San Jose last season and sixth on the team this year. The well read playbook on Bailey does seem to be targeting him to garner an easy retaliation and get him off his game with calls but he was not so easily goaded this season.

It feels like a no brainer that he should be back next season but I guess it depends on what the numbers in the deal will be – with the added complication of two or more right side forwards joining the squad next season. As the Gulls leading goal scorer and his importance to the team no less understated – his camp will be looking for a bump in salary.

I know it’s not the best stat to put any stock in but his +4 was fifth best on the team and second best on the blue-line behind Tyson Hinds. Matt Basgall in his short four game stint was technically second but sample size rules him out. Brouillard is a vastly important veteran presence on the blue-line and with both Tyson Hinds as well as Tristan Luneau likely to be full time in Anaheim next season there is going to be room for him to help mentor the next crop of defenders coming through the pipe-line.

As always his skating and breakout abilities were the most underrated element of his game but he also joined the rush on occasion at the right time without risking a counter-attack. He was also endlessly reliable at turning pucks over in his own end to start the break-out.

Like Bailey he will be looking for a new deal after finishing the one year deal he was brought back on – but given the direction the Gulls are heading and the stability they seem to finally understand is vital to development and winning – he should hopefully be back next season.

His five goals were the second worst of his career and overall 17 point total in 58 games was just two behind what he put up in Henderson last season playing two less games. He was brought in last minute on a one year deal after being let go from his Professional tryout with the Penguins and as stated above – he did a somewhat respectable job of providing veteran scoring depth when called upon but ultimately struggled with the lack of looks he got.

His speed was by far the most noticeable and deadly element of his game, constantly winning races to loose pucks or buying his team-mates time on the change by going in alone on the fore-check to try to slow an opposing break-out. He was also adept in the circles – taking face-offs when needed and doing a very good job of it; particularly in the defensive end.

With Carpenter coming back, and the three other veterans high on my list of “hopefully coming back” there simply won’t be any room for Burke next season – just as there wasn’t really any this season. I know I would prefer him in the line-up over Howe but ultimately Howe is the kind of guy the Gulls will keep around and that’s why I don’t see Burke being back next season.

As we have come to know from him – he was most effective around the front of the net. Taking punishment from opposing defenders to get positioning for critical rebounds or provide a screen.

He single-handedly brought the Gulls Power Play back from the brink – co-leading the team with seven man-advantage markers, doing it all from the bumper position as opposed to from the side-boards.

Spending the entire season as the first-line center he and Bailey were a familiar duo for essentially the entire year and saw a revolving door of left side wingers that included Sasha Pastujov, Sam Colangelo, and Nico Myatovic.

A critical factor on special teams he also lead the team in short-handed assists as he was leaned on as the defensive face-off specialist in the absence of Tim Washe getting called up mid-season. He also set the tone early – sharing the lead for first-goals with Yegor Sidorov; translating his team-first professional style into an always ready-to-go offensive output while also proving clutch in the shoot-out, converting on both of his shoot-out attempts to rock the only 100% rate on the team.

He and Bailey were a good complimentary duo for the majority of the season but I do feel like Nico Myatovic missed being on a line with the veteran who clearly had a huge influence on his first professional season last year.

Carpenter has already been re-inked to another year so we will be seeing him back next season to lead the squad as it looks to make more of an impact in the post-season.

I have always and always will have a soft spot for Caulfield and were it not for him being on an AHL deal – he would have definitely had a look this season in Anaheim.

The fifth round selection of the Penguins in 2019 who was acquired in a straight swap for Thimo Nickl in an expiring rights deal has proven that although some Power Forwards take time to develop; he is worth the wait.

This wasn’t a breakout season for Caulfield – but yet another rung in the ladder climbed as he – in my mind – moved up the depth chart to now be in the conversation for a call-up. As I mentioned on twitter at times during the year; when the guy you got for Thimo Nickl is now higher up the depth chart than the guy you took 22nd overall in 2022 you might need to take a hard look at development.

He spent most of the year on the fourth line as well as a brief stint on the top line with Carpenter and Colangelo but was most effective on the penalty kill and with timely tallies. His three insurance markers were tied for second best on the squad and he and Nesterenko led the team with a shoot-out winning goal each. He also had the second best shooting percentage – converting at a 16.2% rate.

He is at the end of the one year AHL deal signed he signed in July but as I have been patiently but vocally overstating – he deserves another NHL deal.

Some strong play in December – including a three game win streak with an average 1.00 GAA and .951 Save Percentage over that span earned him his first AHL All Star appearance where he lead all goaltenders in Wins (2) and took out the CCM Top Goaltender honors.

He took a leave of absence in November and a cruel twist of fate saw the Ducks hit with injuries in net at the same time, prompting a call-up for understudy Vyacheslav Buteyets. When Clang returned to San Diego in December the opportunity with the big-club had passed as players returned from the shelf.

Were it not for the concussion sustained by Konnor Smith running him over in the first period of the final regular season game against Coachella Valley – who knows; maybe we would have seen him steal a playoff series and the Gulls move onto the second round. Maybe they would still be in the playoffs right now? That we will never know and Clang will have to take the summer to recover from the head injury and look to build on that success next year.

