LAS VEGAS — Another college coach is getting his professional start within the Rangers organization.
Grant Potulny, who served as head coach at Northern Michigan the past seven seasons, was announced as the new bench boss of the Blueshirts’ AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, by the club Thursday.
The decision to hire Potulny strips Steve Smith of his interim head coach title after the three-year assistant was promoted to the job in the wake of Kris Knoblauch’s departure to the Oilers in November.
It is unclear if Smith is remaining on staff.
Potulny earns his first AHL coaching gig after posting a 128-113-17 record over seven seasons with the Wildcats.
The team registered a .500 points percentage or better five times and earned at least 20 wins on four different occasions during Potulny’s tenure.
In his first season in 2017-18, Potulny led the Wildcats to a 12-win improvement from the previous season and was named the WCHA Coach of the Year.
The team also advanced to the CCHA Finals twice in a three-year span from 2020-23.
Former Boston University coach David Quinn got his start in the NHL as the head coach of the Rangers in 2018.
Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury shares a Team USA connection with Potulny, who served as an assistant at the IIHF World Junior Championships in 2013, 2017, 2018 and 2022.
Team USA won the gold medal in 2013 and 2017.
Drury and Rangers assistant general manager/Hartford general manager Ryan Martin also worked with Team USA in those years.
A fifth-round draft pick by the Senators in 2000, Potulny never reached that NHL, but the 6-foot-3 forward enjoyed a six-year playing career in the AHL.
Potulny recorded 145 points (73 goals, 72 assists) in 297 games with the Binghamton Senators, Hershey Bears, Springfield Falcons, San Antonio Rampage and Norfolk Admirals.
Inheriting a Wolf Pack team that was swept by the Bears, the AHL affiliate of the Capitals, in the Atlantic Division Finals of the Calder Cup playoffs this past season, Potulny will look to help the Rangers’ minor-league club take the next step.
Qualifying offers are due Monday after the draft, which also happens to be the start of free agency.
It is believed that forward Bobby Trivigno will not be extended one.
There is a similar expectation regarding Matthew Robertson, the Rangers’ 49th-overall pick in 2019.