PHOENIX \u2013\u00a0 Cullen Potter\u2019s season ended early when he sustained a left shoulder injury in a hockey game against Miami (Ohio) Jan. 10. The day after he underwent surgery, as his world shifted, it at times felt as if very little had changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s pretty chill,\u201d said his mother, Jennifer Potter, an Olympic hockey gold medalist and four-time world champion. \u201cHe\u2019s just hanging out with his teammates or doing his homework, or going to an athlete meal.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hope in Tempe is that he will be doing all of those things again next season, although that decision comes with inevitable outside noise.<\/p>\n
Potter faces several options once his rehabilitation is complete: return to Arizona State for his junior season, turn pro and join the Calgary Flames, the organization that drafted him 32nd overall at the 2025 NHL Draft, or explore opportunities elsewhere through the transfer portal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Well-funded programs such as the University of Minnesota and Michigan could emerge as potential suitors.<\/p>\n
Despite those possibilities, all signs point toward Potter returning to ASU next season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s nothing negative at all about ASU and how he has been treated there,\u201d said Calgary Flames President of Hockey Operations Don Maloney, whose team made Potter the highest drafted Sun Devils player in the program’s history. \u201cHe has really been well-handled. It has been a really good place and a good situation for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Potter is facing a projected recovery time of three to four months.<\/p>\n
\u201cHuge loss for us,\u201d ASU coach Greg Powers said. \u201cOur heart goes out to the kid because he was playing so well. But we have to do what is always best for our players’ long-term success.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before going down, Potter appeared to be finding his footing. He recorded eight points in his previous five games and 16 over his final 10 appearances \u2013 a late-season surge that drew attention beyond Tempe.<\/p>\n
Flames Director of Player Development Ray Edwards said Potter had been performing at an elite level.<\/p>\n
\u201cDevelopment isn\u2019t always linear,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cYou always have some ups and downs but what I liked about Cullen is his perseverance and his ability to keep going, keep fighting and scratching.\u201d<\/p>\n
The timing of Potter\u2019s loss is especially difficult for ASU, with its grip on the National Collegiate Hockey Conference race beginning to slip. The Sun Devils sit sixth in the standings with 17 points after No. 3 North Dakota swept them at Mullett Arena last weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was tough to see him go down,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cHe was playing at a high level and things were going really well for him and the team. But in the same token, it happens to everybody and he’ll come back bigger and stronger from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Potter underwent successful surgery Jan. 22 and has begun the early stages of rehabilitation, leaning on his family as he navigates the first weeks of recovery.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s gonna be challenging at first, because he can’t use his one arm,\u201d Jennifer said. \u201cWe’ll be there to help, do whatever he needs, drive him to physical therapy or make food for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before suffering the severe upper-body injury, Potter had hoped to join Calgary\u2019s organization after ASU\u2019s season ended. Those discussions are now on hold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven’t talked about any hockey,\u201d Jennifer said. \u201cIt was really hard to make the decision to do what he needed to do, which was best for his future, not only in sports, but for the longevity of his body.\u201d<\/p>\n
The focus will now be on strength and power when Potter returns, areas Edwards identified as the next step in his development.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe’s an elite skater,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cIt’s more about adding that strength and power to be able to play against men.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s details to his game as a center that we can continue to work on. If his strength and power can improve, then the rest of that stuff becomes a lot easier.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maloney said Potter\u2019s late-season surge only reinforced the organization’s belief in his long-term upside.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had a slow start but was really coming on of late and we were really happy with his play,\u201d Maloney said. \u201cHe has elite speed and high-end hockey sense and those are two things we need a lot more of in this organization.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maloney emphasized there is no urgency to rush decisions about next season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong in my mind with slow-cooking a player,\u201d Maloney said. \u201cAs far as next season, it’s really up to him, his family and his advisor.\u201d<\/p>\n
This <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/2026\/01\/29\/asu-hockey-cullen-potter-injury-return\/”>article<\/a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org”>Cronkite News<\/a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAll signs point to ASU hockey\u2019s Cullen Potter returning for junior season<\/p>\n