He is now an RFA having completed the one year NHL two-way deal he signed last summer but he is eligible for arbitration. With the Ducks goal-tending depth starting to get a little crowded it will be interesting to see how negotiations look this off-season.

Starting the year in Anaheim he was first assigned to the Gulls in November after scoring the one goal through seven games with the Ducks and I was excited to have him back with the Gulls where he instantly contributed – scoring two goals through his first two games. However he never showed a consistent spread worthy of his potential despite a seven game point streak where he put up 8 points between the 21st December through to the 9th of January.

Finishing the year with 36 points in 49 games of action – a drop from his point per game 40 points in 40 games showing last season it just felt like he never quite found that confidence he had last year. A lot of the time this season it felt like he was in his own head as shots went wide, high and wide or hit iron on far too many occasion to seem statistically possible.

With the Ducks offense facing some predictable changes this off-season and Colangelo already a little on the outside looking in – I wonder if he either gets packaged in one of the rumored big name deals that Anaheim is said to be in on; or if he gets moved for a straight “change of scenery” deal.

He has one year left on the two year deal he signed last summer and either looks to have a big camp to once again push the Ducks to play him or as speculated – we might see him packaged in an off-season deal.

Perhaps finally finding his offensive touch – he had three multi-goal games including his first professional hat-trick in a 5-4 win over Calgary on March 22nd. Continuing his strong work on the penalty kill he shared the team lead in short-handed goals with Justin Bailey and Nico Myatovic – netting two while the Gulls were short a man.

He also factored in the important tallies as he found the back of the net for three game winning goals, tied for third with Tristan Luneau. An indication of his defensive drive he had three unassisted goals and three empty net markers. His shooting percentage was also fourth best on the team at 14.4%.

After netting the hat-trick in March he was called up to the Ducks where he went scoreless in three games after making his debut in San Jose on April 1st.

As I noted earlier with regard to Judd Caulfield – Gaucher has now been surpassed in the depth chart by a few players in my eyes but the Ducks still have a lot of faith and are clearly happy to take a patient approach. Gaucher was the Gulls go to defensive face-off specialist last season but was supplanted by Tim Washe within the month of October. Washe – an undrated free-agent was called up to the Ducks in January and never returned.

He has one year left on his entry level deal and will need to build upon the very strong end of season push he made – with the additional depth players the Ducks added at the end of this season it will be interesting where he slots into the line-up next season. The safe bet is fourth line center once again – but it will depend on how the roster shakes out. He is also no longer waiver exempt so will need to pass through waivers.

He had a slow start – not getting on the scoresheet until mid November when he collected two assists against the Canucks and I was beginning to become worried about his readiness for the season but he slowly started to turn things around and was back to his normal roaming but still defensively responsible self by the Christmas break.

He was once again the Gulls most dependable defender, spending most of the season on a pairing with Tristan Luneau and providing one half of an almost unfair puck-rushing shutdown duo. He was a +16, by far and away the best on the team with only the small sample size Matt Basgall (+6 in 4 games), called up midway through season Tim Washe (+6 in 36 games) and Nico Myatovic (+6 in 71 games) even coming close.

In early April when Anaheim’s left side of their defensive corps saw Ian Moore struggling on his off-side the Ducks looked to San Diego and rightly (no pun intended) called up Hinds as the best and most ready left shooting option. The move caught many by surprise – feeling that Tristan Luneau had been overlooked but Luneau would have been placed in the same unfair position that Moore had been placed; of playing on his off-side. Hinds quickly disquieted the doubters as he adapted easily to the NHL pace and played mistake free hockey with his cool, calm demeanor and quick crisp break-out passing ability. He collected one assist in nine regular season games with the Ducks as well as another helper in a further nine postseason games.

The Gulls struggled after his call-up – going 2-4-0-0 as Tristan Luneau saw rotating partners Konnor Smith, Nik Brouillard (on his off-side), Roman Kinal and finally the closest Hinds replacement possible – Matt Basgall (also playing on his off-side). His call-up also indirectly doomed the Gulls post-season as it meant Konnor Smith entered the lineup who then injured Calle Clang.

His play most definitely gives the Ducks brass something to ponder over the off-season as they decide which veterans on expiring deals to keep and which to cut ties with. He is now an RFA looking for a new deal that should be a fairly good raise on his entry level contract. Despite the left side being very crowded in Anaheim with both Olen Zellweger and Pavel Mintyukov also vying for a spot I don’t feel we will see Hinds back in San Diego next season.

But as I wrote last year – he found himself surplus to requirements and that became even more evident this season. Not all of his time off the ice was as a healthy scratch however; he did sit for significant time with an injury. He finished second on the team in Penalty Minutes which is fairly impressive given how little he played.

The sad truth of the matter is – it is likely to be the same if not worse next season as the Ducks and Gulls begin to add more and more depth to both of their rosters.

Could it be time to transition him to a coaching or player development role? It would make some sense given how much the players love him and he loves being around the team.

