Sunday Q&A: Wild forward Matt Cullen

After winning back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Moorhead native Matt Cullen is back on the Wild this season for his second stint with the team. Cullen, 41, chatted recently with the Star Tribune's Michael Rand:

Q OK, I have a confession: I'm three days older than you. But the difference is that nobody tells me I'm too old to do my job. Does that get annoying to you when people bring up your age all the time?

A Nah, you know what, it completely comes with the territory. It's not something [that] ever really bothers me. I guess I take it more as a compliment than anything. I remember when I was a young guy thinking that the guys who were 35 were so old, so it's come full circle. I don't mind it at all.

Q Is there a secret to playing this long?

A There are a lot of different answers to that question, but it's about doing everything in your power to take care of yourself and give yourself the chance to perform at a high level. I bought into the nutrition and training at a young age, and I've tried to evolve my training and the way I go about things. I love to play the game, and I've always enjoyed the training side. I do know there's also a lot of good fortune. It's a physical sport, and I've been pretty fortunate.

Q I know part of the reason you signed here was family-oriented, seeing your three boys play hockey. How is that aspect of things going so far?

A It's really fun. I've really enjoyed it. Being home in Minnesota for the winter, I mean those are my best memories as a kid. I'm just really happy we're able to give our family that. Having three boys who love the game of hockey, it's great to give them those opportunities and go through those experiences with them. That's one of the only negatives of this profession — you travel a lot and have to move away. To have an opportunity to play here, it's been awesome. I'm thrilled. We're already talking about building a rink in the backyard.

Q I know you got to bring the Stanley Cup to your hometown of Moorhead. What was that day like?

A It was really fun. The whole town rallies around it. We had the Cup at the Dairy Queen. We had a bunch of kids with plastic spoons eating a Blizzard out of the Cup. It was awesome. The kids get so excited. We brought it to a bunch of different spots.

Q You won two championships in Pittsburgh. Are there lessons you can transfer from that experience to this Wild locker room?

A Coming here, this is a team that won a lot last year with a lot of veteran guys. This is a solid group of leaders. A lot of the themes are common and translate: a consistent effort on a nightly basis, being strong within your systems and having a commitment to being the best. The culture here has taken some major steps forward as far as that goes. We have that top end we can get to.

Q Is there a player on this team that's even better than you thought he was or has really surprised you?

A The one that comes to mind right away is Jason Zucker. It's fun to see how far he's come as a player. … He's a threat every time he's on the ice, and he's become a complete player. He is just generating so much offense and is such a dynamic, fast player.