Blue Jackets rock their way into season 25

NHL players have reached the apex of their sport, putting in thousands upon thousands of hours of hard work to make it to the highest level and achieve incredible things.

Successful musicians share the same dedication to their craft and also know what it’s like to do what they love and put on a show in front of thousands of fans.

And there’s an old joke that athletes often wish they were rock stars and rock stars often wish they were athletes, and both sides came together to prove it this weekend in Columbus.

A weekend of fun festivities started Friday night with the Blue Jackets’ 25th Anniversary Concert, with headliners O.A.R. as well as The Orphan The Poet rocking the Kemba Live! stage in front of CBJ players, fans and alumni.

It concluded Sunday with O.A.R.’s Crazy Game of Hockey, bringing together band members, hockey celebrities and a bevy of former Blue Jackets players for an entertaining spectacle that lived up to its name in front of packed stands at the OhioHealth Ice Haus.

“This weekend in Columbus was, and I know you'll hear a lot of people say this, one of the best weekends of my life," said Marc Roberge, lead vocalist and guitarist for platinum-certified O.A.R. "Selfishly, this is something that we put together so I could be close to these (players). It was amazing seeing them do what they do professionally, and then they could come to our concert and see what we do professionally.

“To be able to trade that experience is what Rick (Nash) and I always talk about. Athletes want to do the music and we want to do what they do, so why don’t we just put it together for the weekend?"

The spotlight on Columbus hockey and the Central Ohio community brought smiles to the faces of everyone involved, and it was all for a great cause. Proceeds from the weekend’s events went to the John and Matthew Gaudreau Foundation, with Roberge presenting Meredith Gaudreau with a check at the start of Friday night’s performance.

“The weekend was great,” Nash said after Sunday’s game. “To kick off the 25th anniversary for the Blue Jackets in partnership with O.A.R., it was incredible. Friday night was great, and today was awesome. It was so much fun. To finally take some musicians out of their element, where we usually get to see them on stage where they’re so confident, and bring them onto the ice, it was an incredible event, and all the proceeds went to the John and Matthew Gaudreau Foundation. It was incredible.”

The weekend's activities featured former CBJ and NHL players Nash, Cam Atkinson, Jody Shelley, Fredrik Modin, Derek Dorsett, James Wisniewski, Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, Aaron Johnson, Chris Clark, RJ Umberger, Zac Dalpe, Tyson Strachan and Christian Hanson.

Hockey celebrities like Pavel Barber, Swaggy P and Oldie also took part along with actors Nathan Dales and Andrew Herr of Letterkenny fame as well as women’s hockey players Kelsey Cline and Kelly Babstock. Bobby Carpenter of 97.1 The Fan and Dave Hanson of the famed Hanson brothers served as honorary coaches.

“Everybody's been so lovely,” Dales said. “You could see it in the stands, you could see all the guys, everybody had a smile on their face. What else could you want? We raised some money for a good cause, and everybody had a good time.”

Fans at the concert were introduced to the players on the Blue Jackets roster, and the program included comments from president of hockey operations/general manager Don Waddell as well as captain Boone Jenner. The Crazy Game of Hockey lived up to its name, with the teams combining for 42 goals, including a memory-making tally by Roberge’s son, Hudson.

Considering that, it may have been a good thing the Blue Jackets’ goal cannon wasn’t in use as it probably would have run out of ammunition by the day’s end. Roberge – who attended Ohio State along with many of his bandmates and is a noted CBJ fan – hopes that’s a problem the Blue Jackets run into during the upcoming 25th anniversary season.

“I want to hear the cannon,” he said. “The first time I heard that cannon, it scared the hell out of me, but now I’m prepared. I want to hear that thing going off a whole lot. I’ll be at many games, and I look forward to it.”