San Diego Gulls Tickets

The craze for ice hockey has been growing around the country for quite some time, and it seems that people are finding new ways to fulfill their desire to watch this exciting game live. One sports league that has seen an increase in popularity as a result is the American Hockey League (AHL), which is the developmental league for the NHL. The AHL has been around for over eighty years, but it is only recently that it has seen an upturn in attendance numbers, as many of its teams have formed affiliations with established NHL franchises.  

Ready to leave the nest

In 2015, the AHL saw several new additions, and one of the most successful was the San Diego Gulls franchise. In their first official season, they performed well and recorded the second highest attendance numbers in the league. This isn't surprising, considering their affiliation with the Anaheim Ducks, who have consistently performed well in recent years. If you want to catch this latest AHL side in action, book your San Diego Gulls tickets and enjoy their game live from the stands..      

Spread your wings

The San Diego area has a rich history of professional ice hockey franchises, with many calling it their home, particularly during the 1940s, 1970s, and 1990s. The Gulls are yet another in a long line of successful teams and trace their origins back to the AHL franchise, the Norfolk Admirals.

The Admirals were created in 2000 as an affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks and made a promising start to life in the AHL. In their fifteen-year association with the league, they managed to post only four losing season records, and won several titles along the way. They won the regular season title in 2012, along with a conference championship and the Calder Cup, and they additionally won three division titles.

In 2007, the Blackhawks decided to end their association with the club and the Tampa Bay Lightning became their affiliate in the NHL. This connection stayed firm until 2012, when the Lightning decided to bow out of this partnership and were eventually replaced by the Anaheim Ducks. In 2015, the Ducks announced that, in order to keep a close eye on their developmental team, they were moving the franchise to San Diego, where they would compete under the name of the Gulls.

And fly away

Almost twenty players from the Ducks joined the Gulls for their first season and helped them post a winning season record at the end of the year. The team managed to win thirty-nine games and lose only twenty-three, to finish in second place in their division and fifth place in their conference. They also made it to the playoffs in their inaugural season and even won their first playoff series three games to one, against the Texas Stars. Even though they lost out in the division finals, their progress to this stage in the competition was a positive sign, and gave their fans hope for the future.

At the end of the season, the team saw one of its players make it onto both the First All-Star Team and the All-Rookie Team. If you want to watch more exciting prospects like him, then this is the team you have been looking for. As the Gulls go through the process of adding more quality to their squad, all you need are San Diego Gulls tickets. Then you can enjoy their game play yourself, live from the stands.