Howdilly Ho, AATJ friends. Today we are going to take a look at Wyatt Cullen as a potential pick for the Devils in the upcoming 2026 Entry Draft.

Cullen is the middle son of former NHLer Matt Cullen and is listed at anywhere from 6’ to 6’2” depending on what you read, but the main takeaway is that he has shot up ~9” in the past two year, and people have started to take notice, as he is ripping up draft boards. We will have to wait for the combine to get his final measurables, but I’ve also seen anywhere from 160-180 lbs, again depending on what you read. He was the most dynamic forward at an underwhelming USNTDP U-18 team that spent most of the season at the bottom of the USHL standings. He is also one of the youngest players in the draft, missing the cut off by 7 days and has committed to the University of Minnesota for the 26-27 season (not sure why EP says 27-28 below). As you can see from his EP stats he has been a staple in MN hockey since his youth days, so there is less than zero chance he skips a year as a Gopher.

Most draft rankings have him going later in the first, or even the second round – but some of the April rankings like Ferrari’s have him all the way up at 11.

And really the reason for that is that he is a hard player to project, particularly accounting for the growth spurt. If you’ll recall, Becket Sennecke had a similar growth spurt and shot up the rankings in similar fashion with Pat Verbeek and the Ducks taking him at #3 – and at the time that looked like a massive reach. Now that pick seems like a massive win as he is one of the Calder finalists and a major cog in their surprise run to the playoffs.

Now Cullen is definitely not where Sennecke was at the time, and there are some holes in his game:

Cullen is one player who feels like he has among the widest range of outcomes in this year’s draft. Could he be a top-line winger? Or even a centre? The skill and the skating suggest that it could be possible. Or is he more of a middle-six powerplay contributor at the pro level? His decision-making and average shot suggest this may be where he ends up. Or does his odd combination of drastic body changes and bad habits from this season hold him back from even reaching that?

This quote really sums it up best about Cullen – he has highlight reel skill, is an elite skater, but is he growing into his body still and did that affect him negatively? Or will he sort that out and become an elite talent?

Cullen profiles more as a playmaker than a shooter, as he exhibits very high end skating and clean edgework. His agility pops off the page, and he has a good knack for both finding open ice off puck and drawing defenders in with the puck and dishing to open teammates. He has great passing vision and separation speed which will be his best attributes. It’s interesting to see that even with a growth spurt his skating didn’t suffer which is atypical. He does well in attacking defenseman and has a variety of moves that can attack their triangle and beat them one on one, including using his speed and skating wide.

His shot is…fine, it won’t jump off the page but he can pick his spots and has great accuracy, albeit he could learn to get it off quicker gain some power. In the highlights below he beats goalies clean in Juniors, but can he do the same at higher levels? I honestly see him as a discount Jack Hughes, which is not a slight at all.

I wanted to take a deeper look at a specific game against better, older competition as opposed to the typical USHL games.

As the video goes on and he gets more puck touches, you can clearly see he is on another level with his skill and sense – he rolls off pressure well and consistently either finds the right pass or creates an opportunity. Not shy about shooting either. He was the primary facilitator and zone entry puck carrier on their PP, of which they got several and his reads were good there as well. I did like his demanding the puck on the 6 on 5 at the end of the game, and wound up with 1g, 1a on the game.

I didn’t see any glaring defensive coverage issues. I’d like to see a more aggressive first step into coverage and better defensive stick. He has a bit of passivity which I would guess comes from a lack of confidence in the D-zone. However, most of those shifts were when Michigan was on the front foot, so he could’ve had a more bend but don’t break mindset. My main takeaway from his defensive game, is in the 7 goals Michigan scored, he was only on for the empty netter at the end and not a single other goal against – meaning he won his minutes out there 2-1.

Some of his off puck movement in the neutral zone needs work as multiple reads he made put him on the wrong side of the puck. this was mostly during 50/50 battles, but that kind of play reading can easily be developed. He also has an offense first mindset which is to be expected at his age and didn’t see any laziness on backchecks.

He was more physical than I expected, finished his checks (nothing bone rattling but good energy). He needs work on his forechecking, he chased behind the net on one opportunity leading to an easy zone exit as an F1 and took a bad route on another and got blown past as an F2.

I primarily wanted to get into Cullen because he was making some noise rising up the ranks and I was intrigued and have a soft spot for American kids. Also, bloodlines do matter in hockey. I can also see a world where head scout Mark Dennehy (who is still around from what I understand) will do a hard sell job on him based on his history supporting the USNTDP players (see: “First Round Talent” Fondrk).

Bader currently has him as a likely NHLer, and outside shot at a star player, comparable to Lars Eller or Adam Deadmarsh:

His skating, skill and pedigree will certainly lead to a pro career and although he has a decently high ceiling, his floor is too low for my liking at 12. Cullen seems like he is too much of a project and too far off (28-29 at best) for the Devils to really consider him. I would be surprised if he is inside the top 15, and wouldn’t be shocked if he was outside the top 20 on draft day. There are likely to be 4-5 players that are better suited for the Devils at this juncture but in a copycat league I can see someone drawing parallels to Sennecke and taking a flier – but that cannot be the Devils at this draft.

Truly, this is going to be one of the wildest drafts as there are so many permutations and I have no idea what is going to happen. That’s what makes it so fun and we are t-minus one month a way!

What do you guys think of Cullen? Interested? Intrigued? Hard pass? Let me know if the comments.