

"I don't know if I can do commentary like (former NHL goalie and Devils radio analyst) Chico Resch or (Devils play-by-play announcer) Steve Cangialosi," she said.
#ISLANDERS HOCKEY NATIONAL ANTHEM FULL#
In that span, Arlette, whose full name is Arlette Roxburgh, has morphed from a hockey novice who "knew less than zero" about the game into a true aficionado. She is among the longest-tenured anthem singers in the NHL, belting out "The Star-Spangled Banner" for New Jersey through its Stanley Cup championship seasons in 1999-03 at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey, through the Devils' move to Prudential Center in Newark. More than two decades later, Arlette is still performing as the popular official national anthem singer for the Devils. I said, 'Would you like to sing the national anthem at a game?' She said, 'I'd love to.'" And then she came over to say hello, and that's history. "I decided to go in just to listen to her. "The doors were open the restaurant and I heard this beautiful voice," said Lamoriello, now GM of the New York Islanders. The then-president and general manager of the New Jersey Devils was walking down Second Avenue in Manhattan in 1998 when he was drawn into a restaurant where he discovered Arlette, a Trinidad-born singer who was performing in perfect Italian. He's apparently a pretty good musical talent scout, too. Lou Lamoriello knows a thing or two about hockey talent.

Arlette Roxburgh: still stirring as Devils national anthem singer
