Gulls extend Travis Howe, keep veteran toughness and community leader
The Gulls kept Travis Howe for 2026-27, preserving a 6-foot-4, penalty-heavy grinder who has also won the team’s community award twice.
San Diego locked in Travis Howe on June 24 with a one-year extension through the 2026-27 AHL season, keeping a veteran depth winger whose value is measured as much in shifts, hits and tone-setting as in points. Howe’s latest numbers show why the Gulls view him as a role player, not a scorer: he had one assist and 78 penalty minutes in 21 games for San Diego in 2025-26.
That is the kind of night-to-night job Howe fills for the Gulls. At 6-foot-4 and 198 pounds, the 32-year-old right wing brings size, energy and the kind of physical presence that can change a game’s rhythm when a lineup needs edge. Over 129 AHL games with San Diego and Tucson, he has three assists and 341 penalty minutes, a profile that points to hard minutes, protection for teammates and a willingness to do work that does not show up on the scoresheet.
What makes the extension stand out is how much San Diego has valued Howe beyond the ice. He was named the club’s IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year in both 2023-24 and 2024-25 for his community work, a rare back-to-back recognition that turned him into more than a fourth-line option. The AHL’s award is officially the Yanick Dupré Memorial Award, honoring the former Hershey Bears forward who died of leukemia in 1997 at age 24.
San Diego’s own profile on Howe has described him as a fan favorite and a “high-energy, classic grinder,” language that fits a player who has become a steady part of the room as much as the lineup. The Gulls said he had spent parts of seven seasons in the ECHL with four different teams before arriving in San Diego midway through 2022-23, a path that makes his staying power in one organization more notable.
The Gulls first extended Howe on April 3, 2024, with a one-year deal through 2024-25 and a club option for 2025-26. They picked up that option on Feb. 27, 2025, then went back in June and pushed the commitment through 2026-27. For San Diego, the message is clear: a player who can handle the roughest shifts, keep a bench engaged and represent the club in the community still has a place in the build.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
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