The San Diego Gulls were in the midst of a hectic season after joining the American Hockey League over the last offseason that saw a massive shift in franchises and affiliations between the top two minor hockey leagues.  Part of that shift also included game operations, which was still in a little bit of flux until recently, when they announced Callan McClurg as their new P. A. announcer in a midseason move.

McClurg has spent part of this season as the back-up announcer and has done an admirable job from what we’ve been able to hear online since he jumped behind the mic to cover games in November.

“I took over in November for a one game tryout and instantly, the response from the fans, the Gulls front office and even Ducks representatives is what eventually led to me doing the remainder of the season,” McClurg said. 

McClurg originally made contact with the team when their affiliate, Anaheim Ducks, held HockeyFest to welcome the team back in February.  It was there that McClurg made contact with team president Ari Segal.  Six months later he received a phone call asking him to try out in a private, open audition.

“I did the audition,” McClurg said.  “And heard back two weeks later to find out they went a different direction.”

He kept his hopes up and kept pushing forward, finally receiving the call a couple of months ago for a game, which turned into more.

McClurg is no stranger to the Gulls as he was the P. A. announcer for the Western States Hockey League (USA Hockey, Tier-III Junior A) franchise of the same name.  He’s also the voice of the world famous indoor soccer team San Diego Sockers and at Point Loma Nazarena University.