Stanley Cup Final Finds Wayne Gretzky Learning Who Chappell Roan Is

Under somewhat mysterious circumstances, the Edmonton Oilers have adopted Chappell Roan's "Pink Pony Club" as their team anthem, blasting it in the locker room after every win during their run through the Stanley Cup playoffs. The team organist for the Oilers — who are in the finals, facing the Florida Panthers in a rematch from last season — has even begun playing the song ahead of each night's opening faceoff at Rogers Place. The players aren't talking about why that song in particular has caught on with the team, but it's definitely become a thing, which led to Wayne Gretzky discovering the wonders of Chappell Roan about a year later than the rest of the world.

Wednesday, the Oilers defeated the Panthers in Game 1. In a TNT postgame broadcast, retired hockey star turned studio analyst Paul Bissonnette was discussing the "Pink Pony Club" phenomenon, noting that he saw someone in the crowd had Oilers star Leon Draisaitl's head "superimposed on the Pink Pony Club," presumably a reference to some homemade sign. This led to NHL legend Gretzky, also an analyst on the postgame show, asking, "'Pink Pony,' is that a band or is that a song?" Bissonnette explained, "It's a woman. She sings a song, 'Pink Pony Club.' And it's famous — it’s on the radio." The Great One then asked if this unnamed woman was American or Canadian. "I think it's an American girl," Bissonnette replied. "But all of the sudden it popped off. I believe she won a few Grammys. And now they're rockin' it in the locker room." Gretzky remarked that he'd have to get the song as his ringtone.

You can see this moment of discovery below.

Roan headlines Primavera Sound Barcelona tonight at 10 p.m. CEST. (That's 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT.) Her set will be livestreamed on Prime Video and Twitch. Roan was also the Apple Girl during Charli XCX's headlining set on Thursday.