The San Diego Gulls are in Bakersfield tonight for their first meeting of the 2026-27 season with the Condors, with puck drop set for 7:10 p.m. PST at Dignity Health Arena.
This game also gives James Hamblin a first crack at his former team. Hamblin spent six seasons with Bakersfield and played 282 games there, which covered his entire AHL career before he joined San Diego.
During that stretch, he put up 88-84=172 points with 108 PIM and a +62 rating. He also skated in 16 playoff games for the Condors, recording 3-2=5 points, two PIM and a -9 rating.
The Gulls have had the upper hand in the series overall, owning a 46-34-3-4 record against Bakersfield and a 23-18-2-1 mark on the road. San Diego went 6-2-0-0 against the Condors last season, and the two teams will meet eight times again this year. Their next matchup is set for Wednesday, Nov. 18 at Pechanga Arena San Diego.
San Diego enters at 6-5-2-0 with 15 points, good for sixth in the Pacific Division. Bakersfield sits 10th at 4-7-1-0 with nine points.
The Gulls are coming in on a high after Wednesday’s 4-1 win over the San Jose Barracuda. Anton Wahlberg led the way with a multi-goal night, while Corey Schueneman and Hamblin also scored and Damian Clara handled the net.
"I think the full team effort tonight," Wahlberg said. "I thought we played good hockey for 60 minutes.
We stuck together for 60 minutes, so that was good. And also, how we pressured the puck today.
I thought we won a lot of battles, pressured the puck good. We’re trying to build on it.
It's going to be fun with two new games this weekend. Trying to get two wins and climb in the standings."
San Diego has one more road game after tonight before heading home for its second four-game homestand of the season. The last homestand ended with a 2-1-1-0 record, and the Gulls have gone 4-2-1-0 at home overall. On the road, they’re 2-3-2-0, and they’ll try to bank four more points this weekend after carrying momentum from the win over San Jose.
"You got to take the good and you got to learn from the bad," assistant coach Kelly Buchberger said. "But same thing, it’s always nice winning that last game at home and then going on the road makes it a lot more fun. And hopefully, we get some confidence from this win and move on from there."
In Other News...
Ducks Coaching Situation Suddenly Feels Like A Bigger Story
The Ducks coaching situation has quietly moved from background noise to a storyline worth watching, with Joel Quenneville and the team engaged in contract negotiations and both sides apparently wanting the partnership to continue. For a club trying to keep its direction stable, that kind of alignment matters, and the expectation is that an extension could come together within the next month or two.
For Anaheim, the timing is what makes this more notable. Coaching uncertainty can linger into the wrong part of the calendar if a deal stalls, and the Ducks would rather settle things before the market starts heating up around the trade deadline. With roster decisions and external chatter only set to intensify from here, the organization has a chance to remove one variable before the rest of the season gets even busier. [Read more 🡒]