Potter has DNA to be ‘something special’ as Flames prospect 

CALGARY -- Cullen Potter might have one of the more unique comparables among the 2025 NHL Draft class.

His mother is U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Jenny Schmidgall-Potter.

"I haven't watched too much tape, but just at the outdoor rinks I definitely probably mimic some of her stuff," said Potter, who grew up around the game but didn't play organized hockey until he was 11. "I think some people that watched her play say I mimic her a little bit.

"(She's) always been there to support me. That's the biggest influence she's had on me. She's my mom and she's my hockey coach at the same time. Having someone there to support me through everything in life and in hockey is something special. I'm super thankful for her."

The 18-year-old forward, selected in the first round (No. 32) by the Calgary Flames, led all NCAA players eligible for this year’s draft with 13 goals as a freshman at Arizona State University, and was second with 22 points in 35 games last season, trailing only James Hagens of Boston College, who had 37 points (11 goals, 26 points) in 37 games. Hagens was selected No. 7 by the Boston Bruins.

Potter's prowess on the production front further proves the comparison.

Schmidgall-Potter, who medaled in four straight Olympics and helped Team USA to gold at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, is the United States' all-time leading scorer and third all-time in Olympic play with 32 points (11 goals, 21 assists) in 21 games.

At the World Championship level, she ranks fifth all-time among U.S.-born skaters and is 11th with 61 points (23 goals, 38 assists) in 50 career games, earning four golds and six silvers along the way.

Hard for even the youngest of Potters to not notice that kind of hardware haul.

"I'd open the backpack and look at them, which is pretty cool," Potter said. "She's telling me not to scratch them up. It's definitely cool to see Olympic gold medals and silver medals and stuff like that."

The Flames were well aware of Potter's lineage prior to the draft, which certainly served as an added bonus for director of amateur scouting Tod Button.

"His mom was an Olympian, right?" Button said. "World champion. Olympic champion. Hockey Hall of Fame. He's got bloodlines. We have Pierre-Paul Lamoureux, who's one of our pro scouts. His sisters (Monique and Jocelyne Lamoureux) played with Jenny Potter. Now we get the background on what she was like, it was almost identical -- self-starter, up in the morning. His twin sisters talked about how influential she was on their careers doing the right thing.

"When it went down to Cullen, he was following the same steps and doing all the same things at Arizona State. We're like, 'This guy is dedicated at 17 and wants to make it.' You don't have to convince me anymore. We believed in him because of that, because we knew all the background and knew what kind of kid he is."

With information in hand, Calgary attempted to trade up in the draft to select Potter but was unable to consummate a deal.

It didn't come to fruition, but he fell to the Flames anyway with the last pick of the first round.

"Speed alone is just ... he's fast," general manager Craig Conroy said. "Fast, quick, electric. He has high hockey sense. To be this young playing in college hockey, it's not easy. With that skill ... and he's very competitive too. That's the one thing.

"When you think about what she's done in women's hockey is pretty special. She passed that competitiveness on to him. You can see when things weren't going well or having success, he was like, 'OK, I'm going to try to turn my game up even more and do it.' I don't think he did it in a bad way. He was just like, 'I want to make a difference out here ... I want to do something to help this team win shift in and shift out.' I love that competitive side. When you think back, all the best players always push themselves to be better and do whatever it takes to win."

A chip off the old block, even if he might not be able to immediately recount every detail of it all.

“It’s huge, just having a mom who has played hockey before and at a high level, too, it’s great,” Potter said the night of the draft. “Just being able to talk to her after games and learn a lot from her growing up, and also, my dad played hockey, too, so just having a family I can trust and rely on when things aren’t going as great, they’ve been really influential in my life and they’re who I look up to the most.

"Just growing up, she's my mom so I don't think about it too much, but I guess when you think about it, it's pretty cool to have someone like that in your life -- what she's accomplished in her career and just having her as my mom too. But honestly, she's my mom, so that's how I think of her."