Matt Cullen
Matthew David Cullen is an American former professional ice hockey center who played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League. Cullen won the Stanley Cup three times during his career, with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017, and won a bronze medal at the 2004 World Championship with the United States.
, Cullen is one of 22 players to play over 1,500 NHL games and the only one of the group to never be named an All-Star. He is also one of three American-born players to play in at least 1,500 NHL games.
Early life
Cullen was born on November 2, 1976, in Virginia, Minnesota, to parents Terry and Nancy Cullen. He grew up in Minnesota alongside his siblings Mark, Joe, and Annie.Playing career
Amateur
Cullen and his family moved to Moorhead, Minnesota when he was 10 years old after his father accepted a position coaching ice hockey at Moorhead High School. Upon reaching high school age, Cullen played one more season of bantam hockey before joining the Moorhead High Spuds hockey team in 1992 under his father's tutelage. While he was reunited with his former Bantam teammates Ryan Kraft and Josh Arnold, the three never played on the same line together. In his first season with the Spuds, Cullen ranked fourth on the team in scoring with 15 goals and 26 assists for 41 points. The Minnesota State High School League recognised Cullen's efforts in March and he was named to their 12-member all-tournament team. During the three-day tournament, he scored four assists. Cullen centred the second line between Ryan Frisch and Ryan Kortan in his second year with the Spuds.In his senior year, Cullen set Moorhead High School single-season records in both ice hockey and baseball. As a shortstop, he tied the school's home run record set in 1991 by hitting three in one game. During the 1994–95 hockey season, Cullen centred the Spuds top line between Frisch and Troy Bagne. He passed Kraft's single-season points record on March 9 by tallying a goal and an assist within 63 seconds of each other. He was subsequently named the Associated Press' Player of the Year and was selected for the All-State First Team. While Cullen's outstanding play earned him a nomination for the 1995 Minnesota Mr. Hockey Award, he lost to Erik Rasmussen.
Throughout the regular season, Cullen was recruited by numerous local schools including the University of Minnesota, St. Cloud State University, University of Minnesota-Duluth, University of North Dakota, and University of Wisconsin. However, NCAA rules only allowed him to accept five school visits. After being put off by the Minnesota Golden Gophers recruiting tactics and the distance between home and Wisconsin, Cullen narrowed his choices to three teams. At the start of February, Cullen announced that he planned to sign a letter of intent with St. Cloud State in April 1995. He chose St. Cloud State partly because he believed he would have a better chance of earning playing time compared to other schools.
Collegiate
Cullen played for the St. Cloud State University Huskies from 1995 to 1997 before turning professional. Before beginning his freshman season, Cullen worked with strength and conditioning coach Jack Blatherwick to improve his skating. He started the season with three goals and eight assists in five games and ended the month of October with 11 points. Despite experiencing a lengthy scoring drought through November, he still ranked third on the team in scoring by the end of the month. He broke his 14-game scoring drought on December 10 to help lead the Huskies over Michigan Tech. In late December, Cullen and his teammate Mark Parrish represented Team USA's national junior team at the 1996 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He scored three goals and one assist over six games as Team USA placed fifth and failed to medal. Cullen finished his freshman season leading the team with 29 assists and 41 points. He was subsequently named to the WCHA's All-Rookie team and was selected as the Huskies Most Outstanding Freshman. Following his freshman season, Cullen was drafted in the second round, 35th overall, by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the 1996 NHL entry draft. However, he was expected to return to the Huskies for his sophomore season.Despite playing in fewer games as a sophomore, Cullen beat his rookie season totals and finished with 15 goals and 30 assists. Before the 1996–97 season began, Cullen stated that he felt more confident managing the puck and was more patient with his passing attempts. By the start of November, Cullen had maintained a six-game point streak and recorded his first collegiate hat-trick on November 9. However, that night he began suffering from a respiratory illness in his kidney that caused him to lose 20 pounds and become jaundiced. While he returned to his home in Moorhead to properly recover he was also struck with strep throat. At the time of the illness, Cullen led the Huskies with 13 points. After being cleared to play, Cullen scored two points in his first game back on December 6 against Northern Michigan. He quickly accumulated five goals and 10 assists over his next 10 games before beginning a lengthy scoring slump. From December 20 to January 29, Cullen was held to two power-play goals and five assists. After rejecting the Ducks' original contract offer, Cullen signed a three-year two-way $1.435 contract with the team on March 28, 1997. The contract was also equipped with a $310,000 signing bonus and other incentive bonuses if he first made the Ducks' NHL roster.
