Gulls Forward Andrew Poturalski Wins John B. Sollenberger Trophy As AHL Leading Scorer
May 20, 2021The American Hockey League (AHL) announced today that San Diego Gulls forward Andrew Poturalski has won the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the player who scored the most points during the 2020-21 regular season. Poturalski becomes the first player in Gulls history to win an AHL season award and is the first Anaheim Ducks prospect to win the AHL scoring title.
Poturalski, 27 (1/14/1994), finished the 2020-21 season with 9-34=43 points in 44 games to claim the AHL’s scoring title, the first player in Gulls history to capture an AHL season award. He paced the AHL in points (9-34=43) and assists, and ranked tied for second in power-play assists (12) and tied for fifth in power-play points (13).
“It’s a tremendous honor,” said Andrew Poturalski. “It means a lot, but I have to credit all my teammates, especially with our team this year. We had so many guys who were in and out of the lineup. I was fortunate enough to play in all the games this year after being hurt last year. To do that, it definitely means a lot, and hopefully we can get some more wins here in the postseason.”
Signed by the Anaheim Ducks to a one-year contract extension on Oct. 10, 2020, Poturalski led the AHL with 13 multi-point games and 10 multi-assist efforts. He posted two career-tying three-assist performances (1-3=4, Feb. 20 vs. COL; 0-3=3, Mar. 3 @ ONT) and matched his career high with his four-point effort Feb. 20 in a 7-3 victory over Colorado. Poturalski recorded his 200th career AHL point with an assist on Sam Carrick’s goal, Mar. 21 at Tucson.
“Andrew had some tough injury issues with us last year and we really felt like this was a comeback year for him,” said Head Coach Kevin Dineen. “I could see he put in the work this summer. His skillset and determination led him to earn this very impressive award. He played with a number of different players this year and always tended to make those players better.”
The Williamsville, NY helped lead the Charlotte Checkers (AHL) to the 2019 Calder Cup Championship after collecting 12-11=23 points with a +15 rating in 18 AHL playoff games. Poturalski was named the MVP of the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs after leading all skaters in points and goals, co-leading in game-winning goals (3) and plus/minus, and ranking tied for fourth in assists.
The AHL’s leading-scorer trophy was originally named after Wally Kilrea, who held the AHL’s single-season scoring record when the award was instituted in 1947-48. That year, Carl Liscombe broke Kilrea’s record, and the award was renamed in his honor. In 1955, the AHL Board of Governors voted to name the trophy after John B. Sollenberger, a long-time contributor to the league as manager and president of the Hershey Bears and former Chairman of the AHL Board of Governors.