Devils' 2026 First-Round Draft Profile: Wyatt Cullen
Evaluating what Wyatt Cullen brings to the table as a potential target with the 12th overall pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
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With the 2026 NHL Entry Draft less than two months away, and the Devils in possession of five picks, I’ll be going through a ton of prospects over the next several weeks in order to prepare readers for appealing targets in every round. At the end, I’ll be doing a full mock draft (with reasoning) so that you’ll be able to decipher my preferred targets. Enjoy!
Next up on the long list of draft targets the Devils should have on their radar is Wyatt Cullen, son of longtime NHLer Matt Cullen, who logged 731 points across more than 1500 games in the show. Wyatt, his son, has shot up draft rankings in recent weeks, and for good reason. After a dominant World Junior performance in which he was far and away the USA’s best player, logging nine points (three goals, six assists) in five games, he has rightfully had the spotlight shone on him quite a bit more as a possible mid-first-round draftee.
I’ll be the first to admit that my most recent rankings — where I put Cullen 22 — had him too low. Way, way too low. I’ve watched a concerning amount of film in the last few days on who is one of the youngest players in the entire class, and I have to say that he has done nothing but impress me.
Those who have been following me and my work for a while probably know that I am a huge fan of the US National Team Development Program (USNTDP) and the players they produce. In 2022, I was firmly aboard the Logan Cooley at 2nd Overall train. I was quite pleased with the Devils’ having selected three NTDP prospects in 2025, and was pushing pretty hard for LJ Mooney in the middle rounds as well.
With all that in mind, let’s chat about Wyatt Cullen and why he’s among my top targets for the 12th overall pick, should the Devils keep it.
All 2026 NHL Entry Draft Profiles:
12th Overall (First Round): Ethan Belchetz | Ryan Lin | Oscar Hemming
44th Overall (Second Round):
103rd Overall (Fourth Round):
140th Overall (Fifth Round):
172nd Overall (Sixth Round):
By the Numbers
Rankings: #13 by EliteProspects | #24 by Craig Button | #12 by Scouching | #12 by Scott Wheeler | #36 by SMAHT Scouting | #19 by McKeen’s Hockey | #22 by Yours Truly
Size: 6’1, 172 Pounds
Production: 16 Goals & 29 Assists (45 Total Points) in 40 US NTDP Games
As with Oscar Hemming, I’m not taking a whole lot of stock in Cullen’s production. This year’s USNTDP team was a rather weak crop compared to years past, and Cullen suffered for it. He still managed above a point per game pace (45 in 40) and was their best per-game producer despite not starting the year on the team. He certainly put to rest most concerns about his production with his electric World Juniors performance. Despite that setback on a weak team, his star percentage is still that of a first-round talent.
Cullen’s underlying profile paints the picture of a player who is transition dominant more than anything else, but I think his offensive impact is a bit limited by the weak USNTDP team he was a part of. That aside, his work in transition cannot be understated, with the dynamic forward placing in the 96th percentile for zone entries, according to InStat.
As an aside, NHL Central Scouting adjusted Cullen’s height from just over 5’11 to 6’1, with the 17-year-old having grown a couple of inches in the last year. Not that I believe size matters, but he should certainly quell any concerns from those who think it does.
Evaluating Cullen’s Tools
Skating
Cullen is an excellent skater, with above-average marks in speed, acceleration, and agility. He takes almost no time to get to full speed, being able to find that gear with just a few powerful crossovers or strides. With that, he can easily separate from defenders on the rush or in the cycle.
Cullen’s shiftiness cannot be understated, either. He thrives in the interior portions of the ice in general, and he shifts his weight perfectly to cut quickly to the middle, even when under defensive pressure. He can use this weight-shifting ability to get around multiple layers of defense in order to get a quality look from a high-danger area of the ice.
Shooting
Between playmaking and shooting, I think Cullen’s strength definitely leans toward the former, but that certainly doesn’t mean his shot isn’t a plus.
I haven’t seen Cullen take too many slapshots or one-timers, but his wrist shot is electric. His release is compact and powerful, being able to beat goaltenders clean with ease and consistency. He picks corners well, can fire through multiple layers of traffic, and uses decoys off the rush to fool the opposition with head fakes and the threat of a pass.
