Grant Potulny

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.

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. 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.

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. He was again named an assistant coach for Team USA for the 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

On April 18, 2017, it was announced that Potulny was selected to be the new head coach at Northern Michigan University. 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. On March 29, 2018, Potulny signed an eight-year employment agreement with Northern Michigan.

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.

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

Awards and honors Award Year College All-WCHA Rookie Team 2000–01 All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 2002 WCHA All-Tournament Team 2003

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