Matt Cullen grew up in northern Minnesota, scooting around the rinks in Virginia and Moorhead. His father, Terry, was a high school coach, so Matt and his younger brothers and sister were brought up in a hockey atmosphere.
Life came “full circle” for Cullen years later when his three sons were scurrying through PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh while dad was winning Stanley Cups with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017.
“I can still picture them doing their online school at the rink, skating … at lunch time and running around the rink, coming into the locker room, not wanting to eat their vegetables or whatever,” Cullen said. “It was just some really fun times, some of the best years of my life.”
Cullen, 47, played 21 seasons in the NHL with eight different teams, including two stints with the Wild.
On Thursday, he was chosen to the United States Hockey Hall of Fame with Brianna Decker, Kevin Stevens, Frederic McLaughlin and the 2002 Paralympic sled hockey team.
The group will be enshrined Dec. 4 in Pittsburgh; the U.S. Hall of Fame is in Eveleth, Minn. This is the 52nd class, and brings the number of members to 209.
Cullen, drafted by Anaheim in the second round in 1996, skated in 1,516 NHL games, scoring 266 goals. He won the Cup twice with Pittsburgh and once with Carolina, in 2006. He played with the Wild from 2010-13, and then again in 2017-18.
“Watching the North Stars growing up, playing for Minnesota was something I always wanted to do,” said Cullen, who played college hockey at St. Cloud State. “It was a little later in my career, so I could just appreciate being at home and playing in front of friends and family. It was a great way to appreciate being a Minnesotan.”
