Grant Potulny to resign from Northern Michigan for another coaching opportunity

Northern Michigan will hold a press conference on Wednesday to announce that Grant Potulny will step down as head coach of the hockey program for another coaching opportunity.

According to sources, Potulny is set for a job in the AHL. Northern Michigan AD Rick Comley will serve as interim head coach. Comley, 77, won a national title as head coach at NMU in 1991 and with Michigan State in 2007.

There was already significant turnover on Northern Michigan’s coaching staff this summer. Byron Pool is the favorite to land the open assistant job at Dartmouth and Nick Peruzzi is reportedly set to join the staff at UConn.

Potulny became Northern Michigan’s head coach in 2017 after eight years as an assistant coach at Minnesota, his alma mater. Potulny was an assistant coach on Team USA’s World Junior team in 2012, 2016, 2017, and 2021.

According to the latest public record, Potulny’s contract with Northern Michigan ran through the 2025-26 season.

During Potulny’s seven seasons, NMU won at least 20 games four times. This past season the Wildcats went 12-16-6.