Gulls Top Performers: Chase De Leo
Dec 9, 2020By Joe Spurrier/SanDiegoGulls.com
Since his acquisition by the Anaheim Ducks nearly two and a half years ago, forward Chase De Leo cemented himself as one of the top performers for the San Diego Gulls.
Born and raised in La Mirada, CA - just a short drive from Honda Center in Anaheim - De Leo grew up watching the Ducks with the dream of one day playing for the organization. That dream became reality June 30, 2018, when he received a phone call informing him his hometown team acquired him from the Winnipeg Jets.
“It’s a privilege every day,” said De Leo on playing for the Ducks organization. “Being able to make that dream come true with the Ducks and put that jersey on for the first time, I remember it was hanging in my stall and I’d flip it around just to see my name bar on the back of the jersey. It’s my family’s dream…I’ve always wanted to be a Duck and that was definitely my lifelong dream.”
While the Southern California native only appeared in one game with the Ducks in each of his first two seasons with the organization, he's already made a name for himself in San Diego In two seasons with the Gulls, De Leo scored 80 points (30G/50A) with a +20 rating in 117 AHL games. In 2019-20, he ranked second among San Diego leaders in shots (134) and tied for fifth in scoring (25).
De Leo finds himself heavily involved in all facets of the game in San Diego – taking the opening faceoff, logging minutes in overtime, jumping over the boards in a shootout and playing on both the power play and penalty kill. The 2019-20 season saw the 5-10, 186-pound center record a career year on the penalty kill, scoring a career-high three shorthanded goals this past season, which tied for the second most single-season shorthanded markers in Gulls history and ranked tied for fourth among AHL leaders.
De Leo strung together two season-high three-game point streaks from Nov. 30-Dec. 11 (2-2=4, +5) and Nov. 13-16 (2-2=4, +6) and recorded six multi-point games, including one multi-goal and three multi-assist efforts. He also hit several notable milestones in the first half of the season, earning his 100th career AHL assist, Nov. 15 at Ontario and appearing in his 300th career AHL game, Dec. 20 vs. San Jose.
His strong first-half performance led to a recall to the Ducks on Jan. 9. A week later, he suited up for his second game with Anaheim to face the Nashville Predators. The organization reassigned De Leo to San Diego, where he ended the shortened season with 3-8=11 points in his last 18 games with the Gulls.
In his first year with the club in 2018-19, De Leo set career highs in multiple offensive categories, including scoring (55), goals (20), assists (35) and plus/minus (+16). He led the club in assists, shots and games played, and ranked second in scoring and tied for second in goals.
In the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs, he helped San Diego to the 2019 Western Conference Finals, scoring five goals in 16 postseason games. De Leo made Gulls history when he became the first Gull to score in each of the first four games to begin a postseason and series in the opening round against the San Jose Barracuda.
De Leo signed a one-year deal with the Ducks on Oct. 10, marking his third contract with the organization. There’s no doubt the center is ready to get back on the ice and work toward his lifelong dream – playing regularly for the Anaheim Ducks.
“I don’t think anyone wanted to be a Duck as badly as I do considering it’s something I’ve wanted and worked for since I was three years old,” said De Leo following the announcement of his contract extension. “Playing mini hockey or roller hockey in the backyard, pretending I was scoring the big goal as a Duck and to finally be able to have that dream come true, it’s pretty much a no-brainer if it’s an option for me to sign here. I feel there’s good opportunity in this organization”