Cullen is also a bit of a sharpshooter when taking the Jack Hughes angle shot, enjoying forcing the goaltender to treat his possession of the puck as a shooting threat at an incredibly low angle. Sometimes, this is just bait to keep the opposition on their toes, and sometimes, it results in a goal:
Hockey Sense & Playmaking
This, to me, is where Cullen shines. As far as hockey sense, playmaking, and offensive manipulation go, I think he is a top-three player in the class. The way that he sees the ice and reads the play is special.
More than anything, I’ve noticed that Cullen has a wizard-like ability to control and manipulate the positions of defensemen, drawing them closer to wherever he is when he has the puck to open up lanes for his teammates. He can bait multiple defenders at the same time, opening multiple lanes and outlets for a pass, which gives him optionality and versatility to exploit the defense or goaltender further.
As previously mentioned, Cullen works at his highest level while operating in the inner slot, with an inherent ability in his game to get to those areas of the ice with possession of the puck. He keeps his head up at all times and is always scanning the ice for the best way to access the quality areas.
Everything Cullen does is done in order to dominate the high-danger areas of the offensive zone. His off-puck positioning puts him in a position to receive a pass in the slot, support the cycle well, or act as bait for his teammates to capitalize on. His bread and butter will always be drawing defensive attention from multiple players and somehow finding his way through unscathed, either with maintained possession of the puck or through finding the right pass at the right time. It’s a special quality, perhaps one of one in the class.
Enjoy a couple more clips of Cullen’s unbelievable vision and playmaking chops:
Watch the orientation of Cullen’s head in the above clip — he looks at his pass option, looks back at the goaltender to bait him into believing that a shot is coming, and no-look passes it right to the one-time opportunity.
Puck Skills
I also think Cullen boasts top-five hands in his class, which should come as no surprise given how much he likes to drive to the inside and make plays happen.
He has a ton of tricks in his bag, being able to draw from it in creative ways and at any speed. Cullen uses these dekes and dangles to manipulate the speed of the game and position of the opposition, forcing everyone to play to his pace and under his terms. Even then, when he is on a rush attack, he can use his hands to escape coverage and get through several defenders at full speed or close to it:
Defensive Play
I have very few comments about Cullen’s defensive game. I have always enjoyed his work ethic, and that holds true on the defensive side of things, but as with many offensive dynamos who fall in this range of the draft, he has deficiencies in holding his positioning and preventing others from getting to the interior of the ice. Everything he does is with offense in mind, and he can sometimes get caught over-trying to force a turnover to induce an odd-man rush. I don’t particularly care about those deficiencies, though — what he does offensively is special, he has arguably the second-highest ceiling in the draft (Gavin McKenna is, of course, first), and these defensive habits can be taught.
Physicality
It flies a bit under the radar with Cullen, but I do think he is just the right amount of physical. He doesn’t chase hits or even really seek them out, but when it is a necessary tool to free up a puck or playmake proactively, he is all aboard. He has landed the odd crushing, open-ice hit, but it isn’t a mainstay in his game and the majority of his hits come while executing forechecks, using well-timed reverse hits to ensure better body positioning than his opponent.
Where Cullen displays a surprising amount of strength is in his ability to keep the puck on his stick. He plays keepaway, and sometimes is forced to do so while under heavy physical duress. Still, he is able to play this part of the game well.
In the event the Devils keep the 12th overall pick, I’ve come to the conclusion in recent days that Cullen is my preferred target. As one of the youngest players in the entire draft, he plays the game in a special way, with an extremely mature understanding of time and space and how to manipulate them. He possesses top-five skill in the entire class, and, given his age and what he did to finish off 2025-26, he is rapidly becoming one of the most projectable top-six contributors in the class. It’s possible that Cullen doesn’t round out his cycle game as much as you would like to see, but he is so dynamic off the rush that I don’t think it matters.
Cullen is committed to the University of Minnesota for the 2026-27 season, so it will certainly be interesting to see how he adapts and adjusts to the higher level of hockey. I have a feeling he’ll be just fine.
NHL Timeline: 2028-29
NHL Stylistic Comparables: Frank Nazar, William Eklund, Mitch Marner
The international competition clips in this article were sourced from the IIHF and their highlights. The NTDP clips were sourced by my own viewings on FloHockey and USAHockey.
I've always liked players who are sons of former NHL players. They seem to have good outcomes and always seem to have that extra edge with skill and growth, all taught at a young age. Tkachuk, deBrusk, Doan, Nylander, Stasny, Foligno to name a few.