Pete Cannarozzi Played His 1,000th NHL Game as Devils Organist – The Hockey News

The organist chair at the Prudential Center has been filled since 2001. The New Jersey Devils were looking for someone to orchestrate the sounds that echo through the arena when they stumbled upon Pete Cannarozzi.
Forty years later, Cannarozzi once again took his seat behind the organ last night, marking his 1,000th NHL game.
Cannarozzi wasn’t a hockey fan when he first joined the organization, but he found the opening with the Devils and decided to give it a shot.
“It was an opportunity that I saw. I said, this is the Devils, the NHL. This is big time,” he told NHL.com. “I never played hockey organ ever. I was learning from the guy filling in. I learned on the job and then created my own style and my own way of doing things. It progressed from there.”
He’s filled the Prudential Center with music for years, missing only six games during his tenure with the team.
“Even though there was no guarantee that I would come back, year after year they always asked me back,” he said in a recent interview with NHL.com. “I always came back.”
Although Cannarozzi didn’t start the job as a hockey fan, he quickly became one. It certainly helped that in his second season, he found himself watching the Devils battle in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final from behind his organ.
“I fell in love with the team when I started the job,” Cannarozzi said. “I realized what a great organization this is. They’re a family organization. They’re a classy organization. It was that way right from the start. They really took care of me.”
Cannarozzi’s career took an unexpected turn, but as he celebrated his 1,000th NHL game last night, he remains grateful for where it led him.
“I was a full-time musician. I made my career and my living just playing music until the music business tanked around 2007,” he said. “I was able to stay in it thanks to the Devils and my home studio. I’m blessed that I can do this and earn a living.”
The Devils took on the San Jose Sharks and extended their win streak to seven games. Cannarozzi was once again sitting behind the organ, just as he had through rebuilding years, Stanley Cup runs, and everything in between, continuing to fill the arena with the sounds of the game.

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