Gulls A-Z Profile: Corey Tropp and Patrick Sieloff

Sep 5, 2019

Every season includes key cogs to help make a team a well-oiled machine. Veteran leadership is one of those cogs and an aspect that the Gulls will have no shortage in. Each group of players has several leaders, but Corey Tropp as a forward and Patrick Sieloff as a defenseman will have important roles with the team entering the 2019-2020 season.

Tropp is no stranger to guidance and especially with his ability to lead by example. The Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan native is entering his 10th professional season and his fifth with the Anaheim Ducks organization. Tropp will become the only player to appear in every season with the Gulls since their establishment in the AHL in 2015-16 with his first game played with San Diego this season. Over the course of his AHL career, Tropp earned 95-147=242 points and 534 PIM in 342 games played. The 30-year-old also has 149 games of NHL experience where he has recorded 6-21=27 points.

The forward continues to impress offensively after registering 20-20=40 points last season, setting a career high in goals per game average (0.364). The true resiliency came in the postseason when the 30-year-old constantly sacrificed his body to block shots and went to the hardest areas of the ice. Even with a constant beating on his body, the veteran was only limited to missing one game over the course of the postseason. In addition, Tropp totaled 4-2=6 points in 15 Calder Cup Playoff games.

Sieloff has a similar physical play that is evident on the ice to be a lead-by-example style as well. The Ann Arbor, Michigan native has been quite the journeyman in his career making stops with three different organizations in and in six different cities. The traveling defenseman earned 8-40=48 points with 414 PIM in 271 career AHL games with San Diego (2018), Belleville (2017-19), Binghamton (2016-17), Stockton (2015-16), Adirondack (2014-15) and Abbotsford (2013-14).

Through this, Sieloff has managed to gain a wealth of knowledge from different teammates and coaching staffs. Acquired last season from the Ottawa Senators, the 25-year-old skated in 14 regular season games with the Gulls and three postseason contests. Prior to the trade, Sieloff totaled 1-8=9 points and 73 penalty minutes as an alternate captain for the Belleville Senators. The 6-1, 205-pound defenseman also has a bit of experience in the NHL with two goals in two games played for the Calgary Flames and Ottawa Senators.

As with every season in the top developmental hockey league in the world, youth and inexperience will be apparent. The pair have combined for 764 professional games, giving the coaching staff confidence in their leadership among the locker room. Tropp and Sieloff will be large assets to guide these younger players and navigate the locker room to become a contender for another season.

SanDiegoGulls.com highlights each player from A-Z heading into the 2019-20 season, breaking down the roster and what's to come from each individual.

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