Some might feel his grade is a little high given he put up lesser numbers than last year while also playing more games but as I had to state many times during the year. His contributions were not always tangible or evident on the scoresheet. He was by far and away one of the Gulls best defencemen – making up one half of a shutdown cheat-mode breakout duo. Interestingly his defensive partner lead the team in +/- with +16 while he languished at a -4 but the flip-side is his 41 points were once again tops on the Gulls blue-line and fifth on the team in scoring. He was also tied for third in assists with 31 and finished second in shots with 156 – perhaps further showing his development in understanding the best ways to create rebounds in and around the net.

He was a key part of the Gulls largely inconsistent Power Play – further developing his ability to quarterback the man advantage by leading the team with 16 Power Play assists also good for sixth in the league by defenders. He also proved a big game player – sharing third place on the team in game winning goals with Nathan Gaucher in netting three.

He was mostly consistent throughout the year apart from two separate cold streaks around November and December but despite losing his dependable defensive partner in the final two weeks of the season, largely finished strong – contributing three points in four games after Hinds was called up. He went scoreless in the Gulls two postseason games and finished a joint team worst -4 which only goes to show just how much he was on the ice as a player Coach McIlvane heavily depended on.

He has one year left on his entry level contract and once again goes into an off-season pondering whether he has done enough for Anaheim to create a spot for him on the right side, or does he need to continue to improve his all round game. With the Ducks now looking at all of Radko Gudas, Jacob Trouba and John Carlson on expiring UFA deals it does appear that the time is finally right to allow Luneau to graduate permanently.

He was as always reliable and dependable – spending most of the season on a pairing with the rookie Stian Solberg. Earlier in the year he was needed to bail out the youngster from some defensive miscues or bad pinches but by the All Star break the two of them were working together almost as one. Solberg working to dislodge the puck with a thundering hit and McKeown sweeping in to collect the spoils or cover the space left behind should the youngster take himself out of the play too much on the intended contact.

Some of Solbergs game even appeared to have rubbed off on him as for the first time I noticed opposing teams appearing to go after McKeown and on more than one occasion he found himself almost egregiously public enemy number one after a seemingly innocuous hit.

Like his defensive partner – he was a near team worst -19, the worst among defenders on the squad which can either be explained by the duo seeing a lot of opposing teams top lines or just sheer quantity of ice-time but in comparison to other pairings – I did notice that McKeown and Solberg did struggle with the breakout the most.

You could potentially point to this as a weakness and I know not a heck of a lot of stock should be put into +/- but when there aren’t any advanced analytics to go by it does give one pause. McKeown has been a positive player for most of his career but for one -10 season in Charlotte back in 2016-2017 so this could just be another outlier considering he was the Gulls only defender to have a positive +/- last season. For all of those clamoring for Solberg to get a look with the Ducks I give this as further evidence that he may not be quite ready yet.

He was largely middling in all statistical categories – 11th in scoring, 8th in assists, 10th in shots and 5th in Power Play assists but played a simple mistake free game that meant he could be used in all situations.

This was the second year of a two year AHL deal he signed with Ryan Carpenter back in the summer of 2024. Carpenter has since committed to another season already but so far radio silence on McKeown. It will be interesting if the Ducks and Gulls do opt to bring him back based on his numbers this season. I for one believe this is not a true reflection of his worth as a player and to the team but it depends on where the Ducks are going with their defensive core. As I mentioned above – I think Solberg still needs another year and he will need a veteran by his side to continue to mentor him; its whether or not the Ducks feel McKeown is doing a good enough job of doing that.

He was possibly the Gulls best defensive forward – finishing the year with a +6; tied with Tim Washe and Matt Basgall for second on the team behind the impressive Tyson Hinds.

I noted last season that should the Gulls bring back Bailey – I could see Myatovic spending a lot of time this year on the top line with he and Carpenter as he complemented them well by forcing turnovers and distributing pucks to danger areas. Alas that was not to be but he still found ways to contribute on offense whilst playing from the bottom six and his ongoing developing chemistry with Nathan Gaucher will likely continue into the next season.

He has one year left on his three year entry level deal and will look to improve on his offensive numbers this season while staying one of the Gulls best defensive forwards – perhaps mentoring the first year Lucas Pettersson.

Mysak had perhaps the most promise and hype entering his second full season with the Gulls but like Calle Clang – he had it derailed by a preventable injury; only unlike Clang – this injury was of Myasks own doing.

Mysak had already turned a few heads at Ducks training camp and I had several eyes on the ground remark that he looked to be seemingly everywhere. He carried that over to a strong start to his campaign as he put up two assists in the Gulls first game – a blow out win over the Firebirds but seemed to struggle to keep the consistency up after that. He notched a three point game in late November but also saw stretches of two to four games of going pointless throughout much of the rest of the season until that one fateful game against San Jose on the 18th of February. A seemingly frustrated Mysak decided to take matters into his own hands and throw punches at the Barracudas Lucas Vanroboys between face-offs before eventually dropping the gloves with him and losing a quick one-sided bout. He immediately went to the dressing room after the fight and did not return to action until a month later on the 22nd of March.

