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Matt Cullen’s Offseason Advice

By Minnesota Hockey, 04/13/16, 7:00AM CDT

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Q&A with Moorhead native Matt Cullen, who is currently 5th all-time among Americans in NHL games played with 1,292.

By now players, parents and coaches have heard all about the importance of hanging up the skates once spring rolls around. But there’s still the nagging feeling that a player that steps away for a few months is missing out on developing into the best player he or she can be. After all, don’t players in the NHL play hockey year-round? Isn’t that why they’re elite?

“In my opinion, not playing hockey actually helps you prepare more effectively for the next season,” said Matt Cullen, a Moorhead native and 18-year NHL veteran currently with the Pittsburgh Penguins. “Even when (playing hockey) is your job, it’s fun to get away. It’s important to get away. Most of us in the NHL are two- and three-sport athletes and have been our whole lives. The offseason allows us to continue that and just have fun playing other sports besides hockey.”

Cullen, a Stanley Cup champion and a hockey dad himself, has a few more weeks of hockey left as the Penguins look to make a dent in the postseason. Even still, he tells us why he recommends players of all ages take a break from the rink once their own season ends.

Minnesota Hockey: When you were a kid what did you do once the hockey season wrapped up?

Matt Cullen: I got in to baseball pretty quick after the hockey season was over. I played a lot of baseball in the backyard or grabbed some buddies and went somewhere to go play. We had a pretty good group of kids in my area that always wanted to play some type of sport whether it was baseball, tennis or football. We just wanted to hang out and play with our friends no matter the season.

Minnesota Hockey: So you looked forward to getting away from the rink. Do you still keep that same mindset now when the NHL season is over?

Matt Cullen: Yeah, definitely. It’s nice to get away from the rink at any age. I think hockey is a sport that you really need to allow yourself to rejuvenate mentally and physically. The season takes a lot out of you, so it’s important to let your body take time to get away from the day-to-day hockey stresses. Now when the NHL season is over I like to get in to racquetball, tennis or golf. I don’t do as much baseball as I used to when I was a kid, but even in college [as a Division I player at St. Cloud State University] I would play adult league softball when the season was over. I think you need to stay active, but there are a lot of different things you can do that don’t involve hockey. Play some different sports that are just fun.

Minnesota Hockey: Playing those different sports, how did it help you develop as player?

Matt Cullen: In hockey you’re on skates, so there’s no other sport to directly compare it to, but you can learn a different agility in off-ice sports. Your body moves in different ways when you’re off skates, so you work different muscles. For me, I really like tennis for that. It helps my overall balance, agility and quick feet. During the hockey season your muscles sort of go into a situation where you use your hockey muscles and your other muscles don’t get used as often, so when you get off the ice, I think it’s kind of nice to get that balance back in your body – especially when you’re young. Plus, playing sports that aren’t hockey allows your body to recover from the season faster.

Minnesota Hockey: Do you see a lot of other NHL guys following that model and taking a break from the rink, too?

Matt Cullen: Absolutely, there are a lot of guys in the NHL that take a break. Honestly I’d say the majority of us do. There are a lot of guys that golf, a lot of guys who play tennis. I know a lot of guys get in to soccer, too. There are so many different things that you can do. A lot of my teammates played other sports and they all talk about how important that was to them. It’s a good reminder for even me with my own kids to just hear that from those guys that were able to be successful and still were able to play their offseason sports.

Minnesota Hockey: You have three hockey-playing kids in Brooks, Wyatt and Joey, how do encourage them to step away from the ice in the offseason?

Matt Cullen: I understand that the youth hockey game has changed. There’s so much more out there, and there’s more opportunity to play hockey year-round. My boys are just getting to that point where there’s a lot of demand on their time, and it’s pretty intense.

You have to ask yourself, do you want your kid to be the best 10-year-old, or do you want them to be the best player they can be down the road? I think when you think of the bigger picture, you understand the importance of getting kids away from the rink and getting them out to have some fun. Go play baseball. Learn how to catch and throw a ball. Play soccer. Move around. To me, that's equally as important as playing hockey. In my opinion it's even more beneficial to a child to step away from the rink, rather than playing a bunch of hockey tournaments in the spring.

Minnesota Hockey: But that doesn’t mean absolutely no hockey in the summer right?

Matt Cullen: I think there’s definitely an individual balance. I find that in my own kids that there’s a balance in what each of them wants to do and what each of them can handle. I definitely think there needs to be a time to get away (from the ice), but sometimes you just want to be on the ice too and that’s ok. I went to summer hockey school in Moorhead a big part of every June when I was growing up so 100 percent there’s a time to do that. But, there’s also that fine line in finding a balance where you’re out doing other things.

It’s really easy to get caught up in the year-round approach in every sport, not just in hockey. But I think for the long-term development it’s so much more important to give them a little break. If they want to play hockey in the summer and it’s a camp that’s going to help them, for sure let them, but I think that in the summer, spring and fall, hockey needs to take a backseat to plenty of other things.

