SHARKS SIGN POTURALSKI TO TWO-WAY CONTRACT
Jul 3, 2024
SAN JOSE, Calif. (July 1, 2024) – San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) Assistant General Manager Joe Will announced today that the club has signed forward Andrew Poturalski to a two-year, two-way contract.
“First and foremost, Andrew brings center depth to the Sharks organization and the ability to play at both the NHL and AHL levels,” said Will. “In the AHL he brings a winning pedigree and is a top center. Andrew’s leadership is evident in both his performance and character, and we’re excited to add him to our group.”
Poturalski, 30, played 60 games with the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the American Hockey League (AHL) last season, finishing with 51 points (15 goals, 36 assists) and a plus-8 rating, while pacing the team in power-play goals (9). In addition, he had 10 points (two goals, eight assists) and a plus-six rating in 13 Calder Cup Playoff games, helping the Firebirds reach the finals for the second consecutive year.
Poturalski, a two-time Calder Cup champion with the Charlotte Checkers (2019) and the Chicago Wolves (2022), has played in the AHL finals in each of the last three seasons and four of the past six. He also skated in a pair of NHL games this past season with the Seattle Kraken.
In his career, the eight-year veteran has appeared in six games in the NHL with the Carolina Hurricanes and Kraken, collecting a pair of assists. In addition, he has skated in 468 games in the AHL with the Checkers, San Diego Gulls, Wolves, and Firebirds, producing 420 points (131 goals, 289 assists), 190 penalty minutes, and plus-47 rating. In 2019, he led the AHL in playoff goals (12) and points (23), winning the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as AHL Playoff MVP (Jack A. Butterfield Trophy) en route to a championship. He won the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as AHL scoring champion in 2020-21 and 2021-22, posting a career-best 101 points (28 goals, 73 assists) in 71 games in the latter campaign. He also was featured on the AHL First All-Star Team in 2021-22 and on the league’s Second All-Star Team in 2018-19.
Prior to turning pro, the five-foot-10, 185-pound native of Williamsville, New York, spent two years at the University of New Hampshire, where he was a Hobey Baker Award Finalist as a sophomore in 2015-16. The undrafted forward was originally signed by the Carolina Hurricanes on March 8, 2016.