Grant Martin Potulny (born March 4, 1980) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He is currently the head coach of the

Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey The Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Northern Michigan University (NMU). The Wildcats are a member of the Central Coll ...

team. Potulny was selected by the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

in the 5th round (157th overall) of the

2000 NHL Entry Draft The 2000 NHL Entry Draft was the 38th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24 and 25, 2000 at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, following the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft on June 23 for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild. This ...

Playing career

Potulny played two seasons in the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

with the

Lincoln Stars The Lincoln Stars are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the United States Hockey League (USHL). The Stars' home ice is the Ice Box on the former Nebraska State Fair grounds and adjacent to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. History ...

, leading his team to win the 1999–2000

Anderson Cup The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

as the team's Most Valuable Player. Potulny then attended the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

where he was a three-year captain with the

Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and competes in the Big Te ...

during his college career. Immediately following his graduation, Potulny turned professional with the

Binghamton Senators The Binghamton Senators were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2002 to 2017. Nicknamed the B-Sens, they played in Binghamton, New York, at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. The B-Sens w ...

playing in their final few regular season games and playoff of the

2003–04 AHL season The 2003–04 AHL season was the 68th season of the American Hockey League. The league introduced the Willie Marshall Award in honor of the career points leader in the AHL, and awards it to the annual top goal scorer. The AHL switched from a si ...

. He also played in the AHL for the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a former ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center. In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Ar ...

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was sold ...

and

Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Admirals has been the name of two professional ice hockey franchises: * Norfolk Admirals (AHL), a team which played in the American Hockey League from 2000 to 2015 *Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) The Norfolk Admirals are a professional ice hock ...

. He also played in the

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

for

Füchse Duisburg The ''Füchse Duisburg'' are a German ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called h ...

. He retired from professional hockey following the

2008–09 AHL season The 2008–09 AHL season was the 73rd season of the American Hockey League. 29 teams each played 80 games in the regular season, which ran from October 8 until April 12. Team and NHL affiliation changes The Iowa Stars are renamed and are now cal ...

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 Mark Anthony Osiecki (born July 23, 1968) is an American ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey player. Osiecki was the head coach of the Ohio State University ice hockey team from the 2010–11 season to the 2012–13 season. Osiec ...

and

Phil Housley Phillip Francis Housley (born March 9, 1964) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He most recently served an assistant coach for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 2019 to 2022. Housley was th ...

. He was again named an assistant coach for Team USA for the

2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was the 42nd edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship, and was hosted by the city of Buffalo, New York at the KeyBank Center and HarborCenter. It opened on December 26, 2017 and closed with ...

. On April 18, 2017, it was announced that Potulny was selected to be the new head coach at

Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designated Northern a uni ...

. 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.

Personal life

He is the older brother of

Ryan Potulny Ryan Potulny (born September 5, 1984) is an American former professional ice hockey center. He is currently an assistant coach for the University of Minnesota men's ice hockey team. Playing career Potulny was drafted in the third round, 87th ov ...

, who played in the NHL for the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

and

. He is also a first-cousin to

Paul Gaustad Paul Michael Gaustad (born February 3, 1982) is an American former professional ice hockey centerman who played for the Nashville Predators and Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is nicknamed "Goose." Playing career Junior Ga ...

Head coaching record

Awards and honors

Career statistics

References

External links

* 1980 births American men's ice hockey centers American ice hockey coaches Binghamton Senators players Füchse Duisburg players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from North Dakota Lincoln Stars players Living people Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey players Norfolk Admirals players Ottawa Senators draft picks San Antonio Rampage players Sportspeople from Grand Forks, North Dakota Springfield Falcons players NCAA men's ice hockey national champions {{US-icehockey-center-stub