Professional
Anaheim Ducks
After signing his entry-level contract, Cullen was assigned to the Ducks' American Hockey League affiliate, the Baltimore Bandits, for the remainder of the 1996–97 season. He scored his first AHL point, an assist, in his debut with the Bandits on April 8. He scored his first AHL goal on April 11, against the Philadelphia Phantoms, to help the Bandits secure a spot in the 1997 Calder Cup playoffs. His second goal of the season, and first ever overtime goal, came the following night also against the Phantoms. Through the Bandit's final six game of the regular season, Cullen tallied three goals and three assists for six points. He also tallied two assists in the Bandits' semifinal series against the Phantoms before they were eliminated.Cullen spent the majority of the Ducks' 1997 training camp playing alongside their star players Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne. He scored two points over three exhibition games before missing the fourth one due to a knee injury. As a result of his impressive play during training camp and the preseason, the Ducks coaching staff chose to keep him at the NHL level once camp ended. Despite not being cut, Cullen was made aware that he would be reassigned to the AHL if he was unable to earn regular playing time on the top three lines. While he was expected to make his NHL debut with the Ducks in their season-opening game in Japan, Cullen was reassigned to the AHL without playing a game for the team. Through his first five games with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, Cullen tallied one goal and four assists for five points. He was called up to the NHL level on October 28, 1997, and made his NHL debut that night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He stayed with the team afterwards and recorded his first NHL point, an assist, on November 2 against the Boston Bruins. By mid-November, he had become a mainstay on the Ducks top line with Selanne and tallied five assists through seven games. He scored eight assists through 27 games before being reassigned to the AHL on January 5, 1998. He swiftly recorded five goals over his first three games back to help the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks maintain a season-high three-game win streak. By mid-January, Cullen held a multi-game point streak of seven games, during which he recorded 11 goals and six assists. He was recalled to the NHL level on January 20 and scored his first NHL goal the following night against the Florida Panthers. Despite not finishing the month of January in the AHL, Cullen was recognized as the AHL's Player of the Month.
When the NHL paused the season so players could participate in the 1998 Winter Olympics, Cullen was reassigned to the AHL. He scored nine goals over his 10-game stint with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks and was selected for the AHL All-Star Classic. Once the Olympics concluded, Cullen rejoined the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Through his next 27 games, Cullen accumulated five goals and 10 assists. He finished his rookie season ranking in the top 10 among all NHL rookies with six goals and 21 assists for 27 points. His points total was also the second most by a rookie in franchise history. After ending his rookie season, Cullen was named to Team USA's 1998 IIHF World Championship roster.
As part of his offseason training regimen, Cullen reduced his fat intake and lowered his body fat to 6.7%. He also worked out with his brothers Mark and Joe, which included cardio and weightlifting. The Ducks' newest head coach, Craig Hartsburg, described Cullen as their "best young prospect." He was subsequently named to the Ducks' opening night roster for the 1998–99 season, but remained on their fourth line as he struggled to match his previous season's success. He experienced a lengthy scoring drought at the end of October that was snapped at 11 games with an assist. As his struggles continued, Cullen was reassigned to the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks to build back his confidence. At the time of his demotion, Cullen had one assist through 17 games and was playing only on the Ducks' third and fourth lines. Cullen recorded one goal and two assists over his three-game stint in the AHL, and suffered from a broken nose due to a high stick. Despite this, he immediately tallied two assists in his first game back at the NHL level to help the Ducks end their three-game losing streak. He added two more points over his next two games, including his first goal of the season.
As a restricted free agent, the Ducks made Cullen a qualifying offer of a one-year $440,000 contract over the summer. While he was unhappy with this contract, he was unable to request arbitration due to his short tenure in the league. Cullen eventually signed a contract with the Ducks a few days before their training camp opened, but the terms were not publicly disclosed. While Cullen was named to Team USA's 2001 IIHF World Championship roster, he was forced to pull out as he had yet to recover from his wrist surgery.