I remarked in the post game notes of that game that it was a stupid way for him to get injured and that his line looked lost without him after he left the game. The Gulls went 5-8-0-0 without him and Cal Burke took the opportunity to slot in and get some minutes in the center position in his absence.

As I have stated several times before – Mysak is a pure play driver and plays a pivotal role in the neutral zone in both distribution and puck-rushing. He also has a knack for creating dangerous plays in the offensive zone by stopping up at the blue line and finding an open man or the soft area. I have no idea what caused him to grow so frustrated other than perhaps a lack of production not meeting his own high expectations for himself.

He is now an RFA eligible for arbitration after completing the one year deal he signed in the last off-season. Given the off year he just had I wonder if the Ducks elect to skip qualifying him and attempt to sign him to an AHL only deal. It would be a risky move as I still feel he is an important player and has a lot of experience while still somewhat in his prime.

Oh and I can’t not do a Mysak grade without checking in on Jacob Perreault – who spent most of this season in the ECHL but was a point per game player scoring 39 points in 39 games while putting up 5 points in 14 games in Providence at the AHL level.

This season he started the year in Anaheim – contributing nine points in 29 games but was unable to hold down a spot amidst intense competition in the bottom six. He was eventually sent down to San Diego in mid January where he slotted right onto the top line with Ryan Carpenter and Justin Bailey.

He stayed on the top line until mid February when he suddenly found himself bounced around the line-up as the coaches attempted to spark some new chemistry to ail the Gulls lack luster offense.

Like a lot of players this season his numbers were not all that great compared to previous years. Even though he achieved the lofty result of spending more time in the NHL this season; setting career highs in games played, assists and points. He did not match his production in San Diego and was actually worse than last season; converting at a 0.43 point per game pace as compared to last seasons 0.68. He still proved an important part of the penalty kill – managing a shorthanded goal and he also factored in other parts of the offense; netting two first goals of the game and two insurance goals.

He still had his NHL speed and showed flashes of his play-making ability off the rush but either did not jell with his line-mates or the specific playing style deployed in San Diego this season did not complement his skill set.

Overall I expected more of him – especially in the big games towards the tail end of the season; he had shown in the past he can take over and control games with his speed but he was a shadow of his former self.

He has one year left on the two year extension he signed in the off-season but is also no longer Waivers exempt so if we are to see him in San Diego next season he will need to be passed through waivers and hope that no other team claims him.

Once again – like his team-mates this year; he had a dip in production; finishing with a .80 points per game average as opposed to last season when he was an over a point per game player but he lead or was a close second in almost all categories. He was second in goals – eclipsing the 20 goal mark for the first time; tied for first in assists, tied for first in Power Play tallies, first in shots, second in Power Play assists and tied for second in insurance markers.
Interestingly – despite being one of only two twenty plus goal scorers on the squad; he tallied only one game winner, no overtime winners and did not convert in the shootout even though he was a go-to-guy, seeing four attempts.

Starting the year on the second line with his already strong existing chemistry with Jan Mysak making that a smart choice I felt; he eventually found himself on the top line by seasons end after Mysak went down with injury in mid February and caused what felt like a few weeks worth of line changes until the coaching staff were eventually happy with the new combinations.

Pastujov was in the midst of a five game point streak before the injury and went scoreless for four games after during all the subsequent line changes. Proving to be similarly reliable in the post-season; he was the only Gull to score a goal in the two games against the Eagles.

Although he is a pure sniper he did show a lot of play-making ability this season, setting a career high in assists while co-leading the team. At this point he doesn’t have much else to prove at the AHL level and I rank him as the highest forward on the depth chart next in line for a call-up. The supposed knocks on his skating that lead to his draft profile ranking him lower than other goal scoring forwards have been overcome and he is clearly more than confident in how he can still create space and separation for himself by making calculated turns to lose defenders.

He has even improved on the defensive side of the puck – as one of only six forwards to have a positive +/-.

He is now an RFA after completing his three year entry level deal but I would expect the Ducks to qualify him to keep him in the fold but he is also now eligible for Waivers so the Ducks will either need to make room for him next season or try to sneak him through during the preseason.

Starting the year on the second line he found himself all over the lineup throughout the season, including the top line and the third line.

He factored on the man advantage, hitting the back of the net six times and as mentioned was one of the leading scorers on the team, scoring at a .73 point per game clip. He also had the third most shots on the team – with 154.

He had 14 multi-point games on the season and largely continued that same fearless style that surprised many during the preseason although he did pay the price fairly often. If I had to sum up his season in one word it would be Resilience. I don’t know how he plays the type of game he does and did not spend any time on the shelf nursing an injury or two. He was one of eight Gulls to play in 71 games and like much the others – did not play the full 72 due to sitting to allow a Black Ace to see some game-time at seasons end.

As the Eagles leading scorer last season I had hoped he would have been more of a game-breaker for the Gulls this year but as a group the team did get a lot better this season and Phillips was a big part of that. He has one year left on a two year deal he signed with San Diego over the summer of 2025 so we will be seeing him back next season provided there are no waiver shenanigans.

