In ways both big and small, we’re all influenced by our parents. When your parents are high performers in their industries, there can be the pull – if not the outright pressure – to follow in their footsteps.

In the case of Calgary Flames prospect Cullen Potter, he’s gone into the family business, but pursued his own path in his own unique manner.

Cullen’s father, Rob, is a Minnesota product who played high school hockey, followed by college puck at the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin – River Falls. Since college, he’s been working pretty consistently in coaching youth hockey.

Cullen’s mother, Jenny, is someone most long-time women’s hockey fans are undoubtedly familiar with. Another Minnesota product, she joined the United States national women’s team and played high-end international hockey for over a decade. She appeared in 10 World Championships and four Olympics – including playing in the 2001 and 2007 Worlds just a few months after giving birth to Cullen’s sister Madison (2001) and Cullen himself (2007). All-in-all, Cullen’s mom has 14 medals from major international competitions.

Speaking to the media at Flames development camp in early July, Cullen discussed his parents’ influence on him and what they meant to him.

“Really everything. I mean, I still train with my parents to this day,” said Potter. “And obviously here at the Flames camp, I’m training with them now. But, you know, they’ve helped me a lot along the way. And my mom playing Olympics and my dad playing college. Like, they just know a lot about the game. So, you know, they’ve helped me through the hard times and the good times and everything. And they’re my parents, too. So they’re always there for me. So it’s meant a lot to me.”

While every source we can find says Potter was born in Wisconsin – including the NHL – he was raised, like his parents, within Minnesota, the State of Hockey. He grew up in the Twin Cities area and basically lived on the ice from a young age.

“Growing up in Minnesota, obviously, it’s a pretty dominant state,” said Potter. “I’ve been playing in the U.S. for hockey. So just going into the outdoor rink, playing pickup games with my parents, learning from them. They run their own skill skates like I touched on before. So just training with them and older kids my whole life at practices, it’s been a blessing.”

The thing that may separate Potter from a lot of kids – regardless of who their parents are – is his drive, determination and willingness to leave home to pursue his hockey dreams. Rather than wait a year to join Michigan State University as an 18-year-old in the fall of 2025, he opted to go to Arizona State University as a 17-year-old in the fall of 2024.

Here’s an excerpt from Craig Morgan’s profile of Potter at GoPHX.com from July 2024 on Potter’s unique path:

Despite Potter’s traditional hockey beginnings, his path has been anything but typical for the past four seasons. He left Minnesota’s Triple-A ranks to play for the Green Bay Junior Gamblers because it was the best junior program within reach of his hometown of Minneapolis.

When the Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association chose not to renew the Gamblers’ charter for Tier I status, he left to play for the Dallas Stars Elite team. The following year at age 16, he made his way to where many of the top American players end up: the United States National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Michigan, where had 17 goals and 46 points on the U17 team, and nine goals and 22 points in 35 games in the USHL.

The NTDP wanted him back for another year of development, and Michigan State — where Potter had originally committed — wanted him to do the same. The Spartans, under former NTDP coach Adam Nightingale, didn’t have a roster spot available for Potter in 2024-25, so he de-committed from MSU and committed to play at Arizona State.

Speaking at development camp, Potter noted that his game grew a lot during his freshman year at Arizona State.

“It grew a lot,” said Potter. “I think the main reason is I want to play in the NHL someday. So, taking that next step in my development is what I wanted to do. And I felt like I had a really good opportunity there at Arizona State. So, that’s the main reason I went there. The weather’s a plus, I guess. But, no, I think I took a lot of big steps in my game this year, just being relied upon in the D zone and everywhere else. And just continuing to work on my shot and offence and everything like that, too. So, you know, face-offs, all that stuff. So, I think I really grew in almost every area this year. And, you know, continue to grow there next year.”

When Potter returns to Arizona State for his sophomore campaign, he’ll start it with a pretty big test: the Sun Devils begin their 2025-26 schedule on Oct. 3 & 4 against presumptive 2026 NHL Draft top prospect Gavin McKenna, Flames prospect Luke Misa, and the Penn State Nittany Lions.