Anthem singer butchers "O Canada" at Flames game in Minnesota

Is the Canadian national anthem really that difficult of a song to memorize the words to?

It certainly appears that way, as there have been several butchered renditions of “O Canada” as of late at NHL games. The Calgary Flames were the latest Canadian team to be on the receiving end of one, as the Minnesota Wild’s anthem singer forgot the words early into the song. While things started out fine, they took a sharp turn for the worse immediately after “in all of us command,” where the singer then repeated lines and said them in the wrong order.

We have an anthem fail in Minnesota tonight 😂 pic.twitter.com/PZ8BFzMiBV

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) December 15, 2023

To the singer’s credit, he recovered quickly from the mistake and got through the remaining bit of the anthem with no issue. That said, this is now the third time in the last month that the Canadian anthem has been butchered in American markets, with similar incidents taking place for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres.

While many are becoming frustrated by what they perceive as lazy preparation, last night’s appears to have been nothing more than a simple mistake from the Wild’s longtime anthem singer, John deCausmeaker. This morning, he made it clear on X that he feels terrible for what transpired.

“One flub in seven years,” deCausmeaker replied to a fan. “But that’s all it takes. Just proves a point I try to teach my son sometimes. ‘No one cares. Work harder.'”

“I did feel terrible, for what it’s worth. My only goal when performing it is to NOT cause an international incident.”

One flub in 7 years! 😂 But that’s all it takes. Just proves a point I try to teach my son sometimes: “No one cares. Work harder.”

— John deCausmeaker (@WildNattySinger) December 15, 2023

I did feel terrible, for what it’s worth.

My only goal when performing it is to NOT cause an international incident. pic.twitter.com/R15OK9kHaO

— John deCausmeaker (@WildNattySinger) December 15, 2023

While the Canadian anthem may not have gone deCausmeaker’s way, he made up for it during “The Star Spangled Banner,” as he turned his microphone off part way through the song to let the crowd sing the remainder.

Ok I thought my favorite anthem of the night would be Oh Canada because I love it, but @WildNattySinger inviting and letting the #mnwild take over is everything pic.twitter.com/wgIfeSWspo

— Jessi Pierce (@jessi_pierce) December 15, 2023

Any karma for the hometown team due to the butchered anthem didn’t occur, as the Wild were able to defeat the Flames 3-2 in a shootout. The Flames have now dropped four straight, a skid they will be looking to snap tomorrow night versus the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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