Gulls Pick Up the Pace to Open 2025 Training Camp
Sep 30, 2025
By Nick Aguilera/SanDiegoGulls.com
On the first day of the San Diego Gulls’ 2025 training camp, there was one clear message from head coach Matt McIlvane: winners work.
After last season ended in disappointment with the Gulls failing to reach the postseason for the third season in a row, training camp opened with a palpable energy that the group had been missing in past seasons. The pace was quick, coaches were focused, and players were sponges to the guidance of McIlvane and his staff.
"It’s been a long time since our last practice all together as the Gulls, and we had an energetic group today that was extremely focused," McIlvane said. "They had a really strong practice."
One difference that’s notable from past is the experience in the locker room. The Gulls currently have 23 players who skated with San Diego last season on the roster and have zero players with no American Hockey League experience. With a veteran group, the team is looking to start hot.
"This is the largest returning group I've had since I've been here, which is a huge blessing," McIlvane said. "Just going into practice today, and you don't have to board or explain drills, because guys already know where to go and what the expectations are. So, it allows us a further along starting point. It was something that I was noticing in the first practice, is that we're much further along than we were even in the middle of the season last year, because we've had so much time together."
"We were very unhappy with the result last year, the inconsistency and the slow start we had," captain Ryan Carpenter added. "That’ll be the key focus for our group."
As for the upcoming season, the plan is to win early and often. With two weeks before puck drop on the 2025-26 AHL regular season, it will be up to the guys in the locker room to figure out the formula that has been absent the past three seasons.
"Obviously there’s a lot of hunger in that room," assistant captain Roland McKeown said. "For us, it’s about winning games. That’s going to be a mentality. I believe in the abilities in the room. It’s a mentality at this point, and that’s what our group is going to have to key in on."