Trent Cull
Canadian ice hockey player and coach
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Trent Cull (born September 27, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently serving as an assistant coach for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). Previously, Cull served as an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL, as well as the head coach of several American Hockey League (AHL) teams.
| Trent Cull | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cull with the Syracuse Crunch in 2017 | |||
| Born |
September 27, 1973 Georgetown, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 209 lb (95 kg; 14 st 13 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
AHL St. John's Maple Leafs Springfield Falcons Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Houston Aeros Syracuse Crunch CoHL Brantford Smoke IHL Houston Aeros | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 1994–2004 | ||
| Coaching career | 2004–present | ||
Playing career
Junior
During the 1988-89 season, Cull played for the Georgetown Raiders of the Central Ontario Junior C Hockey League (COJHL).[1] His play there earned him a spot in the major juniors for the 1989-90 season after being drafted 7th overall by the Guelph Platers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) during the 1989 draft.[2] The team would relocate to become the Owen Sound Platers before the start of the season. Cull would struggle to score during his time with the Platers, recording only a single goal and seven assists in 81 games with the team.[2] Midway through the 1990-91 season Cull requested a trade out of Owen Sound, claiming "the atmosphere" wasn't right, and was traded to the Windsor Spitfires.[3]
Cull was traded right at the trade deadline of the 1991-92 season on January 10, 1992, to the Kingston Frontenacs along with a 6th-round draft pick for Rod Pasma and Gord Harris.[3]
Cull would spend the rest of his time in major junior with the Frontenacs, where he would begin to play a significantly more physical game, earning 322 penalty minutes in 128 games.
Professional
Prior to the 1993-94 NHL season, Cull was invited to the Boston Bruins training camp, but was not offered a contract.[4]
After aging out of the OHL, Cull started his professional career with the Brantford Smoke of the Colonial Hockey League (CoHL), where his play quickly earned him a spot with the St. John's Maple Leafs of the American Hockey League (AHL).
After three seasons with the Leafs, he would spend two and a half seasons with the Houston Aeros of the International Hockey League (IHL) before moving to the Springfield Falcons, where he would play alongside future Calgary coaching colleague Ryan Huska.[5]
Cull would spend the rest of his playing career in the AHL, spending time with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the Houston Aeros (who had moved to the AHL following the IHL's folding in 2001),[6] and the Syracuse Crunch.[7]
Over the course of his ten-season professional career, Cull would score 32 goals, 118 points, and accrue 1767 penalty minutes.[5]
Coaching career
Following his playing career, Cull took up coaching to work as an AHL assistant coach with the Syracuse Crunch under Ross Yates from 2006 to 2010. He then accepted a head coaching position in the Ontario Hockey League with the Sudbury Wolves, where he remained for three seasons before returning to the Syracuse Crunch as an assistant coach with the 2013–14 season.[8] In 2017, he was named head coach of the Utica Comets by their NHL affiliate, the Vancouver Canucks.[9] He remained with the AHL team when it relocated as the Abbotsford Canucks in 2021.[10]
On July 1, 2022, Cull was named an assistant coach for the Vancouver Canucks,[11] where he would be fired in the middle of his first season along with head coach Bruce Boudreau.[12]
On July 17, 2023, Cull was named the head coach of the Calgary Wranglers, the top AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames.[5] During the 2023–24 AHL season, due to the Wranglers position at the top of the Pacific division at the end of the calendar year, Cull was named as a coach for the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic.[13]
On December 27, 2024, the Calgary Flames called up Cull from his Wranglers position on an interim basis as an Assistant Coach with the Wranglers' parent team, while Brad Larsen, took leave from the team.[14] On May 30, 2025, Cull was named a full time assistant coach for the Flames.[15]
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1988–89 | Georgetown Raiders | COJHL | 36 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Owen Sound Platers | OHL | 57 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 53 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 11 | ||
| 1990–91 | Owen Sound Platers | OHL | 24 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Windsor Spitfires | OHL | 33 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 34 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 1991–92 | Windsor Spitfires | OHL | 32 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 66 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Kingston Frontenacs | OHL | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Kingston Frontenacs | OHL | 60 | 11 | 28 | 39 | 144 | 16 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 37 | ||
| 1993–94 | Kingston Frontenacs | OHL | 50 | 2 | 30 | 32 | 147 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1994–95 | Brantford Smoke | CoHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | St. John's Maple Leafs | AHL | 43 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | St. John's Maple Leafs | AHL | 46 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 118 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1996–97 | St. John's Maple Leafs | AHL | 75 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 219 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 18 | ||
| 1997–98 | Houston Aeros | IHL | 72 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 201 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1998–99 | Houston Aeros | IHL | 72 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 232 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 34 | ||
| 1999–00 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 28 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 74 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Houston Aeros | IHL | 35 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 133 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| 2000–01 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 71 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 166 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 28 | ||
| 2001–02 | Houston Aeros | AHL | 74 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 158 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 2002–03 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 40 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 115 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 58 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 146 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 | ||
| AHL totals | 435 | 20 | 50 | 70 | 1,049 | 50 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 76 | ||||
Coaching record
AHL
| Team | Season | Regular season | Post season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | OTL/SOL | Pts | Finish | Result | ||
| Utica Comets | 2017–18 | 76 | 38 | 26 | — | 12 | 88 | 4th, North | Lost in round 1 |
| Utica Comets | 2018–19 | 76 | 34 | 34 | — | 8 | 76 | 6th, North | Missed playoffs |
| Utica Comets | 2019–20 | 61 | 34 | 22 | — | 5 | 73 | 3rd, North | Season cancelled |
| Utica Comets | 2020–21 | 28 | 16 | 11 | — | 1 | 33 | 4th, North | No playoffs were held |
| Abbotsford Canucks | 2021–22 | 68 | 39 | 23 | — | 6 | 84 | 4th, Pacific | Lost in qualifying round |
| Calgary Wranglers | 2023–24 | 68 | 35 | 28 | — | 9 | 79 | 7th, Pacific | Lost in Division Semifinals |