COVER STORY
Lightning Made Hockey by Laura Byrne, photos provided by The Tampa Bay Lightning
Photos in this column taken by Howie Mac Photo
For Tampa Bay’s beloved Lightning, being the hometown team has always transcended a love for the sport. Their true winning comes from giving back. We recently met up with Jassen Cullimore for a socially-distant interview outside Amalie Arena. A former player, Cullimore now helps lead the Lightning Made Hockey program. As we sat next to the Stanley Cup, which he helped bring home as part of the team in 2004, we talked about how the team is not only winning big on the ice, but making an impact on the lives of children in families in our community. BYRNE: First—let’s talk about the Stanley Cup since it’s right here on the table next to us! You were part of the team when the Lightning brought it home in 2004—you know from personal experience the work and determination it takes. CULLIMORE: It takes a lot to win this. When we won in 2004—I mean…I was here in the lean times when we were losing 50 games a year, so to go through the process that we went through and the changes the team made in personnel—to win it, it’s tough.
BYRNE: Team sports teach you a lot on and off the field…or ice. What life lessons did you learn as a player that you’ve been able to share with your children and the kids you meet through the Lighting Made Program?
Cullimore at our 2021 cover shoot
CULLIMORE: You keep at it. If you have a goal in mind, you figure out what you need to do to reach that goal and no matter what, you just keep working at it. It’s funny—we were talking before—I have my three daughters at home e-learning and right now I’m working with my youngest. She’s in grade 6, and we’re trying to get her caught up since it’s the end of the
quarter. I’ve been sitting with her the last couple of nights doing grade 6 math and world history. That's the thing, to let her know this is what we need to do... you have to sacrifice a little bit... put in the work to get the mark you want.
BYRNE: There’s a picture of you with one of your daughters after the Stanley Cup win in 2004. What is that moment like for you all as players and as parents? CULLIMORE: That’s the great part. When they’re coming up to the plane, the kids, especially the young ones, they don’t really care about this (Stanley Cup). They just want to see their dad. It’s a special moment. She’s 17 now—we have that picture up and she walks by it every day. It’s one of those things you never forget and eventually the kids will realize the importance of it.
BYRNE: We’ve all made the so-called pandemic pivots. The Lightning Made Program is no different, producing virtual programming for kids. CULLIMORE: We were trying to think of stuff we can do. I know ThunderBug had his thing with fitness he was sending out. We sort of jumped on that. We put together some videos. We put together virtual clinics on Saturday mornings and were averaging 40 or 50 kids. We also have videos up there and it just shows stuff you can do with regular household items at home—if you are stuck at home and can’t go anywhere, you don’t necessarily have all of the equipment you need.
Cullimore and his family over the years