Despite playing in only 25 games – he did tally a game winning goal; the fifth Gulls goal in a 6-4 win over the Ice Hogs in March.

At this point we know the tale of the tape on Pitre – he isn’t a play driver and requires to be placed with one as such in order to contribute. He is much like Myatovic – best on the fore-check and in turning pucks over down low; but unlike Myatovic his development is trending in the wrong direction.

Pitre has one year left on his three year entry level deal and will need to have a career year next season if he wants to be re-qualified – particularly with the likes of Lucas Pettersson and Herman Traff now joining the ranks.

Starting the season on a line with Tim Washe and Judd Caulfield he saw some success, scoring goals in sporadic bursts including a three game goal streak between the 25th and 30th of October. But he also disappeared for vast stretches including a 14 game streak without a goal and only two assists to show for between the 26th of November and the 7th of January.

In all he only had three multi-goal streaks on the season and finished the year tied with Nathan Gaucher for sixth on the team with 15. For a player drafted as a “shoot first” goal scoring winger; the drop from 17 last season to 15 this year is a bit concerning – he likely should have been a twenty goal scorer with the extra amount of games played this year. He did once again lead the team in first goals (tied with Carpenter) with five but should have taken more shots – finishing the year with 136 – fifth best on the team.

It is tricky to pick exactly what contributed to the slump this year – looking over my recaps from month to month I did notice he never seemed to stay on the same line for longer than two or three games. Seeing time with his center last year Gaucher in one game; then Washe the next, or Burke a game later and then finding himself on the top line with Carpenter a week later. Where the coaching staff did a better job of keeping lines and defensive pairings as consistent as they could this season; it is strange that Sidorov never seemed to find a home.

By seasons end he found himself sat to allow for the Black Aces to get some game time but perhaps the most telling sign of how disappointing his season had been; he was a healthy scratch for both the Gulls playoff games against the Eagles; the introduction of Roger McQueen and strong play of Cal Burke forcing the relegation to the press box.

Sidorov was a shadow of his usual rich-in-swagger-self this season and he has one year left on his entry level deal to get back to turning heads and popping goaltenders drink bottles if he hopes to get his development back on track.

First lets start with the good: Solberg had the highest goals by a defender on the squad this year (yes more than Luneau) which also tied a club record for goals by a rookie defender in a single season. He was tied with Brouillard for the third most points by blue-liners; ahead of Hinds and Warren.

He led the team in unassisted goals with four – proving prolific at forcing turnovers and instantly converting on them. While also getting two empty net conversions; seeing the ice in the closing minutes of action as the season went on.

Now for the bad – and the reason I still feel he needs another year in the A – once again; I know this is an unreliable stat but it does correlate with what I had been seeing during the year. When the likes of Tyson Hinds, Tim Washe, Nico Myatovic, Nik Brouillard, Jan Mysak etc are all sporting positive +/- it makes sense to me; because I have seen how more often than not they are either contributing toward a goal on the ice or preventing one. When I see Solberg was a near team worst -16, as a defender; and that only his defensive partner (who as mentioned above has been a positive +/- for the rest of his career) was worse by blue-liners- it also makes sense with what I was seeing on the ice. Don’t get me wrong – he got better as the year went on; much better – but for perhaps the first three or four months of the season Solberg struggled immensely with the breakout and defensive positioning down low. There was also the odd game where he was just completely off; no gap control – caught way out of position and then trying too hard to over-correct which then lead to more mistakes. I have seen it from young defenders learning the pro-game in the past and I will see it in years to come, it is nothing out of the ordinary – he will need another year.

Besides – where are the Ducks going to put him? He is another left shot; they will need to move Olen Zellweger or Pavel Mintyukov first – and then Tyson Hinds already proved himself ready with his end of season audition.

His ELC still doesn’t officially start until next season as this was a slide year so the Ducks have plenty of time to maneuver their defensive core for his eventual spot in the NHL.

He then scored his first professional goal in early November against the Reign before going pointless for nine games. Eventually he finished the season with 12 points in 61 games; the lowest of the six defenders on the squad – but Warren was never projected as a high scoring blue-liner; anything he could contribute on offense was really just a bonus. Where Warren really excels and improved on this season was in his own end. He finished with an even +/- – only his defensive partner Nik Brouillard and the NHL-ready Tyson Hinds were better.

Interestingly his two goals were both unassisted; taking some defensive effort to be created – which isn’t surprising given that is what he is best at.

Where last season he was getting beaten wide with speed or getting timing wrong on breaking up an incoming rush – this season he was quietly and efficiently forcing turnovers with ease while punishing any would-be cycling forwards down low. His skating had visibly improved and his ability to read the play seemed almost automatic. This was possibly the first season where I wasn’t concerned by any pairing the Gulls iced (except maybe when Konnor Smith slotted in which is exactly what happened at the end of the season when Warren went down with a non disclosed injury) and Warren was the only one I was a bit tentative about for parts of last season.

