The San Diego Gulls have signed former Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) student-athlete Kyle Crnkovic to a one year American Hockey League (AHL) Contract.
Crnkovic originally joined the CSSHL in 2016/17 with the Pursuit of Excellence (POE) U15 Prep team. That season he would finish second on his team and in league scoring with 79 points in 30 games. He would add 17 points in 5 playoff games as POE captured the 2017 CSSHL U15 Prep Western Championship. At the conclusion of the season Crnkovic would be selected in the first round, 10th overall at the 2017 Western Hockey League (WHL) Draft by the Saskatoon Blades.
In 2017/18 the Calgary, AB forward would join the Northern Alberta Xtreme (NAX) U18 Prep team. He would finish seventh in league scoring, tallying 64 points in 30 games. Crnkovic would score seven goals and assist on five more in five playoff games as NAX captured the 2018 CSSHL U18 Prep Western Championships.
Crnkovic would become a WHL regular in 2018/19, playing in 52 games with the Blades and recording 31 points. He would play five games for Team Canada Black at the World Under 17 Challenge, tallying five points.
In 2019/20 Crnkovic would finish second in team scoring with 64 points in 63 games, while leading all Blades skaters with 43 assists. The following season he would play 24 games, finishing with 32 points, 9 more than the next highest on his team.
2021/22 would see Crnkovic be named a WHL (East) First Team All-Star, leading his team in scoring and finishing fifth amongst all skaters with 94 points in 68 WHL games.
Prior to the 2022/23 season Crnkovic was traded to the Seattle Thunderbirds where he finished fourth in team scoring with 68 points in 67 games. He would play 19 playoff games with the Thunderbirds, scoring 6 goals and adding 10 assists as he helped his team captured a WHL Championship. Crnkovic was named to the CHL Memorial Cup All-Star Team after leading his team to a birth in the Memorial Cup Finals.