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By now players, parents and coaches have heard all about the importance of hanging up the skates once spring rolls around. But there’s still the nagging feeling that a player that steps away for a few months is missing out on developing into the best player he or she can be. After all, don’t players in the NHL play hockey year-round? Isn’t that why they’re elite?

“In my opinion, not playing hockey actually helps you prepare more effectively for the next season,” said Matt Cullen, a Moorhead native and 18-year NHL veteran currently with the Pittsburgh Penguins. “Even when (playing hockey) is your job, it’s fun to get away. It’s important to get away. Most of us in the NHL are two- and three-sport athletes and have been our whole lives. The offseason allows us to continue that and just have fun playing other sports besides hockey.”

Cullen, a Stanley Cup champion and a hockey dad himself, has a few more weeks of hockey left as the Penguins look to make a dent in the postseason. Even still, he tells us why he recommends players of all ages take a break from the rink once their own season ends.

Minnesota Hockey: When you were a kid what did you do once the hockey season wrapped up?

Matt Cullen: I got in to baseball pretty quick after the hockey season was over. I played a lot of baseball in the backyard or grabbed some buddies and went somewhere to go play. We had a pretty good group of kids in my area that always wanted to play some type of sport whether it was baseball, tennis or football. We just wanted to hang out and play with our friends no matter the season.

Minnesota Hockey: So you looked forward to getting away from the rink. Do you still keep that same mindset now when the NHL season is over?

Matt Cullen: Yeah, definitely. It’s nice to get away from the rink at any age. I think hockey is a sport that you really need to allow yourself to rejuvenate mentally and physically. The season takes a lot out of you, so it’s important to let your body take time to get away from the day-to-day hockey stresses. Now when the NHL season is over I like to get in to racquetball, tennis or golf. I don’t do as much baseball as I used to when I was a kid, but even in college [as a Division I player at St. Cloud State University] I would play adult league softball when the season was over. I think you need to stay active, but there are a lot of different things you can do that don’t involve hockey. Play some different sports that are just fun.

Minnesota Hockey: Playing those different sports, how did it help you develop as player?

Matt Cullen: In hockey you’re on skates, so there’s no other sport to directly compare it to, but you can learn a different agility in off-ice sports. Your body moves in different ways when you’re off skates, so you work different muscles. For me, I really like tennis for that. It helps my overall balance, agility and quick feet. During the hockey season your muscles sort of go into a situation where you use your hockey muscles and your other muscles don’t get used as often, so when you get off the ice, I think it’s kind of nice to get that balance back in your body – especially when you’re young. Plus, playing sports that aren’t hockey allows your body to recover from the season faster.

Minnesota Hockey: Do you see a lot of other NHL guys following that model and taking a break from the rink, too?

Matt Cullen: Absolutely, there are a lot of guys in the NHL that take a break. Honestly I’d say the majority of us do. There are a lot of guys that golf, a lot of guys who play tennis. I know a lot of guys get in to soccer, too. There are so many different things that you can do. A lot of my teammates played other sports and they all talk about how important that was to them. It’s a good reminder for even me with my own kids to just hear that from those guys that were able to be successful and still were able to play their offseason sports.

Minnesota Hockey: You have three hockey-playing kids in Brooks, Wyatt and Joey, how do encourage them to step away from the ice in the offseason?

Matt Cullen: I understand that the youth hockey game has changed. There’s so much more out there, and there’s more opportunity to play hockey year-round. My boys are just getting to that point where there’s a lot of demand on their time, and it’s pretty intense.

You have to ask yourself, do you want your kid to be the best 10-year-old, or do you want them to be the best player they can be down the road? I think when you think of the bigger picture, you understand the importance of getting kids away from the rink and getting them out to have some fun. Go play baseball. Learn how to catch and throw a ball. Play soccer. Move around. To me, that's equally as important as playing hockey. In my opinion it's even more beneficial to a child to step away from the rink, rather than playing a bunch of hockey tournaments in the spring.

Minnesota Hockey: But that doesn’t mean absolutely no hockey in the summer right?

Matt Cullen: I think there’s definitely an individual balance. I find that in my own kids that there’s a balance in what each of them wants to do and what each of them can handle. I definitely think there needs to be a time to get away (from the ice), but sometimes you just want to be on the ice too and that’s ok. I went to summer hockey school in Moorhead a big part of every June when I was growing up so 100 percent there’s a time to do that. But, there’s also that fine line in finding a balance where you’re out doing other things.

It’s really easy to get caught up in the year-round approach in every sport, not just in hockey. But I think for the long-term development it’s so much more important to give them a little break. If they want to play hockey in the summer and it’s a camp that’s going to help them, for sure let them, but I think that in the summer, spring and fall, hockey needs to take a backseat to plenty of other things.

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