Perhaps most telling of all – Warren returned from injury just in time for the Gulls short two game postseason and contributed an assist on their only goal whilst he and Brouillard were the only positive players on the squad.

He has one year left on his three year ELC but I feel would be ready for some spot duty and injury cover with the Ducks next season; in a stay at home capacity.

He hung around the top of the Gulls leading scorers for the first three months of the season – proving instrumental in the face-off dot, on the Power Play as well as on the Penalty Kill. When the Ducks hot start suddenly started to turn into a very worrying slump around the Christmas break he was recalled in attempt to give them some life in their bottom six. Seeing his first game of this season with the Ducks on the road in Carolina where he went scoreless; it took him until his fourth game to score his first NHL goal against the Kings in LA.
He was sent back to San Diego during the Olympic break and picked up another goal and assist over a six game stretch that would likely be his last time in San Diego.

At the time of his first recall I tweeted that Ducks fans could expect a face-off ace who can take punishment in front of the net to score the dirty goals and that is essentially how he was utilized in Anaheim. During his brief time with the Gulls he could be counted on in all situations and routinely got under an easily irritated opponents skin – especially a star forward for whom he had been hard-matched against.

Despite playing only 36 games he still finished tenth in scoring on the Gulls, 8th in goals, tied for second in +/-, sixth in Power Play assists, second in game winning goals and first in insurance goals.

He has one year left on the two year deal he signed as an undrafted free agent and somewhat ironically is still waiver exempt next season but likely won’t be seen in San Diego.

San Diego Gulls 2025-2026 Player Grades Honourable Mentions

Matt Basgall

4 Games – 1 Goals, 1 Assist – 2 Points

Possibly the best Black Ace not named Roger McQueen, Basgall – like Washe; transitioned from the NCAA to the NHL with ease. I am sure it helped that he was also named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in his final year at Michigan State. Signed to an ATO at the start of April he got into the Gulls final four games of the season as well as their two playoff games – instantly proving himself and leap-frogging the likes of Konnor Smith in the process. The right shot, 5’10” 190lb defender lined up next to Stian Solberg for two of those four games and was trusted with playing on his off-side with Luneau in the play-offs. He notched a secondary assist in his first game of action against Bakersfield and scored his first AHL goal in the final game against the Firebirds. Most notably however; he was a +6 through those four games; hardly worth noting given the small sample size but still enough to convince me that he needs to be signed and brought back next season.

Vyacheslav Buteyets

4 Games – 1-3-0-0, 4.29 GAA and 0.865 SV%
last year
2 Games – 0-1-0-0, 5.56 GAA and 0.800 SV%

Buteyets spent another year in Tulsa but failed to improve much on his numbers even though he earned the first string mantle for the Ducks ECHL affiliate. He posted a .908 SV% in Tulsa which was better than the .905 he posted last season; but finished with a 18-19-5 record. He memorably had a whirlwind week where he saw action in all three of the ECHL, AHL and then NHL when the Ducks saw their goal-tending tandem go down and Calle Clang still away for personal reasons. His debut for the Ducks was in relief of Ville Husso in a 7-0 loss to Utah. In San Diego he saw action in four starts; three within the same week in November and one in January – he collected his first AHL win in Tucson on the 26th of November; a 5-3 win. Both of his GAA and SV% improved on last years numbers and he did prove himself able to handle a start in the AHL but not quite as a confident number one net-minder. Like Clang he is now an RFA but with Damian Clara announcing his arrival and seemingly progressing quicker given his strong work internationally; I wonder if the Ducks do not opt to qualify him and either let him walk or attempt an AHL only deal.

Damian Clara

3 Games – 1-2-0-0, 4.04 GAA and 0.868 SV% and 2 Playoff Games – 0-2-0-0, 3.57 GAA and 0.877 SV%
last year
2 Games – 0-1-0-0, 3.15 GAA and 0.898 SV%

Clara appears to be the new goaltender of the moment in the Ducks organization. When Calle Clang went down at perhaps the worst possible time in the season – it was not Suchanek, nor was it Buteyets that the coaching staff turned to – it was the younger less AHL experienced Clara. Based on how he performed at the Olympics it was understandable – he had a breakout tournament for team Italy – stopping 133 of 146 shots faced for a .911 save percentage over four games against rosters stacked with NHL talent. But the Olympics is not the AHL and Clara didn’t exactly struggle but did appear to be caught off guard with how random and disjointed plays can form; the lack of structure likely also didn’t help. He was given three starts at the tail end of the season – registering his first AHL win in his first start – a 7-3 win over the Condors on the 11th of April. I noted in the post game notes for that game that his movement in tracking the play was flawless (bit of an over-exaggeration on my part I feel) and his size lets him see through layers of traffic without too much effort. He was only beaten by a very tough tight-angle shot and some outnumbered lateral plays. He was given the net for the Gulls brief playoff series with the Eagles and largely kept his team in it for game one – getting beaten by an opportunistic backhand shot and then exposed by a poor change by his team-mates on the penalty kill. I didn’t watch the second game so I am not sure how he fared.
He has two years left on his entry level deal but given the confidence the Ducks have shown in him thus far – it will be interesting to see who emerges as the tandem in San Diego next season.

