Vintage Minnesota Hockey - History

MATT CULLEN
2024 United States Hockey Hall of Fame Enshrinee

A three-time Stanley Cup champion, Matt Cullen (Moorhead, Minn.) had an extraordinary playing career that included 21 seasons in the NHL with eight different clubs.  He is one of just two American-born players ever to compete in 1,500 or more games in the NHL.

Always reliable, Cullen recorded 731 career regular-season points (266 goals, 465 assists) in the NHL, and tallied 58 points (19 goals, 39 assists) in 132 playoff games. 

Drafted 35th overall by Anaheim in the 1996 NHL Draft, Cullen spent six seasons with the Ducks to start his NHL journey.  He was traded to the Florida Panthers on Jan. 20, 2003, and played one season with the Panthers before signing with the Carolina Hurricanes as a free agent on Aug. 5, 2004.

Cullen recorded an NHL career-high 25 goals during the regular season for Carolina and contributed 18 points (four goals, 14 assists) in the Stanley Cup Playoffs to help the Hurricanes win the Cup, including two assists in a 3-1 victory in Game 7 against the Edmonton Oilers in the Final.  He signed a four-year contract as a free agent with the New York Rangers before the 2006-07 season, but after one year was traded back to Carolina.  He spent two more full seasons with the Hurricanes before he was traded to the Ottawa Senators for the final 21 games of the 2009-10 season.  Cullen returned home to play for the Minnesota Wild, playing three seasons (2010-2013), before joining the Nashville Predators on a two-year contract before the 2013-14 campaign.

The forward joined his eighth NHL team when he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Aug. 6, 2015. In 2015-16, he recorded 32 points (16 goals, 16 assists) in 82 regular-season games, won 55.7 percent of his face-offs and scored three shorthanded goals.  Cullen had six points (four goals, two assists) in 24 playoff games, including two game-winning goals, to help Pittsburgh win the Cup.

In 2016-17, Cullen finished with 31 points (13 goals, 18 assists) in 72 regular-season games, before contributing nine points (two goals, seven assists) in 25 playoff games to help the Penguins repeat as Stanley Cup champions.  He returned to the Wild in 2017-18 and then signed as a free agent with the Penguins for his 21st and final NHL season in 2018-19.

Cullen spent the 2004-05 NHL lockout season competing in Italy with Cortina.

Prior to his professional career, Cullen played two seasons of college hockey at St. Cloud State University and totaled 86 points (27 goals, 59 assists) in 75 games.  He was inducted into the St. Cloud State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023, and had his #9 jersey retired, becoming just the second Husky to receive such honours.

Cullen represented the United States on the international stage on five occasions, highlighted by helping the U.S. to the bronze medal in the 2004 IIHF Men’s World Championship.  He also competed in the Men’s World Championship in 1998, 1999 and 2003 and was a member of Team USA for the 1996 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Always with a passion to help others, Cullen and his wife Bridget founded the Cullen Children's Foundation in 2003, an organization dedicated to financially assisting children's healthcare organizations within the Fargo-Moorhead area.

BRIANNA DECKER
2024 United States Hockey Hall of Fame Enshrinee

An Olympic gold medalist, NCAA champion and eight-time world champion as a player, Brianna Decker (Dousman, Wis.) had a remarkable on-ice career, and today continues to positively impact the game as a coach at Shattuck-St. Mary’s and with Team USA on the international stage.

A three-time Olympian, Decker helped the U.S. to gold at the 2018 Games in Pyeong Chang, South Korea, and silver at both the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia, and 2022 Games in Beijing, China.

She also played an integral role in helping the U.S. win gold on six occasions at the IIHF Women’s World Championship (2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019) and silver twice (2012, 2021).  She was named the MVP of the 2017 event and also earned the directorate award as the tournament’s best forward that year.

She also helped the U.S. earn gold at the first two IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championships in 2008 and 2009.

Over her 15-year career with the U.S. Women’s National Team program, she played in 147 games and tallied 170 career points, including 81 goals and 89 assists.  A two-time recipient of the USA Hockey Bob Allen Women’s Player of the Year Award, she is third in U.S. history in career points (68) at the IIHF Women’s World Championship and fourth all-time in assists (40). 

