The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the league has an affiliation agreement with one NHL team. When NHL teams do not have an AHL affiliate, players are assigned to AHL teams affiliated with other NHL teams. Twenty-six AHL teams are located in the United States and the remaining five are in Canada. The league offices are located in Springfield, Massachusetts, and its current president is Scott Howson.
The San Diego Conquistadors, were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in San Diego. The "Q's", as they were popularly known, played from 1972 to 1975. As the Sails, they played an incomplete season only, beginning the 1975–1976 season but folding after only 11 games with 3 wins and 8 losses.
Willie Eldon O'Ree is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, best known for being the first Black player in the National Hockey League (NHL). O'Ree played as a winger for the Boston Bruins. O'Ree is referred to as the "Jackie Robinson of ice hockey" for breaking the black colour barrier in the National Hockey League, and has stated publicly that he had met Jackie Robinson when he was younger. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November 2018.
The West Coast Hockey League was a professional minor ice hockey league active in the western United States from 1995 to 2003. The number of teams ranged from six to nine. The teams were located in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Washington.
William Dickenson "Wild Bill" Hunter, was a Canadian ice hockey player, general manager and coach. Hunter was involved in hockey, Canadian football, baseball, softball and curling, but he is best known for founding the Western Hockey League (WHL), being a key player in the upstart World Hockey Association (WHA) and for his efforts to bring professional hockey to previously overlooked Western Canadian cities, especially in Edmonton and (unsuccessfully) in Saskatoon.
Joël Bouchard is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League with eight teams for parts of 11 seasons. He was most recently the head coach of the American Hockey League's San Diego Gulls, the minor league affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks.
The San Diego Gulls is the name of five different ice hockey teams based in San Diego, California.
Pechanga Arena is an indoor arena built in 1966 and located in the Midway area of San Diego, California.
The Western Hockey League (WHL) was a minor professional ice hockey league based in Western Canada that operated from 1952 to 1974. The league was managed for most of its history by Al Leader, and had roots in the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Canada Senior Hockey League. The championship trophy of the WHL was the Lester Patrick Cup.
The San Diego Mariners were an ice hockey team based in San Diego that played in the World Hockey Association from 1974 to 1977 at the San Diego Sports Arena. Previous to being in San Diego, the team was known as the New York Raiders, New York Golden Blades, and Jersey Knights. After folding in 1977, San Diego Mariners' name was adopted by an unrelated franchise in the low-level, minor professional Pacific Hockey League (PHL).
Jeff Schultz is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He most recently played for the San Diego Gulls in the American Hockey League (AHL). He was drafted by the Washington Capitals in the first round, 27th overall, in 2004.
Glacier Gardens was an indoor arena in San Diego. It opened in 1939. In that year, the San Diego Figure Skating Club was founded with the arena as its home. The club was incorporated in 1940 and the arena was the venue for ice shows throughout the 1940s. It hosted the Pacific Coast Hockey League's San Diego Skyhawks from 1944 to 1950. The arena held 5,000 people. The Skyhawks won the Pacific Coast Hockey League Championship for the 1948–1949 season. Glacier Gardens was located at the intersection of 8th and Harbor, just south of present-day Petco Park.
The San Diego Gulls were a professional ice hockey team in the West Coast Hockey League (WCHL) and later in the ECHL. The team, the third to use the Gulls nickname, was founded in 1995 immediately upon the departure of the IHL team of the same name. The Gulls played at the San Diego Sports Arena.
The San Diego Gulls were a professional ice hockey team. The team, the second to use the Gulls nickname, was founded in 1990 as part of the International Hockey League. The Gulls played at the San Diego Sports Arena.
The San Diego Sabers are a junior ice hockey team and are a member of United States Premier Hockey League. The team is based in Carlsbad, California, and plays at the Carlsbad Icetown. The team was the fourth team to be known as the San Diego Gulls from 2008 to 2015 until it gave up the nickname to the American Hockey League San Diego Gulls before the 2015–16 season.
Corey Tropp is an American professional ice hockey player who is currently playing for the Vienna Capitals of the ICE Hockey League (ICEHL). He has previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Buffalo Sabres, the latter of which drafted him in the third round, 89th overall, of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
Sports in San Diego include one men's major professional sports team, several teams from other highest-level professional leagues, minor league teams, semi-pro and college athletics. The most popular team and the only professional sports team in San Diego is the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Also popular locally are the college teams of the San Diego State Aztecs, which play in NCAA Division I, and amateur athletics.
The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in San Diego, California, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks, the Gulls play their home games at the Pechanga Arena.
The expansion of the National Basketball Association has happened several times in the league's history since it began play in 1946. The most recent examples of the expansion of the NBA are the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat in 1988, Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic in 1989, Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies in 1995, and New Orleans Pelicans in 2002. In June 2022, Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed that while there are no current plans to expand beyond 30 teams, the NBA "invariably will expand."