Roman Kinal

14 Games – 0 Goals, 0 Assists – 0 Points
last year
36 Games – 1 Goal, 1 Assist – 2 Points

Suchanek was once again called in for spot-duty this season but this time his tour of duty was much shorter. Called up in November but not used until late December; Kinal failed to register a point in this years stint but was once again his usual mistake-free reliable self. Stay-at-home without the size or excessive penalty minutes he is the definition of a spare serviceable defenceman; he won’t ever drive play or score a big goal but he won’t cost you one either. He had 9 points in 24 games with Tulsa and it will be interesting to see if he is the first look for injury cover once again next season – as opposed to the under-contract Biakabutuka.

Roger McQueen

7 Games – 1 Goal, 2 Assists – 3 Points and 2 Playoff Games – 0 Goals, 0 Assists – 0 Points

The Ducks first round selection – tenth overall – of the 2025 draft elected to postpone his collegiate career and sign an ATO with the Gulls on April 1st. He collected three points in seven games largely playing on a line centering Sam Colangelo and Matthew Phillips. He made his AHL debut against the Condors – a Gulls 6-3 win and collected an assist on the sixth goal as Phillips finished a rebound from Colangelo on a play started by McQueen. I stated in the post game notes for that one that he seemed to settle in fairly quickly with his line-mates but will need time to get used to the nuances of face-off etiquette in the AHL as he was tossed from nearly all of his draws early on in the game. My initial thoughts and impressions of him are that he is very fast for his size and is a threat with and without the puck – either creating a play or finding space to slip into a scoring position. He scored his first professional goal in a 5-3 loss to the Condors, the games opening score just over a minute into the first period. He signed his ELC on the 18th at the conclusion of the regular season and stayed as the second-line center for the Gulls brief post-season run. I wrote in the post game notes for the first game of that series that he showed some pest in his game that I was not aware was a part of his make-up; finishing every hit and finding himself at the bottom of a scrum as a result. McQueen will make a push to make the Ducks out of camp next season and could make a good case to do so but I am secretly hoping he starts the season in the AHL where he will slot right in as the second line center.

Lucas Pettersson

4 Games – 0 Goals, 0 Assists – 0 Points

Another Black Ace whom the Ducks appear to be possibly bringing over from Europe permanently – Pettersson was a second round selection in 2024 and was compared to a young William Karlsson by Ducks assistant general manager Martin Madden at the time of his selection. He had 20 points in 41 games with Brynas IF in the SHL this season as a team-mate of Damian Clara and had four assists in five playoff games. Those are very good numbers for a 20 year old playing with and against largely experienced ex-NHL talent. He made his debut against San Jose on the 7th of April a Gulls 5-2 win and I wrote in the post game notes of that game that he had a shaky start – making some strange passing plays in the early goings but overall had a fairly good game; I liked his tenacity on the back-check and his ability to force turnovers using his speed to close on opponents. He showed a brief glimpse of his offense in that game – attempting a deflection play in front of the net but other than that I didn’t have much else to say about him. If he is making the jump and coming across next season – it would mean he slots in for the either permanently graduated or departed Sam Colangelo and/or Nikita Nesterenko.

Konnor Smith

13 Games – 0 Goals, 1 Assist – 1 Point
last year
3 Games – 0 Goals, 0 Assists – 0 Points

I was initially a fan of Smith as your prototypical old-school mean defense-man and will admit I am at times a massive hypocrite by praising him some games while despising him the next but I am almost completely now on the “not a fan” side of things now – and feel the blame lies largely with him for how the Gulls season ended after he ran over his own goaltender in the final game of the regular season. I detailed in the post game notes for that one that he is a step too slow to get to a loose puck and was routinely beat wide on the rush. He had 9 points in 38 games for Tulsa this season, was a -15 and logged 33 PIMs. He has two years left on his ELC but I would prefer he stayed far far away from the Gulls defense next season.

Tomas Suchanek

15 Games – 5-7-3-0, 3.31 GAA and 0.879 SV%
last year
29 Games – 14-10-5-3, 2.92 GAA and 0.910 SV%

In a year that he was expected and supposed to bounce back to the form that earned him an ELC as an undrafted free agent Suchanek struggled to gain momentum. It was speculated that missing an entire year due to the surgery required to correct a ruptured ACL in his right knee might mean our standards should be tampered but that didn’t mean it still wasn’t tough to watch.
Starting the year in Tulsa and sharing the net with Buteyets he managed just three wins; posting a 3-8-0 record a horrific 4.27 GAA and a lowly 0.884 save percentage.
Initially recalled on the 11th of November when it was announced Calle Clang was taking a leave of absence, he didn’t see action until the 5th of December – a 3-2 OT loss to Texas in which I wrote that he looked surprisingly sharp despite sitting on the bench for almost a month. He didn’t get his first win of the season until his fifth start; a 4-3 win over the Firebirds.
As I wrote above – it is intriguing that the coaching staff went with the younger less AHL-experienced Clara for the post-season and hopefully Suchanek can use that to once again prove the naysayers wrong in what should hopefully be his true bounce back season on the final year of his entry level contract. The fight for the Gulls net will lie between he, Clang and Clara.

