The San Diego Gulls kept their coaching hire in-house, promoting Dave Manson to replace Matt McIlvane as the American Hockey League club’s head coach.
In many ways, it makes perfect sense. Manson spent the 2025-26 season as one of San Diego’s top assistants, and as a former first-round NHL draft pick with more than 1,000 games of NHL experience, he seems to check all the right boxes.
In another way, Monday’s announcement is outside the box.
The 59-year-old Manson has never been a head coach at the professional level.
Still, Anaheim Ducks management saw enough in the veteran coach to put him in charge of their top affiliate.
“After helping lead the Gulls to the playoffs last season, it was clear Dave made a big impact behind the bench,” said Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek. “Dave brings nearly 25 years of coaching experience, and he will help strengthen the standard of excellence and development we have established in San Diego as head coach.”
Manson was in charge of the Gulls’ penalty kill last season, and the club improved greatly. San Diego ranked eighth among AHL clubs with an 83.5% kill rate, and, with just 749 penalty minutes, was the second-least penalized team in the league. The Gulls’ turnaround caught the attention of the NHL’s Boston Bruins, who hired McIlvane as an assistant coach last month.
Manson is perhaps best known for his lengthy NHL career. The No. 11 overall pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 1985, Manson appeared in 1,103 NHL games with seven teams over 15 seasons. The defenseman put up 2,792 penalty minutes, the 13th-most in league history.
Following his playing career, Manson spent 14 seasons as an assistant coach with the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League, four seasons (2018-22) with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors and parts of three seasons (2022-24) as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers.
He spent the 2024-25 season with the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the WHL before joining McIlvane’s staff.
Dave Manson has been named the San Diego Gulls’ new head coach. (Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)
The Gulls’ coaching staff will also include NHL veterans Kelly Buchberger and Steve McCarthy.
Manson’s onetime teammate with the Oilers, Buchberger remained in Edmonton for much of his coaching career. He served as the Oilers’ player development coach from 2005-07, associate head coach from 2008-14, director of player personnel from 2014-16 and director of player development from 2016-17.
Buchberger spent the 2021-24 seasons as an assistant with the AHL’s Laval Rocket. He was also head coach of the league’s Springfield Falcons for the 2007-08 season.
Buchberger played 1,182 NHL games, winning Stanley Cups with the Oilers in 1987 and 1990. He was a captain for the Oilers from 1995-99 and the Atlanta Thrashers during the 1999-2000 season.
McCarthy, 45, spent the last five seasons as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. He appeared in 302 career NHL games between 1999 and 2008.
The Gulls open their 2026-27 season Oct. 3 at the San Jose Barracuda, with their home opener scheduled for Oct. 10 against the Henderson Silver Knights.