Anaheim Ducks and the Offspring bring punk rock energy onto the ice with Come Out and Play Night

Thousands of cheering fans situation the crystal astatine the Honda Center. The arena is loud, packed with fans successful Anaheim Ducks jerseys. As the puck drops and the enactment starts, players zoom backmost and distant until — boom! A shot, and the Ducks score. But erstwhile the euphony hits for the archetypal extremity of the game, it’s not the emblematic “We Will Rock You” by Queen. It’s “Come Out and Play” by section heroes, and 1 of Orange County’s astir influential punk bands, the Offspring.

To observe the 3rd yearly Come Out and Play Night, the Ducks person erstwhile again collaborated with the set for an evening of hockey, euphony and peculiar exclusive merchandise for fans. The lawsuit volition instrumentality spot Tuesday astatine the Honda Center against the Vancouver Canucks. The collaborative effort began successful 2024, but astatine the time, nary 1 knew if it would last, including the Offspring’s guitarist, Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman, who told The Times successful a telephone interrogation from Canada portion connected circuit with Bad Religion that helium and the set hoped it would beryllium much than a one-time event. “This was the archetypal clip we’d ever teamed up with an organized sports team, and the information that it’s an Orange County team, wherever we grew up, made it consciousness right,” Noodles said. “It’s been truly fun, but we had nary thought however agelong it would last. Now it’s 3 years later.”

Merrit Tully, elder vice president and main selling serviceman of the Ducks said that the conception for the collaboration betwixt the nine and the Offspring came organically arsenic portion of an improvement the enactment was going through.

“We started putting a batch much accent connected the in-arena acquisition a small implicit 3 years ago. That gave america the accidental to rethink music, not conscionable arsenic thing played betwixt periods, but arsenic thing that could truly elevate the acquisition for fans and players alike,” Tully said. “As this was happening, we approached our 30th season, and we were truly leaning into our Orange County roots. We looked astatine collaborating with the Offspring, since they grew up conscionable a fewer miles from here, and their emergence happened astatine the aforesaid clip our franchise was starting. This conscionable felt authentically Orange County successful a mode that was hard to ignore.”

Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal and Noodles clasp albums by the Offspring.

(Jordan Bathe)

For Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal, who was precocious named NHL Third Star of the Week, having a collaboration with a set similar the Offspring has peculiar sentimental meaning. “I retrieve increasing up proceeding stone euphony a batch backmost successful my location country, the Czech Republic,” Dostal said. “My parents would play punk stone and metallic erstwhile they were driving maine to the rink for practice, truthful proceeding the Offspring present benignant of brings maine backmost to that.”

Dostal said that helium loves galore stone and alternate bands helium remembers proceeding backmost successful his location country, specified arsenic Linkin Park. He besides said that, arsenic an athlete, euphony is portion of his regular regimen, and it is the aforesaid with the Ducks. “We perceive to euphony each day, earlier practice, earlier games. It’s a large portion of however we get ready,” helium said. “I grew up listening to this benignant of music, truthful whenever I perceive these songs, it conscionable pumps maine up.”

For fans who attended the 2 erstwhile Come Out and Play Nights, radical should expect tons of enthusiasm and precocious energy, mixing the strength of a performance and a hockey game. “Those nights decidedly had a antithetic vibe. You tin consciousness it from the ice,” Dostal said. “The fans are excited, the euphony is louder, and it conscionable feels similar thing peculiar for everyone successful the building.”

Noodles said helium agreed with Dostal and added that helium thinks the collaboration makes consciousness due to the fact that determination are a batch of parallels betwixt punk stone and sports similar surfing, skating and crystal hockey. “With surfing and skating, there’s ever been that premix of travel and violence. You’re carving, you’re gliding, and past sometimes you instrumentality a question connected the head,” helium said. “Hockey has that aforesaid thing. It tin beryllium truly violent, but past determination are moments wherever it’s each velocity and movement.”

With a set having a palmy vocation for implicit 3 decades, Noodles said determination person been instances of being approached by nonrecreational athletes who are fans of the Offspring. “Over the years, we’ve had nonrecreational athletes travel up to america arsenic fans for sure. One time, Dennis Rodman came retired onstage with america and did ‘Come Out and Play,’” helium said. “Our producer, Bob Rock, is simply a immense hockey instrumentality and truly got america into going to the Ducks and Kings games.”

Members of the set the Offspring airs for a photograph during a pre-game puck ceremonial of the crippled betwixt the Anaheim Ducks and the Vancouver Canucks connected Feb. 27, 2025, astatine Honda Center.

(Debora Robinson / NHLI via Getty Images)

Noodles said helium appreciates that a set similar the Offspring has generations of fans and values however overmuch the OC euphony country is inactive thriving. “We’ve ever had precocious teens and aboriginal 20s kids successful the beforehand row, but present we’re seeing younger kids and their parents, too. There’s a truly wide property scope astatine our shows now, and that’s been beauteous chill to see,” helium said. “The Orange County country is inactive truly alive. You spot a premix of radical from the aged bands, but determination are besides a batch of younger bands coming up. I really emotion going to spot younger bands due to the fact that cipher cares who I am. I tin conscionable basal successful the pit and ticker the show.”

This thought of generations of fans is besides seen successful the NHL, and Dostal agrees it tin beryllium seen with fans of the Ducks. He said this is 1 of the reasons helium loves moving with an OC band. “The Offspring are local, the Ducks correspond Orange County, and I’m truly blessed I tin beryllium portion of thing that connects the two,” helium said. Dostal besides said that a customized collaborative plan connected a disguise volition beryllium revealed astatine the Come Out and Play Night against the Canucks. “I worked with the guys successful the Offspring, we threw astir ideas together, and I told them they could fundamentally bash immoderate they wanted. I’m truly excited for fans to spot it,” Dostal said.

Fans of the Ducks and the Offspring tin expect a nighttime to remember. It’s each astir connection, and giving fans of the euphony and the squad a accidental to bring the worlds of sports and punk unneurotic for 1 peculiar night. “Beyond summons sales, we look astatine however fans respond successful the building,” Tully said. “When we people and the arena reacts unneurotic to an Offspring song, that tells america the transportation is real.”

Dostal agreed with the sentiment and said helium is humbled by the collaborative event, which helium said is instrumentality emphasized. “The Offspring is simply a immense set each implicit the world, truthful being capable to enactment with them and correspond that connected the crystal is thing I truly appreciate.”