Fitting In : Ducks’ Cullen Learning What It Takes to Be Successful as a Center in the NHL

Meet the typical standout center in the NHL.

He’s big, brawny and experienced. He scowls at opposing goaltenders and centers. He’s a leader on the ice and off. He’s tenacious and combative.

Now, meet Matt Cullen of the Mighty Ducks.

Cullen, 23, isn’t all that imposing at 6 feet 1 and 197 pounds. This is merely his third season. He’s a bit unassuming in the faceoff circle. He’s not the Ducks’ captain or even one of their assistant captains. He’s hard-working but not given to mixing it up with the big boys.

The Ducks believe one day soon Cullen could become the finest center in their short NHL history. He certainly has the speed and skill to fit neatly between all-star wingers Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne.

Cullen’s skills in the faceoff circle and on defense are rapidly improving. Plus, whatever he lacks now can be overcome with experience.

At present, Cullen is the Ducks’ center of the future. They can afford to wait while he learns on the job because they think he’s doing so well right now.

In 28 games, Cullen has five goals and 14 points. He is well on his way to passing his career bests of 11 goals (set last season in 75 games) and 27 points (in 67 games as a rookie in 1997-98).

Cullen has won 43.6% of his faceoffs, which isn’t among the league’s best success rates. But great faceoff winners are made, not born. It takes time to become as accomplished as teammate Steve Rucchin, one of the NHL’s best at 54.3%

The Ducks say the best thing about Cullen is that he has played so well in spite of his youth and inexperience.

“I’m starting to play more like I expect myself to play,” he said.

Those are pretty high standards. After all, Cullen was a steady scorer in college at St. Cloud State in Minnesota and in the Ducks’ minor-league system.

The Ducks seem content with flashes of brilliance from Cullen, a second-round pick in the 1996 draft. They believe better days are just ahead.

“He wants to work,” Coach Craig Hartsburg said. “He wants to learn. He’s always trying to get better. The more work he puts into it, the more he’s going to get out of it. You don’t have to get on him about not working hard.”

The Ducks initially hoped Cullen could center their top line this season. He spent most of the first two months of 1999-2000 skating between Kariya and Selanne.

But a nagging groin injury and Hartsburg’s desire to return to a top line of Kariya, Rucchin and Selanne prompted changes. Cullen has recently played between other wingers.

“I didn’t know he was going to do it,” Cullen said of Hartsburg’s line-shuffling before the Ducks’ 4-2 victory Nov. 26 against the Dallas Stars. “You want to play with those two guys [Kariya and Selanne]. Obviously, we weren’t playing that well together. So, Craig shook up the lines.”

The Ducks have gone 3-1-1 in the five games since the changes. Everybody, including Cullen, seems to have benefited. In time, you can probably expect to see Cullen back on the top line.

He centered a speedy, hard-working line with Marty McInnis and Jim McKenzie on his wings Saturday against the Phoenix Coyotes. They combined to produce the Ducks’ first goal, McKenzie shoveling home a rebound in the first period of their 2-1 victory.

More frequently, Cullen has been between McInnis and Ted Donato--a smallish, but troublesome line for opponents to handle. At the moment, Cullen seems happy.

“There was a lot of pressure coming from the coaches, especially on faceoffs, when I was playing with those guys,” he said of centering the top line. “Every little play means so much, even a small play in the corner. Paul and Teemu create so much out of little plays. Everything you do is magnified, whether it’s bad or good.”

Unlike wingers, centers have so much extra with which to concern themselves. Wingers simply pass and shoot and retreat to play a bit of defense.

Centers must be their line’s best defensive player, tying up the opposing center in front of the net and in the corners. They must learn where their wingers will be at all times. They must also be skilled in the faceoff circle.

In most of these things, Cullen has not yet surpassed Rucchin, who is in his sixth NHL season. Cullen’s speed is certainly better and he can be more skillful with the puck in scoring situations.

But the learning process continues.

“He’s going to wind up being a great hockey player,” Kariya said of Cullen. “It’s a matter of him finding his way. Offensively, he’s going to be fine. It’s tough for a center to learn the game. It takes a lot longer than a winger. It’s going to take some time for him to fill into his role.

“When he does, he’s going to be a great player.”