SAN JOSE – Veteran forward Andrew Poturalski led the AHL with 73 points and was named the league’s most valuable player this season as he helped lead the San Jose Barracuda, the Sharks’ top minor league affiliate, to its first Calder Cup playoff appearance in six years.
Despite that, Poturalski only played three games with the Sharks, all from Feb. 4 to 8, and that was practically out of necessity. Forwards Alexander Wennberg, Nikolai Kovalenko, Nico Sturm, and Klim Kostin were all injured at the time, and the Sharks had just traded center Mikael Granlund to the Dallas Stars, so Poturalski was promoted and played his first NHL games since Nov. 2023.
Right after the Sharks began their 4 Nations Face-Off break on Feb. 9, though, Poturalski was right back in the minors, never to return.
“I would have loved to get a few more games in a row there and really start to get adjusted,” Poturalski said Friday at Tech CU Arena as the Barracuda held exit meetings. “This is my ninth year. You play nine years in the AHL, it’s an adjustment to go the NHL.
“I want that opportunity to show that I can play at that level, and I feel like it should be for me to decide, and nobody else. I just want to keep working to prove that I can play there.”
Now Poturalski, 31, despite being under contract with the team for another season, has to wonder when, or if, he’ll get another shot at playing in the NHL, and whether that opportunity will come with the youthful Sharks.
“I can’t say enough good things about my time here with the Cuda,” Poturalski said. “The staff gave me an opportunity to succeed, and I had a lot of good teammates to play with and help me out and do well, and we had a pretty good group. It was a lot of fun to come to the rink.
“But in the same breath, I’m still chasing the NHL, and it was a little frustrating on that standpoint to not get a full chance with the Sharks. I guess I kind of get it, but I don’t agree with it. I’m getting older, but I don’t feel my play has slowed down.”
Poturalski might not be the biggest player (5-foot-10, 185 pounds) or the fastest skater, but his skill, shot, craftiness, and hockey IQ have been enough to produce 493 points in 527 AHL regular-season games and 73 points in 81 career AHL playoff games.
He was a major part of Calder Cup-winning teams in 2019 and 2022, the latter of which came with the Chicago Wolves under the current Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky.
Part of the reason why Poturalski signed a two-year deal with the rebuilding Sharks last July was his relationship with Warsofsky and the feeling he would get more of a chance to play on a team that’s still in a transitional phase.
When Poturalski was first recalled in February, he was allowed to center the second line with Fabian Zetterlund and Will Smith.
“I don’t know if he’s ever gotten this type of opportunity,” Warsofsky said then. “I think he deserves this opportunity.”
He hadn’t. In six previous NHL games – four with the Carolina Hurricanes and two with the Seattle Kraken — Poturalski averaged less than 10 minutes of ice time. In his three games with the Sharks, Poturalski had one assist and averaged 14:27 in ice time.
Still, it only went so far. When the Sharks got healthy again, they recalled other Barracuda players, ones they signed or drafted, when they needed reinforcements.
Poturalski suffered a torn left MCL in a Barracuda game against Abbotsford on March 28 and didn’t play again. However, he was nearing a return when San Jose was eliminated from the playoffs on Wednesday.
“I still think I have something to prove, and I’ve never fully gotten a chance in the NHL,” Poturalski said, “and I think that just kind of eats at me a little bit and motivates me to keep going.”
Reports in Russia have suggested that Poturalski has already agreed to join Avangard Omsk of the KHL. But Poturalski said he hasn’t formally decided where he’ll play next season.
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“Andrew’s the ultimate pro,” Will said. “We have a relationship where we talk about things very openly. He looks at it, ‘What else can I do? I’m the regular season MVP.’ He’s been to four Calder Cup finals, winning two of them. He’s been the Calder Cup MVP in the American League and he’s just got a handful of games in the NHL.”
Even if he does leave the Sharks organization, Poturalski has been everything the Barracuda hoped he’d be in terms of professionalism, production, and leadership. Whatever issues he had with the Sharks, he didn’t show his frustration or let it affect his preparation as he continued to pursue his NHL dream.
“I’ve been pretty upfront in talking to either our coaches or staff and management here throughout the year that that’s what I’m chasing,” Poturalski said. “I felt like I’ve accomplished a lot in the AHL, but I still haven’t proved anything in the NHL. That’s what drives me, and I’m too competitive to just be content with being an AHL veteran, and I want more. That’s what drives me to keep going every day, and show up to the rink and be motivated. So I think they know where I stand.”
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