Those Olympic Hockey Organists You've Been Enjoying Are From The NHL

If you've watched any of the men's hockey games during these Olympics, you've probably found yourself enjoying the work of the arena organist. So far, games have featured snippets of the Star Wars and Game of Thrones theme songs, Van Halen's "Right Now," and Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus." It just so happens that the guys playing those songs are from America.

The two organists on hand for the Olympics have regular gigs with NHL teams. Ray Castoldi plays the organ at Rangers games, and and Dieter Ruehle is the L.A. Kings' in-house organist. But just because Castoldi and Ruehle are from America doesn't mean they are total homers. Everything they play at the Olympics is on the International Olympic Committee's approved playlist, and Castoldi told Bloomberg that he spent a few weeks memorizing famous Russian folk songs so that he could play those during games.

Still, let this be a lesson to all future winter Olympics hosts: If you want in-arena hockey entertainment done right, you come to the U.S.A.