Grand Forks native Grant Potulny leaving Northern Michigan for pro opportunity
Jun. 11—GRAND FORKS — After seven seasons as the head men's hockey coach at Northern Michigan University, Grand Forks native Grant Potulny is moving on.
Potulny has accepted a job at the pro level, the school announced. His specific destination has not yet been announced.
Potulny finished his run at Northern Michigan with a 128-113-17 record.
Athletic director Rick Comley, who won NCAA titles coaching Northern Michigan (1991) and Michigan State (2007), is serving as the interim head coach.
Potulny's assistants — Nick Peruzzi and Byron Pool — are taking assistant jobs elsewhere. Peruzzi is expected to land at UConn.
"Grant is a very good hockey coach and professional teams have realized that," Comley said. "On behalf of Northern, I want to thank Grant and his staff for their outstanding work with the Wildcat Hockey program, and wish them great success with their new teams."
Potulny's exit comes at a time when the Wildcats were bringing in their most highly touted recruiting class of his tenure.
It is headlined by goaltender Hampton Slukynsky of Warroad, Minn. Slukynsky, a fourth-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings, was recently named the goaltender of the year in the United States Hockey League.
Other highly touted recruits include defenseman Vladislav Lukashevich, a fourth-round pick of the Florida Panthers, defenseman Rasmus Larsson, a fifth-round pick of the New York Rangers, forward Jakub Altrichter, forward Adam Pietila and forward Billy Renfrew.
Although the NCAA transfer portal has closed, it will re-open for Northern Michigan players and recruits for the next 30 days.
A press conference is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Potulny won three North Dakota state titles with Grand Forks Red River in the late 1990s before joining the United States Hockey League's Lincoln Stars.
He played four seasons at the University of Minnesota, winning NCAA titles in 2002 and 2003. He scored the game-winning goal in the 2002 NCAA championship game.
After playing six years of pro hockey, Potulny began his coaching career at Minnesota. He was a Gopher assistant from 2009-17 before landing the head job at Northern Michigan.
