St. Cloud State's Jon Cullen Is One Determined Player
St. Cloud State junior captain Jon Cullen. |
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March 1, 2002
By Marty Sundvall
Alexandria, Minnesota, is known for many facets - a grand summer vacation area, the big Viking statue at the end of the main street, the annual bowling tournament at the Garden Center.
And while its Jefferson High School teams have been legendary in some sports, hockey is not one of the traditional powers of the Cardinals.
But that all changed in the mid 1990s, right around the time that St. Cloud State University junior captain Jon Cullen was growing up. The Cardinals became a Minnesota high school hockey force, thanks in part to a small patch of ice in one back yard.
A thick board was placed at each end of the rink, acting like a small dasherboard, yet often the puck would still fly off the rink making a familiar puncture in the snowbank. Games and skating would go on through the sharpest cold.
"We had a rink every year in the back yard. It probably took up three quarters of the entire yard," Cullen said. "It was a great place to get out and skate anytime. Just going out and shooting the puck and skating was a blast. We always had hockey games going on."
And skills would unwittingly be practiced, though this was probably not realized during childhood flights of sports fantasy.
"I would always be Wayne (Gretzky). You know, doing the play-by-play as you skated on net with the puck," Cullen said. "Wayne was always my hero."
Like Gretzky, Cullen scored a lot of goals and played on some very good teams. In Cullen's graduating class three players would later go on to play Division I hockey. One a year older and one a year younger would also join Cullen in the Division I ranks, including former St. Cloud State defenseman Brian Gaffaney. A constant that weaves through all five was Cullen's father, Tim, who coached teams from squirts all the way through Bantams.
"That was a great part of playing hockey as a kid. We always had the same bunch of players and my dad was always the coach. We still get together every year in the summer and hang out," Cullen said.
It was from those beginnings that Cullen emerged to become a junior captain this season at St. Cloud State University. But only once in his hockey career, prior to becoming a Husky, did he have to battle injuries. This season injuries to knees and ribs that have kept him out of the lineup for 19 games this season.
"Injuries are something you just can't control. When you're out you have to contribute to the team the best I can. You can get frustrated with it all the time, but that doesn't help. Injuries are like getting dealt a tough hand. It's what you do with it that counts," Cullen said.
Few will argue that the Huskies are a somewhat different team with Cullen in the lineup. Centering the second line, often between Ryan Malone and Joe Motzko, the Huskies are the benefit of a player whose motor never quits going. Never, it seems, does Cullen give up a shift and that only makes the Huskies deeper and that much better with No. 7 in the lineup.
"The thing is, coming back after an injury, I realize how much I love to play hockey," Cullen said. "You appreciate it more once you have to sit out. Being able to play is something you have to take advantage of."
It is hardly a shock that last season Cullen was named the winner of the Sam Lopresti Award for Most Determined SCSU player, an award he is likely in the running for again this season. (He was also named his team's hardest working player at North Iowa of the USHL.) On the ice, it's easy to see how he loves to play the game, and when the red light goes on, Cullen's celebration comes alive.
"There's nothing like scoring goals," Cullen said. "It's the biggest thrill. I get such a kick out of it." Cullen said it is not so much a goal but a dream to play professional hockey, perhaps much like he dreamed about on those frozen nights in the back yard rink in Alexandria.
"Every little kid who plays hockey dreams of playing in the NHL. But it was also a wish to play Division I hockey and that is a step in making a dream come true," Cullen said.
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