Moorhead’s Matt Cullen has been inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame – InForum

EVELETH, Minn. — Although he burst onto the hockey scene as a prep star for the Moorhead Spuds, Matt Cullen’s roots are in Minnesota’s Iron Range, where he was born and lived for a time before his family moved to the Red River Valley. After a career that included college dominance and three Stanley Cups as an NHL player, it’s only fitting that Cullen’s name is forever enshrined back on the Range as one of the newest members of the US Hockey Hall of Fame.

Cullen, now 47 and retired, who lives in Moorhead, joins Brianna Decker, the late Frederic McLaughlin, Kevin Stevens and the US Paralympic sled hockey team that won the gold medal in 2002 as USHHF class 2024. The group will be officially registered in Eveleth. Hall of Fame inducted in early December at a ceremony in Pittsburgh — a fitting venue, as Cullen and Stevens won NHL titles with the Penguins.

“The impact of the Class of 2024 spans the entire sport, and each honoree reflects the extraordinary contributions required to earn USA Hockey’s highest honor,” said USA Hockey President Mike Trimboli. “Their stories are all unique and have had a positive impact on many. We look forward to consecrating the course in December.”

Cullen spent 21 seasons in the NHL with eight different teams and is a three-time league champion. He retired in 2019 as one of only two American players to ever record 1,500 games in the majors. A member of three state tournament teams with the Spuds, Cullen rose to collegiate stardom at St. Cloud State and was inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame in 2023. His No. 9 is one of only two sweaters ever officially retired by the Huskies.

Submitted / State University of St. Cloud

Off the ice, Matt and his wife Bridget have been active in the Fargo-Moorhead community, creating the Cullen Foundation for Children more than two decades ago and working to provide financial assistance to children’s healthcare organizations.

Also included in the USHHF Class of 2024 are:

Contributed / David Stluka

• Brianna Decker: A native of Dousman, Wis., Decker, 33, currently coaches at Shattuck-St. Mary’s and with USA Hockey. A three-time member of Team USA at the Olympics, Decker helped the Americans win a gold medal in 2018 and silver in both 2014 and 2022. She received the Patty Kazmaier Award in 2012 in Wisconsin, playing a key role in the Badgers 2011 NCAA title and earning All-American honors three times.

Matt Marton / USA Today Sports

• Frederic McLaughlin: From Chicago, McLaughlin is already a member of Toronto’s Hockey Hall of Fame for his work pioneering the game a century ago. He was one of the founding members of the Chicago Blackhawks franchise, which won the Stanley Cup twice during his tenure there. An ardent promoter of American hockey players at a time when the NHL was heavily dominated by Canadian players, McLaughlin retired in 1939 and died of health complications in 1944.

Hockey East / Boston College Athletics

• Kevin Stevens: The prototypical power forward during his 15-season NHL career, Stevens was a two-time Stanley Cup champion and renowned for his comeback from a devastating facial injury and his struggles with substance abuse. A native of Pembroke, Massachusetts, Stevens helped Boston College to four straight NCAA Tournaments as a collegiate. Since retiring in 2002, Stevens, 59, has worked in the Penguins organization and led efforts to help athletes struggling with addiction.

Contribution / USA Hockey

• 2002 U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team: At a Salt Lake City rink more than two decades ago, the 15 men on this team and coach Rick Middleton made U.S. hockey history by becoming the first U.S. sled team to win a gold medal at the Paralympic Games. . It was the start of what has become a dynasty, as Team USA has brought home gold in the last four Paralympic Games since then. American guard Sylvester Flis, of Franklin Park, Illinois, was named the 2002 Paralympic MVP and led the tournament with 18 points, a record that still stands.

The USA Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Eveleth, which is considered one of the birthplaces of American hockey. It introduced its first class in 1973 and to date there are 205 inductees.

Jess Myers covers college hockey, as well as outdoor, general sports and travel, for The Rink Live and the Forum Communications family of publications. He came to the FCC in 2018 after three decades of covering sports as a freelancer for a variety of publications while working full-time in politics and media relations. A native of Warroad, Minnesota (the real Hockeytown USA), Myers holds a degree in journalism/communications from the University of Minnesota Duluth. Live in the Twin Cities. Contact Jess by email at [email protected] or find him on Twitter @JessRMyers. english speaker