The Good Life – November-December 2017

More documents

Recommendations

Info

COVER // MATT CULLEN View more photos of Matt's day with the Cup View more photos from the Minnesota Wild Home Opener 18 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com
WRITTEN BY: ALEXANDRA FLOERSCH • PHOTOGRAPHY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA Matt Cullen Returns Home to the Minnesota Wild with Family in Mind If there’s one thing Matt Cullen has learned in his career it’s that some things just can’t be planned. Ending the 2017 NHL season holding his third Stanley Cup, the Moorhead native didn’t know if he’d return to play hockey the following season. At 40 years old, Cullen had retirement in mind. But when the potential storybook ending to an already storied career presented itself, the family packed their bags and moved back to the Midwest where the hometown hero will lace up his skates a second time for the Minnesota Wild. "My first time here with the Wild I thought was pretty cool,” Cullen said. “I was really fortunate to have the chance to play in my home state. I understood how lucky I was to do that and I didn't really expect the opportunity would come up again or that I’d have a chance to finish my career at home.” But this time was different. Throughout his career, Cullen had fought his way to the top. Drafted by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 1997, he bounced around during his early years, playing for the Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators and other teams before signing with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the past two seasons. While his time in Pittsburgh provided once-in-a-lifetime experiences — and two Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017 — Cullen thought it was time his three boys settled down and established a bit of normalcy, preferably back home in the land of 10,000 lakes. "At this point — I'll be 41 here — the decision isn't only about you,” Cullen said of his birthday on Nov. 2. “Minnesota is good hockey-wise, but there's a lot more that goes into the decision now that didn't used to when Pittsburgh provided ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME experiences — TWO STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONSHIPS in 2016 and 2017 you think about kids and everything that goes with that.” Cullen is quick to admit he'll be leaving something special behind in Pittsburgh, a community that welcomed him warmly and with open arms throughout his tenure there. urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 19
Page 2 and 3: 2 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.
Page 4 and 5: 18 MATT CULLEN Matt Cullen Returns
Page 6 and 7: WRITTEN BY: MEGHAN FEIR • PHOTOGR
Page 8 and 9: NOT IN MY FAMILY // PART THREE In t
Page 10 and 11: NOT IN MY FAMILY // PART THREE Kell
Page 12 and 13: Auto Check Up A Guide to a Healthy
Page 14 and 15: Fargo native, Dan Glaser, has relea
Page 16 and 17: me up, because I think the last tim
Page 20 and 21: COVER // MATT CULLEN "It was a diff
Page 22 and 23: COVER // MATT CULLEN “We feel lik
Page 24 and 25: FATHERS // MR. FULL-TIME DAD WRITTE
Page 26 and 27: HAVING A BEER WITH // ERIK HATCH WR
Page 28 and 29: HAVING A BEER WITH // ERIK HATCH GL
Page 30 and 31: LOCAL HERO // THE SALVATION ARMY Lo
Page 32 and 33: LOCAL HERO // THE SALVATION ARMY
Page 34 and 35: LOCAL HERO // THE SALVATION ARMY Me

The Good Life – November-December 2017

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?