John Cullen

John Cullen ( born August 2, 1964 in Puslinch, Ontario ) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player ( center ), who from 1988 to 1999 for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Hartford Whalers, Toronto Maple Leafs and the Tampa Bay Lightning in the National Hockey League played.

Career

As a junior he played in the NCAA for the Boston University. Here he was one of the strongest players in the league. The Buffalo Sabres selected him in the 1986 NHL Supplemental Draft. After his time in Boston Cullen joined the International Hockey League with the Flint Spirits. After an outstanding season there with 157 points scorer pledged him the Pittsburgh Penguins as a free agent.

For the 1988/89 season he made the same breakthrough, but it was only in his second season, in which he brought it to 92 points, he was able to show his strength. In the 1990/91 season he reached 94 points after 65 games before he was discharged together with, among others, Zarley Zalapski to the Hartford Whalers to get among other things, Ron Francis to the Penguins.

He finished the best season of his career with 110 points. In the coming year in Hartford, he was successful, but during the 1992/93 season he was released to the Toronto Maple Leafs, where his father and his uncle Brian had played. He helped the Leafs when moving into the Conference Finals, but the one and a half years in Toronto were marred by numerous injuries.

To strike due later starting 1994/95 season he returned to Pittsburgh back, but could not connect to the previous performance there, and so he moved to the 1995/96 season to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

After two regular seasons cancer ( non-Hodgkin's lymphoma) was diagnosed with. Ravaged by Chemotherapieen he spent the year 1997 but he managed to overcome the cancer, and the 1998/99 season he even made it back to the NHL. However, after four games with the Lightning and six more in the IHL with the Cleveland Lumberjacks he ended his active career and was yet another year hired as an assistant coach in Tampa.

In honor of John Cullen Award was named after him, which was awarded to the player who fought back after a lengthy injury or illness to the team and contributed with his performances for the success of the team.

Awards and achievements

NHL stats

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