Meet Joey Cullen: Minnesota’s Next Miracle Man

Intro

Two and a half periods of hockey were all that it took for Sophomore sensation Joey Cullen to find his way onto the scoresheet. Despite suffering an injury during the Minnesota high school hockey regular season, the Moorhead native still lit up the competition in all 18 games he played, scoring at a goal-per-game pace and totaling 40 points (19 goals, 21 assists). Even during his first, and possibly only season with the Spuds, while at the same time often being 2 years younger than his competition, it’s clear that Cullen is right on par with some of the State’s best players, even at his young age.

However, to truly understand Cullen’s early excellence, we have to take a look back at his 2024-25 season, in which he spent time with both the Minnesota Blue Ox - a ‘AAA’ team filled to the brim with some of the most talented players from various school districts throughout Minnesota - as well as Moorhead’s youth team that competed for the Minnesota State Championship, and eventually won.

Cullen would start his season with the Spuds, and to say he was dominant would be a heavy understatement. He played like he was in a video game; calm, cool, and collected with an infinite amount of creativity with the puck on his stick. Quickly, word began to spread about the youngest Cullen brother and how Joey could potentially be the best of the three. From spin-o-ramas, bar down goals, and end-to-end assists, Cullen’s skill level was clearly miles ahead of his competition, which consisted of both 2010 and 2009-born players. He would finish his season with the Spuds scoring nearly at a three points-per-game pace, with 151 points in just 51 games (67 goals, 84 assists), and leading the country at the 15U ‘AA’ level in scoring by a 25-point margin. 

But his remarkable season wouldn’t end there. At the conclusion of the Minnesota youth hockey state championships, Cullen would make his first appearance on the National stage for the Minnesota Blue Ox at the 2025 USA Hockey National Championships. He would proceed to turn Ann Arbor into his own personal playground. Game after game, Cullen pieced together one of the best highlight reels we’ve seen from a player his age, dicing up what many believed to be the best teams in the country before the National Tournament. Even with all his success, his two biggest moments came in the two biggest games of his season: the National Quarterfinal against the Dallas Stars Elite and the National Championship against the Minutemen Flames, where he scored the game-winning goals in both. Not only did Cullen show out, but he proved to nearly every Junior hockey organization in every league across North America, including the NTDP, that he was the real deal.

Cullen’s skillful shenanigans wouldn’t stop there, as he would enter the 2025-26 season flying high and with major expectations after joining a loaded Honeybaked team that was looking to compete not only for a spot at the OHL Cup and MAHA title, but also for a National Championship. Joining Cullen would be former Spuds teammate Henry Buttweiler, who was also entering the season as one of the top 2010’s in the nation, and on many people’s radar to potentially make 40-man camp for the NTDP. 

The story? The same. Cullen never slowed down, even for a second. He controlled nearly every game he played in with his elite hockey sense and an undeniable sense of pace and control. Cullen’s ability to show up in big games was being put under the spotlight more than ever, and he made quick work of just about every team that stood in his way of winning games. As the highlights kept stacking up, so did the points, and before leaving midseason to return home for the Minnesota High School hockey season, Cullen would finish his season with Honeybaked at over a two point-per-game pace, notching 52 points in just 21 games (22 goals, 30 assists), and finishing third in MAHA league games in with a 1.83 points-per-game despite only playing six games (11 points).

Now, at the conclusion of the Minnesota High School tournament, commencement of the 40-man evaluation camp for the 2026-27 NTDP U17 roster, and with the National Tournament on the horizon, Cullen has yet another chance to add to his already loaded résumé as he rejoins Honeybaked for their National Championship run. And if his performance is anything like the 8-goal, 11-point clinic he put on last year, we’re in for a treat.

Via: @ClankoMedia on X

What Makes Cullen So Special

I’ve already touched on Cullen’s unreal skill level a multitude of times, and rightfully so. It’s almost as if whenever a defender seems to have him cornered with nearly no way of escaping without coughing up the puck, Cullen always finds a way to dipsey-doodle out of the pressure. The only way to describe his hands is dynamic, placing the puck exactly where his defender isn’t every time he faces any sort of duress. 

However, what takes Cullen’s game to the next level is his smooth skating and sharp edges. Entering the zone, Cullen can use his vision to scan the ice, while his speed changes, tight turns, and hand-eye coordination allow him to attack the heart of the defense with anticipation and elusiveness. His ability to weave in and out of traffic without making nearly any physical contact is a tool that will come in handy throughout his hockey career, and will not only continue to increase the gap between him and his peers but also greatly benefit his availability and durability throughout the rest of his hockey career.

