- Joey Cullen committed to Minnesota on Sunday, giving the Gophers all three of Matt Cullen’s sons
- The 16-year-old forward is a projected top name for the 2028 NHL Draft
- Read below for what Wyatt Cullen said about this back at the NHL Draft in June
Minnesota just landed the third Cullen brother.
Joey Cullen announced Sunday afternoon that he is committing to the Gophers, joining Wyatt and Brooks in a program his father now works for. The two older brothers arrive on campus as freshmen this fall. Joey is headed to USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program first, which lines all three up on the same roster in 2028.
The 16-year-old posted the news on Instagram.
“I am proud and honored to announce my commitment to play Division 1 hockey at The University of Minnesota. I would like to most importantly thank God, my family, teammates, coaches and everyone who has helped me get to this point.”
Catch WDAY’s rundown of a very good weekend in Moorhead:
Wyatt called it in June. Minutes after Nashville took him 10th overall, he was asked on NHL Network Radio about the family plan, and he did not hedge, per InForum.
“Hopefully, my younger brother (Joey) will commit there soon, and we all play together someday.”
That wait started a year ago, when Brooks flipped his commitment away from Michigan State to follow Wyatt to Minneapolis:
Joey put up 40 points on 19 goals and 21 assists in 18 games for Moorhead last season, and the Spuds won a second straight Class 2A state title. He did all of that around a December injury that cost him a chunk of the winter.
He is already in Edmonton for the Hlinka Gretzky Cup as the youngest player on Team USA. Cullen opened the scoring in his first game of the tournament Monday.
Dad will be in the building for all of it. Matt Cullen played 1,516 NHL games across 21 seasons and won three Stanley Cups, one with Carolina in 2006 and two more in Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017. He starts this fall as Minnesota’s director of player development.
Head coach Brett Larson stacked three commitments inside about 26 hours over the weekend, adding Nash Roed and Henry Meier alongside Cullen.
