CALGARY — Some say he has his mother's hands.
Jenny Schmidgall-Potter was among the first women to combine motherhood and elite hockey when she twice gave birth to children and returned to the U.S. women's team.
The four-time Olympian and a competitor at 10 world championships had daughter Madison in 2001 and son Cullen in 2007.
Cullen Potter was a first-round pick, 32nd overall, in this year's NHL draft by the Calgary Flames.
"Cullen has unbelievable hands," said his mom. "People always say, 'Jenny, you had great hands' … it's just something you work on."
Schmidgall-Potter and the U.S. claimed the first Olympic gold medal awarded in women's hockey in Nagano, Japan, in 1998. She also won four world titles with the Americans.
She ranks fifth all-time in points at the worlds for the U.S. with 61 in 50 games. Schmidgall-Potter retired from the national team in 2013 when Cullen was six and inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020.
There is a photo of a three-year-old Cullen on the ice with Jenny at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. He held his mom's silver medal in his small hands.
Cullen has hazy memories of his mom's playing days.
"Just a little bit … some of them are definitely a little fuzzy," he said this week at the Flames' development camp in Calgary.
"I remember going out on the ice and kissing the medal. I've seen that picture a lot. So I remember some things, not everything. I was pretty young.
"Some people that have watched her play say I mimic her a little bit."
Cullen was walking at five months and skating as a one-year-old, but Jenny and husband Rob didn't put him in organized hockey until he was 11. Cullen also played lacrosse and swam.
He learned hockey playing on outdoor rinks in Minnesota with his parents, who run a business training players.
"Cullen always had a knack for coming up with the puck," Jenny said. "Rob and I, our love for hockey is definitely an influence on him and he saw the passion we have for the sport."
His sister Madison also played hockey and competed in swimming for Notre Dame.
"I did just about every sport you could think of," Cullen said. "From the second I touched the ice, I think that's just something I knew I loved and haven't looked back since.
"My mom playing in the Olympics and my dad playing college, they just know a lot about the game. They've helped me through the hard times and the good times."
The five-foot-10, 172-pound centre produced 13 goals and nine assists in 35 games as an 18-year-old freshman at Arizona State this past season.
He added nine goals and 13 assists in 35 games for the U.S. development team in 2023-24 before joining the Sun Devils.
"I'm super proud of him," Jenny said. "He's matured a ton over the last year, going to college, playing with older guys and being around older players.
"I know what it takes to commit yourself on a daily basis and forgoing summer vacations or things that you miss out on because you're wanting to accomplish your goals.
"He's always been a worker and has some genetics, of course, but you know a lot of it's just through the hard work that he's done with my husband and with us as parents to get to where he is now.
"I can say I love hockey, I've had so many great moments in winning a gold medal and world championships, but I still think the best thing in my life are children."
The 46-year-old still keeps an eye on a U.S.-Canada rivalry in women's hockey she helped fuel for many years.
"The rivalry is still strong and true. Go U.S.A.," she said, before adding: "Cullen's in Canada, so I guess maybe I'm going to have to support them just a little bit."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 3, 2025.
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