Cooper Krigbaum, Cronkite News
\nJanuary 29, 2026<\/p>\n
PHOENIX \u2013\u00a0 Cullen Potter\u2019s season ended early when he sustained a left shoulder injury in a hockey game against Miami (Ohio) Jan. 10. The day after he underwent surgery, as his world shifted, it at times felt as if very little had changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s pretty chill,\u201d said his mother, Jennifer Potter, an Olympic hockey gold medalist and four-time world champion. \u201cHe\u2019s just hanging out with his teammates or doing his homework, or going to an athlete meal.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hope in Tempe is that he will be doing all of those things again next season, although that decision comes with inevitable outside noise.<\/p>\n
Potter faces several options once his rehabilitation is complete: return to Arizona State for his junior season, turn pro and join the Calgary Flames, the organization that drafted him 32nd overall at the 2025 NHL Draft, or explore opportunities elsewhere through the transfer portal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Well-funded programs such as the University of Minnesota and Michigan could emerge as potential suitors.<\/p>\n
Despite those possibilities, all signs point toward Potter returning to ASU next season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s nothing negative at all about ASU and how he has been treated there,\u201d said Calgary Flames President of Hockey Operations Don Maloney, whose team made Potter the highest drafted Sun Devils player in the program’s history. \u201cHe has really been well-handled. It has been a really good place and a good situation for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Potter is facing a projected recovery time of three to four months.<\/p>\n
\u201cHuge loss for us,\u201d ASU coach Greg Powers said. \u201cOur heart goes out to the kid because he was playing so well. But we have to do what is always best for our players’ long-term success.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before going down, Potter appeared to be finding his footing. He recorded eight points in his previous five games and 16 over his final 10 appearances \u2013 a late-season surge that drew attention beyond Tempe.<\/p>\n
Flames Director of Player Development Ray Edwards said Potter had been performing at an elite level.<\/p>\n
\u201cDevelopment isn\u2019t always linear,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cYou always have some ups and downs but what I liked about Cullen is his perseverance and his ability to keep going, keep fighting and scratching.\u201d<\/p>\n
The timing of Potter\u2019s loss is especially difficult for ASU, with its grip on the National Collegiate Hockey Conference race beginning to slip. The Sun Devils sit sixth in the standings with 17 points after No. 3 North Dakota swept them at Mullett Arena last weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was tough to see him go down,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cHe was playing at a high level and things were going really well for him and the team. But in the same token, it happens to everybody and he’ll come back bigger and stronger from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Potter underwent successful surgery Jan. 22 and has begun the early stages of rehabilitation, leaning on his family as he navigates the first weeks of recovery.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s gonna be challenging at first, because he can’t use his one arm,\u201d Jennifer said. \u201cWe’ll be there to help, do whatever he needs, drive him to physical therapy or make food for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before suffering the severe upper-body injury, Potter had hoped to join Calgary\u2019s organization after ASU\u2019s season ended. Those discussions are now on hold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven’t talked about any hockey,\u201d Jennifer said. \u201cIt was really hard to make the decision to do what he needed to do, which was best for his future, not only in sports, but for the longevity of his body.\u201d<\/p>\n
The focus will now be on strength and power when Potter returns, areas Edwards identified as the next step in his development.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe’s an elite skater,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cIt’s more about adding that strength and power to be able to play against men.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s details to his game as a center that we can continue to work on. If his strength and power can improve, then the rest of that stuff becomes a lot easier.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maloney said Potter\u2019s late-season surge only reinforced the organization’s belief in his long-term upside.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had a slow start but was really coming on of late and we were really happy with his play,\u201d Maloney said. \u201cHe has elite speed and high-end hockey sense and those are two things we need a lot more of in this organization.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maloney emphasized there is no urgency to rush decisions about next season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong in my mind with slow-cooking a player,\u201d Maloney said. \u201cAs far as next season, it’s really up to him, his family and his advisor.\u201d<\/p>\n
This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.<\/p>\n
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