During her four-year collegiate career at the University of Wisconsin (2009-13), Decker was named the 2012 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner as the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey, earned All-America honors in 2011, 2012 and 2013, and helped the Badgers win the NCAA national championship in 2011.  She recorded 244 career points, including 115 goals, both which stand second all-time at UW.

Decker also played professionally in the CWHL, NWHL and PWHPA between 2014-21.  She is a two-time NWHL Most Valuable Player with the Boston Pride and helped the team win the league’s inaugural Isobel Cup in 2015-16.

Decker began her coaching career near the end of her playing career, serving as an assistant coach for the U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team for the IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship on four occasions.  She helped guide Team USA to gold in 2024 and 2020, silver in 2019 and bronze in 2023.

Off the ice, she launched the Brianna Decker Endowment for Girls Hockey fund within The USA Hockey Foundation in 2019 to provide grants to 8U and 10U hockey programs across the country to help increase girls hockey participation.

FREDERICK McLAUGHLIN
2024 United States Hockey Hall of Fame Enshrinee

The late Major Frederic McLaughlin (Chicago, Ill.) was a pioneer in American hockey in the 1920s and 30s, with his efforts in founding the Chicago Blackhawks and securing two Stanley Cup titles during his tenure, serving as a catalyst for the growth and evolution of the sport not only in Chicago, but throughout the Midwest and beyond.

It was in 1926 that McLaughlin - the son of a prosperous coffee merchant who took over the family business four years after graduating from Harvard University in 1901 when his father passed - led a consortium of Chicago businessmen in purchasing the NHL expansion Chicago Blackhawks.

The team received its namesake from the Army’s 86th Blackhawk Division of the 333rd Machine Gun Battalion, which McLaughlin commanded during World War I.

A strong-willed owner and president, McLaughlin was determined for the team to succeed financially through his first few years of ownership, going head-to-head against rival teams and league heavyweights in his goal to bring elite, high-level hockey to the Midwest.

McLaughlin carried a reputation for being an ardent supporter of Americans.  He sought to fill his Blackhawks roster with as many Americans as possible in an era that saw U.S. born players touching NHL ice in incredibly scarce numbers.

McLaughlin was hands-on in team operations and often involved himself in player decisions and coaching changes.  His keen eye for talent and strategic moves led to the Blackhawks' first Stanley Cup championship in 1934, just eight years after the team was founded. 

The Blackhawks earned their second Stanley Cup under McLaughlin’s guiding watch in 1938 with a team that included the largest concentration of Americans of any NHL team ever at the time, and featured the first American-born goaltender Mike Karakas and American-born coach, Bill Stewart, to win the Cup.  No other Stanley Cup winning team would feature more than the eight American-born players from McLaughlin’s team until 1995, when the New Jersey Devils winning roster included 12.

The Blackhawks headman capitalized on the success of his franchise, helping to grow the game across the U.S.  After the 1938 Cup win intensified interest across the Midwest, McLaughlin advocated for Lake Forest College to have its own ice rink to support both the college and local community.

McLaughlin remained active with the organization until his death in 1944 at age 67, even after retiring as president in 1939 due to health concerns. 

Posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1963, his steadfast dedication to the growth of American hockey has no doubt influenced the success the sport is enjoying in the U.S. today.

KEVIN STEVENS
2024 United States Hockey Hall of Fame Enshrinee

A two-time Stanley Cup champion, Kevin Stevens (Pembroke, Mass.) spent over 15 seasons playing in the NHL.  A dominant power forward, “Artie” as he is fondly known, has inspired many, not only through his remarkable comeback from a devastating facial injury in 1993, but also through the resilience and dedication he has shown in overcoming substance abuse and his subsequent advocacy for addiction awareness and support.

His esteemed NHL career included 10 campaigns competing for the Pittsburgh Penguins, including both to start and end his career.  He also spent time with the Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers.

After playing 16 games with Pittsburgh in 1987-88 and 24 in 1988-89, he broke into the lineup full-time in 1989-90.  The following season he contributed 86 points (40 goals, 46 assists) in 80 regular-season games and 33 points (17 goals, 16 assists) in 24 playoff games to help the Penguins to their first Stanley Cup title.

