Jets’ anthem singer stands on guard for thee

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/05/2021 (1821 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Evan Rogalsky, a music teacher at John Pritchard School and one of the anthem singers for the Winnipeg Jets.

Evan grew up in North Kildonan and is now living in what he refers to as :shallow Transcona,” not accepting full departure from where he first called home. 

Evan was already working with students in schools and playing in cover bands when he saw that the Manitoba Moose, then in their third season back in Winnipeg, were holding auditions for a singer. 

Evan put something together that stood out from the rest, betting no one else would play Canada’s national anthem while also playing the guitar.

His wager paid off as he got the call to audition in person. 

“It’s a cool story,” Evan said, reminiscing about how he planned on singing in one of the producer’s offices for his second audition. 

When he arrived at the arena however, they directed him onto the ice to perform in front of the management. 

“There were a bunch of people in suits, and they asked me what it means to me, to sing for the Moose.” 

Evan told them what it meant as a kid to have hometown hockey. 

“I grew up going to Jets and Moose games and there’s a lot of nostalgia being able to sing at the arena where your heroes have played,” he said.

Evan also told them that while he was growing up that he loved the punk rock image in music videos “but I was a lousy skater,” he said, “so I got into the music.” 

The Moose gave him five games and Evan did them all with his guitar. This caught the attention of the game presentation team of the Jets, and now Evan performs in front of millions of hockey viewers.  

“I do anywhere from four to five games a year,” he said, “Stacey Nattrass does the bulk of the games while three or four of us other singers and celebrities fill in the gaps.”

Evan said his unique style was developed while studying the greats. 

“Anytime a celebrity would do a sporting event national anthem, I would always wonder, how would I do it? Everyone does it differently, and I tried to take ideas and wrap them into my own version.”

Evan Comstock is a community correspondent for East Kildonan.

Evan Comstock

Evan Comstock was a community correspondent for East Kildonan.

   Read full biography