From Today's(1/12/99) Portland Press Herald:
Cullen is Maine's leader, whether on or off the ice
By Kevin Thomas
Staff Writer
Copyright ) 1999 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
At the Cumberland County Civic Center today, the University of Maine
hockey team will skate with local kids in a youth clinic.
 
On Wednesday, the Black Bears skate against Yale University.
 
Both times, Maine Coach Shawn Walsh will look to David Cullen.
 
Cullen, always polite, works naturally well with children. When youth
hockey players visit the Maine locker room after a game, Cullen is
quick to sign autographs, deflect attention from himself and ask the
kids about their teams and how they are playing.
 
But Cullen does his best work with older players - his teammates. A
senior defenseman and captain, Cullen may be the Black Bears' most
dependable player.
 
''He's really the backbone of our hockey club,'' Walsh said of his
senior defenseman.
 
That says something, because Walsh has quite a team. After two years of
NCAA penalties and a rebuilding season last year, Maine is off to one
of its best starts at 14-2-4, and is a solid favorite against Yale
(5-8-1).
 
''There's definitely a different atmosphere around here,'' Cullen said
last week, taking a break after a practice in Boston. ''Everything we
do is to strive toward winning the game at the end.''
 
When Cullen says ''the end,'' he means the last game of the year - the
NCAA championship game.
 
''Even though we don't talk about it much, it's always in the back of
our mind,'' Cullen said. Being ineligible for the NCAAs ''was hard the
first two years. And we learned a good lesson last year (a 17-15-4
season) - that every game is important.
 
''We're taking that into account this year. This team has so much
character. It's a great bunch of guys.
Hopefully, we can end up in Anaheim, (Calif., site of the NCAA
championship game in April).''
 
The last time the Black Bears reached the NCAA final, in 1995, Maine
relied on an All-American defenseman named Chris Imes.
 
Imes was always on the ice at crucial times, especially at the end of
the game. It is the same with Cullen.
 
''In our games, he won't come off the ice unless I pull him. He's a
competitor,'' Walsh said. ''What I've learned to do is what I learned
with Chris - not to overplay him for the first two periods so that when
the game is on the line we have him on the ice.''
 
Cullen arrived at Maine from St. Catherines, Ontario, in the fall of
1995. The publicity that season went to two other freshmen, Brett
Clark, now with the Montreal Canadiens, and Steve Kariya, instantly
famous because of his older brother, Paul, now with the Anaheim Mighty
Ducks.
 
But Cullen also has impressive blood lines. Three of his uncles played
in the NHL, and his cousin John was an NHL star before cancer shortened
his career. Now healthy, John Cullen is an assistant coach with the
Tampa Bay Lightning.
 
David's father Bruce never played past the junior level, but he
introduced the game to David. David was skating shortly after he
learned to walk and playing hockey a few years after that.
 
And some day, like his uncles and cousin, David Cullen could be in the
NHL.
 
''A lot of teams are showing interest,'' Walsh said. ''He has always
been an offensive defenseman. But he's much more rounded now.
 
''He's never going to be a physical goon. But he's more of a polished,
skilled defenseman. There's a need for that in the NHL.''
 
Cullen, 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, has gained 25 pounds of muscle since
he arrived at Maine, putting more pop behind his skills. He does not
deliver board-rattling checks, but he controls the opponent and strips
the puck as well as any college defender.
 
''He's a much more rounded player now,'' said fellow captain Kariya.
''He's probably our best defenseman and he's the key to our power
play.''
 
Except for a recent slump, Maine has featured one of the best power
plays in the country. Cullen handles the puck extremely well and shows
a knack for knowing where to send it - on goal, to the other point or
down low, especially to Kariya.
 
Cullen is fourth on the team in points with 20 (8 goals, 12 assists).
He needs five goals to tie the school record of 13 by a defenseman in
one season. And he is seven goals away from the career mark of 32.
 
Cullen also leads in the locker room where he is the only senior among
a corps of defensemen comprised mostly of freshmen. Cullen is not a
rah-rah captain, rather a quiet leader.
 
''Oh, he can break out of his shell if he has to,'' freshman defenseman
Eric Turgeon said. ''He's polite and not the most vocal guy, but he'll
get in your face if that's what it takes.
 
''I'm learning from him, absolutely. Watching him on and off the ice,
how he prepares for the game, it's definitely a help.''
 
Teammates can learn from how Cullen treats others. He gives respect to
everyone he meets, be it a reporter or youth hockey players visiting
the locker room. Walsh said Cullen's character did not come by
accident.
 
''When I recruited him,'' Walsh said, ''the first thing I noticed when
I went into their living room was how loving the family was, and what a
great human being this guy was.''
 
So when the Maine players welcome the kids onto the Cumberland County
Civic Center ice today, the coach will quickly introduce Cullen.
 
''He'll be one of the leaders when we have our clinic,'' Walsh said.
''He'll be the guy I can give a section of the ice to and he'll do a
great job with the kids.
 
''It's just the way Dave is.''