10 Musical Acts With Ties to Hockey

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Music and hockey have been connected for generations and some of the biggest names in music have found ways to show their love for the sport.

Here’s a look at 10 big-time hockey fans in the music scene:

Snoop Dogg
Where do we begin with the hop hop legend himself Snoop Doggy Dogg? From wearing jerseys from all over the hockey world at shows and a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey in the music video for “Gin and Juice”, to appearing on Los Angeles Kings broadcasts and intermission panels on Hockey Night in Canada with Scott Oake, to being an NHL 20 analyst, Snoop loves the game.

The NHL has even used him on their digital platforms to host a mini-series in 2018 known as “Hockey 101” – and it was anything but a typical run-of-the-mill hockey education series.

Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber’s love of the Toronto Maple Leafs is well known, but he’s done more than just cheered from the seats of Scotiabank Arena. Bieber who played minor hockey in Stratford, Ontario has skated with members of the Maple Leafs, played in the 2017 NHL All-Star Celebrity Shootout and even challenged St.Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington to a shootout.

The connections to the game also go well beyond just the rink as Bieber was spotted walking into UFC 263 in Glendale, Arizona with Auston Matthews and Frederik Andersen.

Celine Dion
One of Canada’s most iconic singers has long had ties to the game in various ways. Over many years she’s expressed her support of the Canadiens and you can find many pictures of her performing in Canadiens jerseys and meeting with team alumni.

Dion’s name would come up in a funnier moment of this year’s NHL playoffs when the Vegas Golden Knights showed a picture of her on the T-Mobile Arena jumbotron in Vegas gear during the pre-game of Game 5 of their series vs the Montreal Canadiens. Dion without saying what exactly alluded said she had zero involvement in the photoshopped picture via her Twitter.

Dion although has had a residency before in Las Vegas and has performed in a Golden Knights jersey, she still has her loyalty to the Canadiens.

The Tragically Hip
The Tragically Hip have by far some of the most ties to the game of anyone on this list and one of their most well-known songs is about a hockey player. “50 Mission Cap” is about Bill Barilko, the defenseman who scored the 1951 Stanley Cup-winning goal and then vanished that very summer on his way to a fishing trip. The song would make it into the Canadian top 40 charts and the title would be used for a 2018 TSN documentary about a project to recover Bariliko’s plane.

The late Gord Downie, the group’s front man was a die-hard Boston Bruins fan and was a fixture as a netminder of the Juno Cup, the hockey tournament that allowed musicians and NHL alumni to play in an exhibition game together.

Brett Kissel
The country singer has become a fixture at almost any and everything to do with the Edmonton Oilers in the past few seasons. Kissel on numerous occasions has sung national anthems at Rogers Place before Oilers games, but in 2017, he’d be apart of one of the more memorable anthem moments.

Before Game 3 of the Oilers-Ducks Western Conference second-round playoff series, Kissel’s mic would stop working during the Star-Spangled Banner and he turned things over to the packed Edmonton crowd the finish the song which quickly became a viral moment online.

Kissel’s involvement with the Oiler players and staff, past and present has gone past anthems as he’s even had the chance to contribute guest commentary to Sportsnet broadcasts and performed at Jordan Eberle’s wedding with Connor McDavid, Taylor Hall and Darnell Nurse all in attendance.

Carrie Underwood
If you’ve watched an Ottawa Senators or Nashville Predators game within the past decade, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve come across the country music superstar.

Underwood in 2010 married then Senators forward Mike Fisher and was spotted many times in the crowd at the now Canadian Tire Centre. After Fisher was traded to the Predators in 2011, in Nashville at Predators games she’s been one of the many well-known recording artists to perform the Star-Spangled Banner and she’s been like so many hockey fans, she’s been vocal about officiating on Twitter.

During the 2017-18 season, she let it be known she was not happy about a call that erased a late Filip Forsberg goal from counting in a game vs Florida.

Sam Roberts
Imagine this, you’re a sports fan and a musician and your track gets played during an intro of Hockey Night in Canada. It’s a true honor on Canadian TV and Sam Roberts knows what that is like. The six-time Juno Award winner and die-hard Montreal Canadiens fan had his group The Sam Roberts’ band’s song “I Feel You” played before Game 1 of the Canadiens-Bruins series in 2014.

The hockey love also goes to the rink for Roberts as he has a reputation among his musical peers as one of the better players at Juno Cups despite his small stature. The Canadiens are not the only team to be involved with Robers and the band as in 2008 they performed at the original Winter Classic between the Penguins and Sabres in Buffalo.

Michael Bublé
You will not find many more artists who love the Vancouver Canucks more than Buble. The Burnaby, B.C. native all over social media has shown love for the team and ways to stay connected with the club.

The four-time Grammy winner in 2011 while on his honeymoon in Italy watched the Canucks knock off the Chicago Blackhawks in the playoffs, he’s skated with the team for a practice and for a YouTube segment sang Christmas carols with Elias Petterson last year.

The hockey love also extends to ownership as Buble is a part-owner of the WHL’s Vancouver Giants.

Drake
When people talk about Drake’s sports connections in conversation it usually leans more towards his connections within the NBA. There’s a hockey background with the recording artist who has sold more than 170 million records worldwide and has gone from Jimmy Brooks in Degrassi: The Next Generation to one of the most recognizable people in the world.

Drake grew up playing youth hockey in Toronto for the Weston Red Wings but that’s not where his hockey story would end. In 2012, Drake would perform at the NHL All-Star Game in Ottawa and and was spotted in team locker rooms meeting with such names as Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Jarome Iginla and Dion Phaneuf.

In 2019, the connection to the game would once again be on him as he would be at Scotiabank for Game 4 of the Maple Leafs-Bruins first-round series.

Ariana Grande
The Florida Panthers’ impact on Ariana Grande goes back to when she was literally a toddler. The pop star went to Panther games as a kid and in 1998 was featured in a local newspaper due to the fact that shockingly before the age of five she was TWICE hit by a puck at games.