Penguins Update: Hall Call for Artie and Dad
At first blush, you wouldn’t think former Penguins forwards Kevin Stevens and Matt Cullen have much in common.
Known for his robust play, the former was a 6’3” 230-pound blacksmith on skates, while the latter relied more on speed and guile to get ‘er done. Stevens hailed from Brockton, Massachusetts. Cullen’s a native of Virginia, Minnesota.
Upon closer inspection, however, they actually have a lot in common. Cullen finished his career with 731 points, a scant five more than Stevens. As indicated by their nicknames (Stevens=Artie, Cullen=Dad), both were beloved by their black-and-gold teammates. And each was a key contributor on back-to-back Cup champions, Stevens with his boisterous play and clutch goal scoring in the early 1990s and Cullen with his defensive mastery and faceoff prowess in ’16 and ‘17.
It seems only fitting for the duo to be inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame together on December 4.
They’ll join previous Pens player inductees Bob Paradise (’89), Joe Mullen (’98), Gordie Roberts (’99), Mike Ramsey (’01), Mark Johnson (’04), Tom Barrasso (’09), Kevin Hatcher (’10), Ed Olczyk (’12), Bill Guerin (’13) and Scott Young (’17).