To say that the San Diego Gulls are having a tough season would be a huge understatement.
San Diego is rooted at the foot of the AHL standings having won just twelve games.
With 24 points in 46 games, San Diego is on course to finish this campaign with a losing record for the first time in franchise history.
Their current 0.261 points percentage looks set to eclipse the San Jose Barracuda, who last season finished with fifteen consecutive losses, twenty wins in total and a 0.338 points percentage.
San Diego has the worst defensive record in the league.
A staggering 181 goals, were conceded at a rate of almost four goals per game.
One bright spot from this disastrous campaign is the play of Lukas Dostal.
The Anaheim Ducks prospect is in his third season playing in North America, but 2022-23 has been a different ball game.
After two seasons in which the goaltender enjoyed personal and team success, this campaign has tested his mental resolve as much as his raw talent. Some players thrive under extra responsibility and workload, and you can slot Dostal into that category.
The recent All-Star Challenge provided a welcome break in the schedule for the Czechia netminder, albeit into a cold Quebec winter.
Before heading to Canada, Dostal had faced more rubber than any of his compatriots in the American League this season.
He’s the only goaltender to have a thousand or more shots head his way so far this season and in just 33 games.
The 22-year-old is responsible for ten of San Diego’s twelve wins this year and has had to put in some stellar performances to earn those.
Dostal has posted three shutouts with a combined 107 saves.
He stopped 41 of 43 shots in a terrific performance against Abbotsford.
In two other victories, Dostal gave up just a solitary goal.
It’s turning away 915 shots and a 0.910 Sv% that is most impressive and why he was chosen to be San Diego’s All-Star this season.
Dostal formed an excellent tandem with Calgary’s Dustin Wolf as the pair turned aside 42 of 49 shots for the Pacific Division during the three-on-three challenge tournament on Monday.
Fittingly, the Pacific Division won the championship game by posting a 1-0 win.
In the last year of his NHL Entry-Level deal, Dostal has played seven times for Anaheim in the 2022-23 campaign.
Life was no easier playing for the Ducks, who have the worst defensive record in the entire NHL and currently sit 30th in the standings.
Despite one particularly rough outing against Toronto, the Czechia netminder otherwise showed his talent by turning aside 35+ shots in each game despite Anaheim being outmatched.
His 0.909Sv% and 2-3-1 record in the NHL this season points to better times ahead for the goaltender when Anaheim puts together a competitive team for him to play behind.
Dostal rejoins a San Diego team that has lost five on the bounce and scored just seven goals in those losses. The problems are very much at both ends of the ice.
Achieving a playoff berth this season would be a miracle on ice for San Diego, but at least with Lukas Dostal between the pipes, the Gulls have a chance to win every night.
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