Playing Career
Cullen graduated from Moorhead High School in 1995. His father Terry Cullen was the high school hockey coach. He played for the St. Cloud State Huskies from 1995–1997 and was named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team in 1995 and WCHA All-Star in 1996. He was drafted 35th overall by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft.
Cullen won his first Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. After the 2006 season, he became an unrestricted free agent and signed a four-year contract with the Rangers. After just one season with the Rangers, Cullen was traded back to Carolina during the 2006–2007 off season in exchange for defenceman Andrew Hutchinson, forward Joe Barnes and a third round pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, in an attempt to free up salary.
During the NHL lockout of 2004–05, Cullen led the Italian league in scoring while playing for Cortina, finishing with 27 goals and 33 assists in 36 games.
On February 22, 2009, Cullen scored the first hat trick of his career in a game against the Colorado Avalanche. On February 12, 2010, Cullen was traded to the Ottawa Senators for Alexandre Picard and a second-round draft pick
On July 1, 2010, Cullen returned to his home state when he signed a three-year deal as a free agent with the Minnesota Wild.
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Famous quotes containing the words playing and/or career:
“If you would be a leader of men you must lead your own generation, not the next. Your playing must be good now, while the play is on the boards and the audience in the seats.... It will not get you the repute of a good actor to have excellencies discovered in you afterwards.”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)
“A black boxer’s career is the perfect metaphor for the career of a black male. Every day is like being in the gym, sparring with impersonal opponents as one faces the rudeness and hostility that a black male must confront in the United States, where he is the object of both fear and fascination.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)