MAPLETON, N.D. — Brooks Cullen, the former Moorhead Spuds standout, will be staying in the State of Hockey after all.
On Tuesday morning, the current Fargo Force forward announced he committed to Minnesota, a day after he decommitted from Michigan State.
His move coincides with his brother Wyatt also committing to Bob Motzko’s program on Monday.
Brooks Cullen said it was “kind of a family decision.”
“It just kind of came up recently here, but me and my brother kind of just decided together,” Cullen said Tuesday morning before the annual Fargo Force golf tournament at Maple River Golf Club. “It’s a special opportunity to play with your brother in college.”
With Minnesota, Wyatt, 16, and Brooks, 18 — because of the two-year age gap and Wyatt playing with the U.S. National Team Development Program recently — will finally wear the same sweater at the same time.
“So, growing up, we’ve never played with each other,” Cullen said, “and he’s been able to play with my youngest brother, Joey, but I’ve never gotten to play with him or Joey. So, I’m kind of looking forward to it. It’ll be pretty cool.”
The 6-foot Cullen posted two points in 10 games with the USHL Force last spring after helping lead the Moorhead Spuds to its first-ever Minnesota state high school championship.
In his senior season with the Spuds, Cullen had 48 points in 29 games, scoring 23 times. Force head coach and general manager Brett Skinner said he’s looking forward to Cullen’s development offensively this season. Already, he’s seen the work ethic that he has being the son of the longtime NHL player Matt Cullen.
“I kind of always joke that he plays like Cully at the end of his career, probably because he’s watching his dad and he just takes pride on the defensive side and being that go-to guy defensively,” Skinner said. “I thought this year was really fun to watch him take a step offensively, and maybe just try to put more of an emphasis for some offense.”
Skinner trusted him enough to put him in some tight situations in his 10 games with Fargo late last season.
“He came in and took some big faceoffs for us, and was obviously on the penalty kill, but just continue to develop that offensive side,” Skinner said. “And it’s been fun to watch both sides of that for him.”
Wyatt Cullen appeared in 55 games for the U.S. National Team Development Program U17 team. He notched six goals and 25 assists. The left-shot forward helped the U.S. win the U17 Vierumäki Cup last December, where he had three assists in four games. The U17 went 14-36 in 57 games.
Originally Published: August 5, 2025 at 11:22 AM CDT