Michael Del Zotto realized he needed a hobby.
One of the only single players on the Philadelphia Flyers a couple of seasons ago, the defenceman would usually head home following practice, watch TV all afternoon and have dinner before returning to the couch.
鈥淚 said to myself, 鈥業鈥檝e got to do something a little more productive with my down time,鈥欌�� Del Zotto recalled.
So he got back into the saxophone 鈥� an instrument he gave up after leaving home as a teenager to play junior hockey 鈥� and bought some disc jockey turntables to mix electronic music.
鈥淟ike anything now you can go on YouTube and teach yourself,鈥� said Del Zotto, who signed with the Vancouver Canucks this summer. 鈥滻 got to the point where I was playing music in the locker-room and making mixes for warmups.
鈥淭he boys started loving it and it just took off from there.鈥�
With players from a wide range of backgrounds and countries, it鈥檚 not surprising musical tastes tend to vary in NHL locker-rooms. Some like country, while others prefer electronic, rock or hip hop to help get in the right frame of mind.
鈥淲hen you make stuff for in the room it鈥檚 understanding what guys like or throwing in some random stuff they won鈥檛 know that they may like,鈥� said Del Zotto. 鈥滻t鈥檚 tough when you have guys that like different genres to keep everyone happy.
鈥淚 like to personalize it a little bit.鈥�
Despite being new to the Canucks, Del Zotto already rules the roost when it comes to music selection heading into his ninth NHL season.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 his job now,鈥� said Vancouver centre Bo Horvat. 鈥滺e swooped into that role and he鈥檚 taken it over.
鈥淗e does a good job of getting the boys going.鈥�
Meanwhile in Winnipeg, forward Bryan Little said the gatekeepers are Jets captain Blake Wheeler and centre Mathieu Perreault.
There鈥檚 only one real rule 鈥� rookies need not apply for the job of team DJ.
鈥淚t kind of goes a bit by seniority,鈥� said Little. 鈥漌e don鈥檛 want the young guys getting their hands on it or we might be listening to 鈥楬igh School Musical鈥� soundtracks.鈥�
Entering his fourth season, Horvat said he knows that music remains a veteran鈥檚 domain.
鈥淒o not touch the music,鈥� said Horvat, 22, who led the Canucks in scoring last season. 鈥滻鈥檓 four years in and still don鈥檛 touch the music.鈥�
Senators captain Erik Karlsson and forward Zack Smith usually get dibs on the tunes in Ottawa.
鈥淶ack is more an alternative rock kind of guy, some old school stuff and that鈥檚 more the stuff I like,鈥� said winger Bobby Ryan. 鈥淚鈥檝e heard a lot of (Karlsson鈥檚) Swedish music 鈥� and there鈥檚 only four guys who can relate to it.鈥�
Maple Leafs defenceman Connor Carrick said fellow blue liner Jake Gardiner and centre Nazem Kadri are the music maestros in Toronto.
鈥淕ards, usually he鈥檚 the morning (guy), a little more country, a little more laid back,鈥� said Carrick. 鈥漀az will pick it up for the afternoon.
鈥淭he beats per minute on his songs are a little higher, so it gets you going pre-game.鈥�
Del Zotto said age and where players are from often has a big impact on what they want to hear.
鈥淚n New York, (former Rangers forward) Brad Richards used to like his old school rock,鈥� he said. 鈥滻n Philly, (Jakub) Voracek loved AC/DC and Bruce Springsteen.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how that gets him pumped up. The odd time he鈥檇 toss some of that on, and I know for sure I wasn鈥檛 the only guy complaining.鈥�
While most NHLers might playfully argue over music, Del Zotto has a unique perspective. He performs his own shows in the off-season and has gotten to know a number of big-name DJs, including Dutch superstar Tiesto.
鈥淚鈥檝e been able to watch them in the studio, watch them perform live and learn a little bit,鈥� said Del Zotto. 鈥滻t鈥檚 something I鈥檝e really enjoyed doing.鈥�
鈥淚 went to his apartment a couple days after he got to Vancouver,鈥� added Canucks forward Jake Virtanen. 鈥滺e was spinning with his DJ set for me and (defenceman Ben Hutton) for a solid hour.
鈥淚t was cool for me to see how he did it.鈥�
But veteran Vancouver winger Daniel Sedin is less enthused about Del Zotto鈥檚 musical tastes.
鈥淚 hope it鈥檚 not him because it鈥檚 been pretty horrible,鈥� the 37-year-old joked. 鈥�(Hutton) was doing it last year for a bit, but it didn鈥檛 really work out so he鈥檚 fired.鈥�
A country fan, Canucks forward Brandon Sutter said he doesn鈥檛 mind electronic music for pre-game, adding that he respects Del Zotto for putting himself out there.
鈥淭he younger guys seem to love it,鈥� said Sutter. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 have the (guts) to put the music on yourself, you can鈥檛 make fun of the person who does.鈥�
鈥� With files from Neil Davidson in Toronto, Judy Owen in Winnipeg and Lisa Wallace in Ottawa
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Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