Herman Traff

3 Games – 0 Goals, 0 Assists – 0 Points

The Swedish Judd Caulfield signed his ELC on the 23rd of March and was the first Black Ace to make his debut after signing an ATO with the Gulls. I wrote after the game of a number of instances that saw him essentially benched for the entire third period so it wasn’t a great introduction but by his third outing – the final game of the regular season against the Firebirds – he was showing flashes of brilliance; including a nice inside-outside move on a partial break that almost saw him go in alone as he tried to split the defense. Like Pettersson – if he is indeed based in North America next season; he will slot in on the right side but will have to fight with Justin Bailey (if he is brought back), Matthew Phillips, Yegor Sidorov and Judd Caulfield for a spot. He can also play the left-side – where a spot might be more likely – particularly given both Colangelo and Nestereko will probably be gone.

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Waiver Exemption Status

A new feature I have built into this years grades article (thanks to puckpedia.com) – its mostly for my own sanity but could he helpful for you too!

Name	Position	Waiver Exempt	NHL Games Played	Seasons
Vyacheslav Buteyets	G	Yes	1/60	2/4
Judd Caulfield	RW	No
Calle Clang	G	No
Damian Clara	G	Yes	0/80	2/5
Sam Colangelo	RW	No
Nathan Gaucher	C	No
Tyson Hinds	LD	No
Tristan Luneau	RD	Yes	14/160	3/4
Roger McQueen	C	Yes	0/160	0/3
Nico Myatovic	LW	Yes	0/160	2/3
Jan Mysak	C	No
Nikita Nesterenko	LW	No
Sasha Pastujov	RW	No
Lucas Pettersson	LW/C	Yes	0/160	1/4
Coulson Pitre	RW	Yes	0/160	2/3
Yegor Sidorov	RW	Yes	0/160	2/3
Konnor Smith	LD	Yes	0/80	1/3
Stian Solberg	LD	Yes	0/160	2/4
Tomas Suchanek	G	Yes	0/60	1/4
Herman Traff	RW	Yes	0/80	0/3
Noah Warren	RD	Yes	0/160	3/4
Tim Washe	C	Yes	53/60	2/3

So in looking over that – the following players will need to be strategically fed through waivers right at the start of next season or not risked being placed on waivers at all:

Judd Caulfield, Calle Clang, Sam Colangelo, Nathan Gaucher, Tyson Hinds, Jan Mysak, Nikita Nesterenko and Sasha Pastujov.

I didn’t include the obvious veterans who also have to pass through waiver regardless.

It should also noted that next season is the final year of exemption for Tristan Luneau, Nico Myatovic, Coulson Pitre, Yegor Sidorov, Noah Warren and Tim Washe.

This is feeling eerily similar to when the Reign was in a similar situation a couple of season back and that is about when their parent club starting making deals to attempt a new contention window.

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The Depth Chart As I Now See It

Again – more for me to get this down on paper and have a record than any other reason. I haven’t included the vets and yes I am aware Caulfield is not on an NHL deal.

LD	RD	Center	Scoring-Wing	Defensive-Forward	Goal
Hinds	Luneau	Gaucher	Pastujov	Nesterenko	Clang
Solberg	Warren	McQueen	Caulfield	Myatovic	Suchanek
		Mysak	Colangelo		Clara
			Sidorov		Buteyets

Final Notes

This was a season that saw the Gulls improve in the standings – enough to make the playoffs in the final seed but also saw the group as a whole produce less. They finished with 78 points and 27 regulation wins to take the final playoff spot but scored just eight goals more than their previous two seasons while also allowing 228 goals – 23 less than last season and 17 less than the one before. Without knowing it – it was also a transitional one; with Coach Matt McIlvane now moving onto an Assistant Coaching role in the NHL with the Bruins and Michael Babcock heading to the OHL to take up his first head coaching role.
With several players now no longer waiver exempt and with at least two or even four rookies joining the squad next season it will be hard to see if they can keep building upon the momentum of the past three seasons but either way it should hopefully be fun to watch.

If you would like to take a trip down memory lane you can check out the previous years grades here.

• 2024-2025 San Diego Gulls Grades
• 2023-2024 San Diego Gulls Grades
• 2022-2023 San Diego Gulls Grades
• 2021-2022 San Diego Gulls Grades
• 2020-2021 San Diego Gulls Grades
• 2019-2020 San Diego Gulls Grades

If you want to yell at me on X or Blue Sky, Facebook or even Reddit (just not TikTok or Instagram because I’m too old for that) for my grades being too high I will give the same excuse I give every season. The New Zealand system (where I grew up and live) assigns grades from A+ to C- all of which are a pass, everything under a C- is a fail. Also I genuinely like watching and following these players so I (mostly) hate to say terrible things about them.