In playing an out-sized role in leading Pittsburgh to its second straight Stanley Cup, Stevens registered a career-high 123 points (54 goals, 69 assists) in 1991-92 as an alternate captain to set an NHL regular-season record for most points by an American-born player.  A Hart trophy finalist that season, he finished second in the league overall in points, only behind teammate Mario Lemieux.

During the 1992-93 season, he had his second straight 100-point season, finishing the year with 111 points, including 55 goals, the most ever recorded by an American-born player.  That record stood for 29 years before being eclipsed by Auston Matthews in 2022.

All total during his NHL career, Stevens amassed 726 points (329 goals, 397 assists) in 874 career regular-season games and added 106 points (46 goals, 60 assists) in 103 playoff contests.

Stevens represented the U.S. on the international stage on four occasions, including as a member of the 1988 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team.  He also played in three IIHF Men’s World Championships (1987, 1990, 1996), helping Team USA to a bronze medal as captain in 1996.

Over his four-year career competing at Boston College (1983-87), Stevens helped the Eagles reach the NCAA tournament each season and recorded 170 points (71 goals, 99 assists) in 158 career games.  The 1987 All-American and two-time captain was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 2021.

Since hanging up his skates in 2002, Stevens has worked for the Pittsburgh Penguins where today he serves as a special assignment scout with the organization.

Buoyed by his own experiences, Stevens created Power Forward in 2018, a non-profit organization that assists others struggling with addiction. 

2022 PARALYMPICS SLED HOCKEY TEAM
2024 United States Hockey Hall of Fame Enshrinees

The 2002 U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team made history as the first American team to win gold in the Paralympic Games.  Their remarkable journey and triumph in Salt Lake City, Utah, defied all odds and set the stage for the dominant success Team USA has had since, including gold medals in the last four Paralympic Winter Games (2010, 2014, 2018, 2022).

When sled hockey made its Paralympic debut in 1994, Team USA was not one of the five countries to compete.  Four years later in Nagano, Japan, the U.S. finished sixth of seven teams. Heading into Salt Lake City 2002, the U.S. had finished dead last at the previous world championship and only qualified for the Paralympics because it was the host country.

Under first-year head coach Rick Middleton (Hampton, N.H.), who redefined the team’s style of play and culture, Team USA went unbeaten in the Paralympics and outscored opponents 26-6.  Ten newcomers were among the 15-player roster that shocked the world by finishing on top of the podium.

Shutting out Japan 3-0, a decisive 5-1 victory over rival and gold-medal favorite Canada, and a 2-1 triumph over defending Paralympic champion Norway gave the U.S. a burst of confidence as it navigated uncharted territory in its first three round-robin games.  The U.S. followed with a 6-0 win over Sweden and a 6-1 decision against Estonia to earn a spot in the gold-medal game against Norway.

The rematch against Norway was a back-and-forth affair throughout. Trailing for the first time in the tournament, the U.S. stormed back to take the lead with captain Joe Howard (Brockton, Mass.) scoring twice in 67 seconds late in the first period.  The U.S. built a 3-1 advantage just :12 into the middle frame thanks to a goal by Matt Coppens (Richton Park, Ill.), but Norway eventually evened the score, and overtime wasn’t enough to settle the contest.  In front of an overflow crowd of more than 8,300 at the E Center, Team USA and Norway went to a shootout tied, 3-3. 

Each team scored twice over the first three rounds of the five-round shootout, with Howard and defenseman Chris Manns (Buffalo, N.Y) tallying for the U.S. Kip St. Germaine (East Falmouth, Mass) scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in the fourth round as the United States completed an unthinkable journey to gold on home soil.  Manny Guerra (Plymouth, Minn.) earned the win in goal for the U.S. with 12 saves.

U.S. defenseman Sylvester Flis (Franklin Park, Ill.) was named the Paralympic MVP and led the tournament with 18 points.  His 11 goals and 18 points both established U.S. and Paralympic single-tournament marks that continue to stand today.