The USA Hockey Hall of Fame has announced that they’ll be enshrining NHL veterans Matt Cullen and Kevin Stevens, Women’s Hockey legend Brianna Decker, original Chicago Blackhawks owner Frederic McLaughlin, and the entirety of the gold medal-winning 2002 Paralympic Sled Hockey team.
Cullen played in parts of 21 NHL seasons between 1997 and 2019. His career kicked off with six years in Anaheim, where he planted his feet as a routine, middle-six centerman and scored 200 points across 427 games. He was traded to Florida in 2003, serving as the main return in a deal that delivered Sandis Ozolinsh and Lance Ward to Anaheim. That move kicked off the journeyman style that Cullen quickly became known for. He moved teams five more times before 2010 – including a brief stint with the Stanley Cup-winning 2006 Carolina Hurricanes. That was the first of three Stanley Cups that Cullen would hoist; earning the latter two as part of Pittsburgh’s back-to-back Cup wins in 2016 and 2017. He played in two more seasons after that final Cup win, but ultimately decided to hang up the skates in 2019, after recording 1,516 games and 731 points in the NHL. Cullen has served as a development coach for the Penguins ever since.
Stevens was a part of Pittsburgh’s other back-to-back Cup wins, serving as an instrumental scorer on the 1991 and 1992 Cup-winning teams. He scored a career-high 54 goals and 123 points in the latter season, adding 28 points in 21 postseason games during the Cup run. It was the headlining year in Stevens’ decade-long tenure with the Penguins, ended by a 1995 trade to the Boston Bruins. Like Cullen, the trade kicked off a journeyman stage of Stevens’ career – leading him through one year in Boston, two in Los Angeles, three with the Rangers, and even 23 games with the Philadelphia Flyers. But Stevens returned home in midway through the 2000-01 season, playing in 32 more games with Pittsburgh before retiring at the age of 36. He ended his career with 726 points in 874 games – including two 100-point and two 80-point seasons. Stevens was hired into a scouting position with Pittsburgh in 2005. He maintains the role to this day.
Decker has built a resume that might rival the multiple Cup wins of Cullen and Stevens. She’s won gold on every stage, including twice at the World-U18 Championship, once at the Olympics, and six different times at the Women’s World Championship. Decker’s first taste of international play came at the 2008 World-U18 Championship, when she managed seven points in five games at the age of 17. She was elevated to the World Championship roster in 2011 and stayed on the lineup through 2021. Decker managed a dazzling 28 goals and 68 points in 44 games through the decade of Worlds experience – scoring that was complimented by her nine points in 11 games as part of three Olympics, and routine point-per-game scoring in pro women’s leagues. Her career ended with just one appearance at the 2022 Winter Olympics – though she’s joined Team USA as an assistant coach at the last two Women’s World U18 Championships.
McLaughlin is the first non-player on this list. He’s instead the man who brought the NHL to Illinois – purchasing the rights to a Chicago-based expansion team in 1926. As rumor tells it, McLaughlin decided to name the team the “Black Hawks” after the U.S. Army’s 86th Infantry “Blackhawk” Division, where McLaughlin rose to the rank of Major during World War I, commanding the 333rd Machine Gun Battalion. McLaughlin had no prior ice hockey business experience, but built a pipeline between Chicago and the WHL that delivered plenty of high-impact pros to the new club. With those investments, McLaughlin was able to lead his team to Stanley Cup wins in 1934 and 1938 – though Chicago has since vindicated his legacy with four more Cup wins. He became revered across the hockey world, even being dubbed, “the biggest nut I’ve ever met” by then-Maple Leafs manager Conn Smythe, as captured in Blades on Ice: A Century of Professional Hockey by Chrys Goyens and Frank Orr. McLaughlin passed away at the age of 67 – owning the Blackhawks until his death. He was inaugurated into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1963.
Finally, the 2002 Team USA Paralympic Sled team earned a milestone victory with their gold medal. It was America’s first time winning the event, eight years after its inception. They went undefeated through six games, beating out Norway 4-3 in the Gold Medal game. The lineup was led by Sylvester Flis, whose 11 goals and 18 points still stand as tournament records. Team USA has since become the kings of sled hockey, taking home Gold at the last four Paralympics. That legacy began with this club – and the USA Hockey Hall of Fame will now be acknowledging that contribution.