Many observe that he possesses his mother`s skilled hands on the ice. Jenny Schmidgall-Potter was a trailblazer in women`s hockey, notably being among the first to successfully combine elite play with motherhood. She returned to the U.S. women`s national team after giving birth twice.
A four-time Olympian and competitor in ten World Championships, Jenny welcomed her daughter Madison in 2001 and son Cullen in 2007.
This year, Cullen Potter was selected in the first round of the NHL draft, 32nd overall, by the Calgary Flames.
“Cullen has unbelievable hands,” his mother commented. “People always say, `Jenny, you had great hands` … it’s just something you work on.”
Schmidgall-Potter and the U.S. team secured the inaugural Olympic gold medal in women`s hockey at Nagano, Japan, in 1998. She also earned four world titles with the American squad.
She ranks fifth all-time for the U.S. in points at the World Championships, accumulating 61 points over 50 games. Schmidgall-Potter retired from the national team in 2013 when Cullen was six years old and was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020.
A well-known photograph shows three-year-old Cullen on the ice with his mother at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, holding her silver medal in his small hands.
Cullen`s recollections of his mom`s playing career are somewhat indistinct.
“Just a little bit … some of them are definitely a little fuzzy,” he shared this week while attending the Flames` development camp in Calgary.
“I remember going out on the ice and kissing the medal. I’ve seen that picture a lot. So I remember some things, not everything. I was pretty young.
Some people who watched her play say I mimic her a little bit.”
Cullen began walking at five months and was on skates by the age of one, yet Jenny and her husband Rob waited until he was 11 before enrolling him in organized hockey. Cullen also participated in lacrosse and swimming.
His early hockey development took place on outdoor rinks in Minnesota, often alongside his parents, who manage a business focused on training hockey players.
“Cullen always had a knack for coming up with the puck,” Jenny observed. “Rob and I, our love for hockey is definitely an influence on him and he saw the passion we have for the sport.”
His older sister Madison also played hockey and competed in swimming for Notre Dame University.
“I did just about every sport you could think of,” Cullen said. “From the second I touched the ice, I think that’s just something I knew I loved and haven’t looked back since.
My mom playing in the Olympics and my dad playing college, they just know a lot about the game. They’ve helped me through the hard times and the good times.”
The 5-foot-10, 172-pound center recorded 13 goals and nine assists in 35 games as an 18-year-old freshman at Arizona State this past season.
Before joining the Sun Devils, he contributed nine goals and 13 assists in 35 games for the U.S. development team in 2023-24.
“I’m super proud of him,” Jenny stated. “He’s matured a ton over the last year, going to college, playing with older guys and being around older players.
I know what it takes to commit yourself on a daily basis and forgoing summer vacations or things that you miss out on because you’re wanting to accomplish your goals.
He’s always been a worker and has some genetics, of course, but you know a lot of it’s just through the hard work that he’s done with my husband and with us as parents to get to where he is now.
I can say I love hockey, I’ve had so many great moments in winning a gold medal and world championships, but I still think the best thing in my life are children.”
The 46-year-old still keeps a close watch on the intense U.S.-Canada rivalry in women`s hockey, a rivalry she helped define for many years.
“The rivalry is still strong and true. Go U.S.A.,” she affirmed, before adding with a smile, “Cullen’s in Canada, so I guess maybe I’m going to have to support them just a little bit.”