At first blush, you wouldn’t think former Penguins forwards Kevin Stevens and Matt Cullen have much in common.
Known for his robust play, the former was a 6’3” 230-pound blacksmith on skates, while the latter relied more on speed and guile to get ‘er done. Stevens hailed from Brockton, Massachusetts. Cullen’s a native of Virginia, Minnesota.
Upon closer inspection, however, they actually have a lot in common. Cullen finished his career with 731 points, a scant five more than Stevens. As indicated by their nicknames (Stevens=Artie, Cullen=Dad), both were beloved by their black-and-gold teammates. And each was a key contributor on back-to-back Cup champions, Stevens with his boisterous play and clutch goal scoring in the early 1990s and Cullen with his defensive mastery and faceoff prowess in ’16 and ‘17.
It seems only fitting for the duo to be inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame together on December 4.
They’ll join previous Pens player inductees Bob Paradise (’89), Joe Mullen (’98), Gordie Roberts (’99), Mike Ramsey (’01), Mark Johnson (’04), Tom Barrasso (’09), Kevin Hatcher (’10), Ed Olczyk (’12), Bill Guerin (’13) and Scott Young (’17).
Other inductees with black-and-gold ties? Herb Brooks (’90), “Badger” Bob Johnson (’91), Craig Patrick (’96), Tony Granato (’20) and Brian Burke (’23).
Congratulations, Artie and Dad!
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Hey all,
I just read where someone described Matt Cullen as the "greatest average player" in the history of the NHL. Given that he never scored more than 25 goals or 49 points in a season but played for 21 seasons, that sounds about right... :)
Rick
Hey Rick,
Quick thought popped into my head reading your post,
Imagine if you will, you are a Defenseman playing for an opposing team in the old igloo waiting for for the the Penguins to finish their line change before your defensive zone face off and Mario, Tocchet, and Artie step out onto the ice and skate down into position for that draw - all I can hear is Lynyrd Skynyrd singing
"Well the crowd cleared away
And I began to pray
And the water fell on the floor
And I'm telling you, son
Well, it ain't no fun
Staring straight down 66, 92, and 25 for sure"
Long before the "legion of doom" those 3 terrorized Goalies and D-men.