Braden Holtby performs concert for Capitals teammates at Vancouver pub

October 25, 2018 12:29 am

Vezina trophy-winning goaltender Braden Holtby is a man of many talents – a renaissance man if you will. The Holtbeast is a Stanley Cup champion hockey player, a burgeoning fashion icon, a powerful advocate for the LGBTQ community, and a guitar player.

Holtby, an ardent Jack Johnson fan, routinely strums guitar before games to find his zen and Wednesday night, the all-star goalie took his talents up on stage.

At the Dubh Linn Gate Irish Pub near Vancouver, Holtby performed a set for his Capitals teammates. Twitter user @CrookBob has the video.

Video

Braden Holtby played a set in Whistler at The Dubh Linn Gate last night while Ovechkin & his teammates cheered him on… #NHL #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/z7ZLZ2nt5o

— Bob Crook (@CrookBob) October 25, 2018

Holtby, in a deep baritone voice, is shown singing as an enthusiastic Alex Ovechkin, still wearing his plaid shirt from the Capitals’ axe-throwing team-building event, shoots vertical video on his phone.

The song Holtby is singing is Keep The Wolves Away by Uncle Lucius.

Sports Illustrated’s Alex Prewitt previously documented Holtby’s pregame jam sessions in an April 2016 article.

The guitar lives inside a small office at the Washington Capitals’ practice facility, removed from its leathery case only for the game-day jam sessions. Showtime typically comes around noon, squeezed into the window after the morning skate and team meeting, once the artist finishes getting rubbed down by the team masseuse. The setlist trends heavy on Indie and modern rock, particularly Jack Johnson, but requests are taken too. The crowd comes and goes, mostly other players visiting manager of team operations Rob Tillotson, who works behind his desk while songs flow from the chair near the door. But every so often, someone will stop and listen to the acoustic stylings of goaltender-turned-jukebox Braden Holtby.

How much of a role does music play in Holtby’s life? After the Capitals won the Stanley Cup in June, Braden’s parents gifted him a Prestige Rebel guitar. The goaltender showed his appreciation by taking a photo with the Stanley Cup while playing his new instrument.