Grant Potulny
American ice hockey player and coach
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Grant Martin Potulny (born March 4, 1980) is an American former professional ice hockey player and coach who is most recently served as the head coach of the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League. He was previously the head coach of the Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey team from 2017 to 2024. Potulny was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the 5th round (157th overall) of the 2000 NHL entry draft.
| Grant Potulny | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Potulny with the Hershey Bears in 2007 | |||
| Born |
March 4, 1980 | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| NHL draft |
157th overall, 2000 Ottawa Senators | ||
| Playing career |
2004–2009 Coaching career | ||
| Biographical details | |||
| Alma mater | Minnesota | ||
| Playing career | |||
| 1998–2000 | Lincoln Stars | ||
| 2000–2004 | Minnesota | ||
| 2004–2007 | Binghamton Senators | ||
| 2007–2008 | Hershey Bears | ||
| 2007–2008 | Springfield Falcons | ||
| 2008–2009 | San Antonio Rampage | ||
| 2008–2009 | Norfolk Admirals | ||
| 2008–2009 | Füchse Duisburg | ||
| Position | Center | ||
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |||
| 2009–2017 | Minnesota (Assistant) | ||
| 2013 | USA U20 (Assistant) | ||
| 2017 | USA U20 (Assistant) | ||
| 2017–2024 | Northern Michigan | ||
| 2018 | USA U20 (Assistant) | ||
| 2024–2026 | Hartford Wolf Pack | ||
| Head coaching record | |||
| Overall | 128–113–17 (.529) | ||
| Tournaments | 0–0 (–) | ||
Playing career
Potulny played two seasons in the United States Hockey League with the Lincoln Stars, leading his team to win the 1999–2000 Anderson Cup as the team's Most Valuable Player.[1] Potulny then attended the University of Minnesota where he was a three-year captain with the Minnesota Golden Gophers during his college career.
Immediately following his graduation, Potulny turned professional with the Binghamton Senators playing in their final few regular season games and playoff of the 2003–04 AHL season. He also played in the AHL for the Hershey Bears, Springfield Falcons, San Antonio Rampage and Norfolk Admirals. He also played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in Germany for Füchse Duisburg. He retired from professional hockey following the 2008–09 AHL season.
Coaching career
In July 2009, Potulny was promoted to full-time assistant coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers Men's ice hockey team prior to the 2009–10 season.[2]
Prior to the 2013 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships Potulny was named an assistant head coach for Team USA, working alongside Mark Osiecki and Phil Housley.[3] He was again named an assistant coach for Team USA for the 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[4]
On April 18, 2017, it was announced that Potulny was selected to be the new head coach at Northern Michigan University.[5] In his first year as head coach, Potulny was named the WCHA Coach of the Year. He had led the Northern Michigan Wildcats to a 19-7-2-2 record. ranking second place in the conference.[6] On March 29, 2018, Potulny signed an eight-year employment agreement with Northern Michigan.[7]
After 7 seasons, Potulny stepped down as Northern Michigan head coach on June 11, 2024. He was named head coach of the Hartford Wolf Pack on June 27, 2024.
On May 3, 2026 coaches Grant Potulny, Jamie Tardif, and Paul Mara were all relieved of their duties with the Hartford Wolf Pack.[8]
Personal life
He is the older brother of Ryan Potulny, who played in the NHL for the Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, Chicago Blackhawks and Ottawa Senators. He is also a first-cousin to Paul Gaustad.
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Michigan Wildcats (WCHA) (2017–2021) | |||||||||
| 2017–18 | Northern Michigan | 25–15–3 | 19–7–2 | 2nd | WCHA Runner-up | ||||
| 2018–19 | Northern Michigan | 21–16–2 | 18–8–2 | 2nd | WCHA Semifinals | ||||
| 2019–20 | Northern Michigan | 18–16–4 | 16–11–1–1 | 3rd | WCHA Quarterfinals | ||||
| 2020–21 | Northern Michigan | 11–17–1 | 6–7–1 | T–5th | WCHA Runner-up | ||||
| Northern Michigan: | 75–64–10 | 59–33–6 | |||||||
| Northern Michigan Wildcats (CCHA) (2021–present) | |||||||||
| 2021–22 | Northern Michigan | 20–16–1 | 12–13–1 | 5th | CCHA Semifinals | ||||
| 2022–23 | Northern Michigan | 21–17–0 | 14–12–0 | T–4th | CCHA Runner-Up | ||||
| 2023–24 | Northern Michigan | 12–16–6 | 10–10–4 | 5th | CCHA Quarterfinals | ||||
| Northern Michigan: | 53–49–7 | 36–35–5 | |||||||
| Total: | 128–113–17 | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| College | ||
| All-WCHA Rookie Team | 2000–01 | |
| All-NCAA All-Tournament Team | 2002 | [9] |
| WCHA All-Tournament Team | 2003 | [10] |
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1996–97 | Red River High School | HSND | ||||||||||||
| 1997–98 | Red River High School | HSND | ||||||||||||
| 1998–99 | Lincoln Stars | USHL | 46 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 76 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Lincoln Stars | USHL | 56 | 25 | 30 | 55 | 85 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 2000–01 | University of Minnesota | WCHA | 42 | 22 | 11 | 33 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | University of Minnesota | WCHA | 43 | 15 | 19 | 34 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | University of Minnesota | WCHA | 23 | 15 | 8 | 23 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | University of Minnesota | WCHA | 38 | 16 | 10 | 26 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 50 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 104 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2005–06 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 78 | 23 | 23 | 46 | 122 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 47 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 85 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 50 | 19 | 12 | 31 | 71 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 25 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Füchse Duisburg | DEL | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | San Antonio Rampage | AHL | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Norfolk Admirals | AHL | 37 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| AHL totals | 297 | 73 | 72 | 145 | 475 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||