Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
Rockford, IL. …goaltender in bright orange 10th anniversary San Diego Gulls jersey Jingle Street and teammates Tim Wash They already stand out as they begin Tuesday night's 2026 AHL All-Star Classic hosted by BMO.
Vash has already made a name for himself as a rookie forward, and he will likely take on more work with his parent team, the Anaheim Ducks.
At the end of Tuesday's AHL All-Star Skills Competition, it wasn't just the Gulls jersey that stood out for Clang. The goaltender went 16-for-18 from the field and earned CCM Goalie of the Year honors in an 18-15 loss to the Eastern Conference to defend the Western Conference title. matched Laurent Dauphin (AHL’s leading scorer) and Christian Kyrou In the Fortune Tires Rapid Fire event, Clang had nine of 10 shots blocked. Next up was the Hard Rock Casino Rockford Pass and Score event where he closed Tristan Broz, Jack Devine and Matt Love on all three attempts. He ended his night by stopping four of Eastern Conference's five attempts on a breakaway relay in the upper deck.
Clang, 23, takes Henderson's place Karl Lindbom on the Pacific Division roster.
Just like Tuesday night, Clang is quietly letting his performances do the talking in his third season with the Seagulls. He arrived in Anaheim as a high-profile prospect in a March 2022 deal that would Rickard Raquel to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Clang, the Penguins' third-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, also played four seasons in the Swedish Hockey League.
In 2023-24, Clang's first season in North America, he'll combine his workload in San Diego with Thomas Suchanek and Alex Stalock. He spent time with veterans last season Oscar Dansk.
San Diego to play with NHL veterans this season Villehuso for much of the first six weeks of the season. Clang is also taking a personal leave of absence in November. But injuries took a heavy toll on Anaheim's net. Clang returned to the Seagulls on December 7 and quickly took over the San Diego job. Vyacheslav Butjec and Thomas Suchanek Bouncing back and forth between the Gulls and their ECHL affiliate, the Tulsa Oilers. Husso, meanwhile, returned to the Ducks on Jan. 6 and has remained there ever since.
In 19 games, Clang has a record of 11 wins, 3 draws and 4 losses, with a goals against average of 2.39 and a save percentage of 0.906. The GAA also ranks fifth in the AHL. Clang's work has solidified the Gulls' quest to return to the Calder Cup playoffs for the first time in four years. San Diego has not won a playoff series since advancing to the conference finals in 2019.
Getting this team into the Calder Cup playoffs will benefit the Ducks' young players. It will also promote the development of Clang. The Gulls currently have a record of 21-14-6-3 and are in sixth place in the Pacific Division, one point ahead of the Tucson Roadrunners. It's a relatively solid spot, but still pretty precarious, with the Calgary Wranglers and Henderson Silver Knights just seven points behind.
A big test awaits when the schedule resumes with a weekend home series against the Bakersfield Condors, one of the top teams in the Pacific Division. This will be a chance for the Clang to compare against the AHL's second-best offense (3.46 goals per game) and the third-ranked power play.
Clang could be back at the BMO Center in Rockford next week when the Gulls visit the IceHogs. Then there's a two-game trip to Texas to close out the month. The remainder of San Diego's schedule features game after game against Pacific Division powerhouses, or teams like Rockford and Texas struggling to hold a spot in the standings.
The Clang will get another chance to showcase their abilities Wednesday night (8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT) in the AHL All-Star Challenge, a 3-on-3 round-robin tournament between the AHL's four divisions. NHL Network (U.S.) and TSN5 (Canada) will televise the game, while AHLTV on FloHockey will provide streaming coverage. Chicago Sports Network (CHSN) will produce and broadcast the game.
The Ducks, who hold the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference, are fighting to make the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Meanwhile, in San Diego, it's Clang's net. AHL fans inside BMO Center on Tuesday night understood why.
About two decades in the American Hockey League, TheAHL.com feature writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. In 2016, he received the AHL's James H. Ellery Memorial Award for outstanding coverage of the league.