His playmaking is a product of the deadly combination of his skating and stickhandling. Because he is such a threat carrying the puck through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone, Cullen must have his head up at all times to ensure he doesn’t miss an open teammate breaking free from a defender. I would consider this to be the most mature trait of Cullen’s skillset, as he understands how to control the game not just on a physical level, but on a mental level as well. To put it simply, Cullen is playing chess while his opponents are playing checkers, which, at his age, is something that you rarely see.

Rounding out Cullen’s offensive game is his shot, which is easy to forget about when breaking down all the other elite aspects of his game. Despite this, 41 total goals in 39 games spread across his time with both the Moorehead Spuds and Detroit Honeybaked would suggest that further evaluation must be conducted. When watching Cullen, it doesn’t take long to realize that his shot is just as good as every other aspect of his game. His strong base and flexible hips make it easy for him to get off quality shots quickly from anywhere on the ice. He’s extremely dangerous when surveying the ice in the offensive zone, since that is where it is easiest for him to dictate the play by targeting 1-on-1 matchups that he more often than not wins. From there, Cullen can use his quick and deadly accurate snapshot to pick his spot and score. 

Possibly the best example we’ve seen so far of Cullen utilizing his shot creation through his ability to win 1-on-1 matchups came in overtime of the 2025 14U National Championship. With just under seven minutes left to play, Cullen swooped up the wall with the puck during a 5-on-4 power play. Starring down the mouth of the Flames’ defense, most players would’ve passed up the opportunity to create an open shot and passed it up top to flip the defense and potentially open up the game-winning play. However, Cullen had other plans. He attacked Flames’ forward Braydon Erickson head-on, and made a quick fake to the middle before pulling the puck back across his body and squaring his shoulders to the net. From there, he had Erickson beat and ripped a shot past the glove side of Flames’ goaltender Will Torres.

Joey Cullen’s National Championship-winning goal in overtime against the Minutemen Flames on April 6th, 2025.

Clips via: @puckprospects & @usahockey on YouTube

Carrying on the Family Name

Like I briefly mentioned earlier, Cullen is the youngest of three sons to Matt Cullen, a 3-time Stanley Cup Champion with the Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins, and one of the best players to ever play at Moorhead. When considering this, it’s not hard to see why the fundamentals in Cullen’s game are so good. Everything from the details in his skating, like his knee bend and ankle flexibility, to his shooting mechanics, has been perfected to a tee. This also isn’t a trait that is unique to just Joey, as it is a trend that is noticeable in all of the Cullen brothers’ games.

Currently, Joey’s two older brothers, Brooks and Wyatt, are committed to the University of Minnesota and are playing in the USHL for the Fargo Force and U.S. National Team, respectively. Joey’s older cousin, Max, who also played for Moorhead this season and is currently playing for the Muskegon Lumberjacks, is committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Not only is this extremely impressive from a family standpoint, but it sets up an interesting narrative for Joey, as he continues in his hockey career and is ultimately tasked with deciding where he wants to play College Hockey.

Besides just his two older brothers and father, Joey has a long family history of ex-NHLers and players who have gone on to have very successful Junior careers. His uncles Joe and Mark Cullen both played at Colorado College and had brief stints in the AHL before finishing their careers playing pro hockey overseas. Joey’s uncles and great-grandfather all took similar paths that included dominant junior seasons, and long professional careers that spanned mainly over the NHL’s minor leagues at the time, with a couple of NHL seasons sprinkled throughout. His grandfather, Terry, was much of the same, as he had a 131-point season in Canadian Junior-B, and also played two seasons for the University of Michigan. 

Rounding out his long line of hockey genealogy, Joey’s uncle, John, was perhaps the best of them all, alongside Joey’s dad, Matt. John played a total of four seasons at Boston University, in which he amassed 241 career points in 160 games, and after, would embark on a 10-year NHL career that saw him score 550 points, including two back-to-back 90+ point seasons.

At face value, it’s easy to assume that Joey Cullen has the weight of the world on his shoulders. At only 15-years-old, he’s on a fast track to following in his brother Wyatt’s footsteps and playing at the US National Development Program. He’s one of the best 2010-born players in North America, possibly the world, and has torn up every level of hockey that he has played at. So, is it too early to conclude that Joey is the best that the Cullen family has to offer? Not at all. In fact, Joey is doing everything that the best players in his family have done, but has brought it to a level that only he has. 

Although he is still extremely young, Joey Cullen has the rare ability to demand a defense's full attention when he has the puck. He plays with a level of swagger and flash that has captured the nation’s attention, and it seems to only magnify when he’s under pressure. Cullen’s mix of raw talent with the puck, and tenacious, yet collected mentality that allows him to play his best when the moments are the biggest, is something I can only compare to a young Jack Hughes or James Hagens. Now, only a week away from the start of the 15O National Tournament in Green Bay, I’m excited to see if Cullen can keep winning and if he can continue to do so in the manner that he has been - as the best player on the ice. 

Thanks for reading!

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