Paul Cotter brought his dressing-room DJ act to Vancouver — he’s willing to keep it going if needed

Paul Cotter arrives in Vancouver with a practical, low-key claim to locker-room fame: he ran the dressing-room music in New Jersey and won't rule out doing the same for the Canucks if the team asks.

He was tagged there as "DJ Pauly C," a nickname that stuck through two seasons with the New Jersey Devils. Cotter, 26, described the role simply: he won't request it, but he'll take it on. "If my name is called upon here, I have no problem doing it. I won't be asking for it, but if they need me, I got it," he said.

Cotter stresses that effective dressing-room music is about reading the group. In New Jersey he balanced a mix of Europeans and older players who liked rock, and he expects a similar mix in Vancouver. He pointed to differences across age groups, noting that older teammates often carry more weight in picking music because younger players can be reluctant to speak up.

The article includes concrete examples of that approach. Cotter named several teammates to illustrate generational differences: Luke Schenn, 36, and Brendan Gallagher, 34, likely have different tastes than younger players such as 20-year-old Zeev Buium. Those contrasts shape playlists and how he selects songs for practice, pre-game and post-rink moods.

Cotter's own listening habits are varied. Mornings in the car tend toward slower, upbeat selections — country, John Mayer or Michael Buble — which he calls "positive" for going to the rink. Practice days can skew country, pre-game skate has "old school" selections, and after the rink he leans toward faster pace choices like throwbacks or EDM depending on the day. He described the process as matching tempo to mood rather than following one fixed style.

Beyond music, the piece gives a quick sense of Cotter's roster role: a left-shot forward who can fill various roles for the Canucks. The music angle is a small cultural detail that also reveals how he thinks about fitting in — by listening first, adapting playlists to teammates, and deferring where appropriate to the room's elders.

For readers looking for locker-room atmosphere and how new arrivals integrate into team culture, Cotter's approach is concrete: he curates with intentions, collects teammates' input, and uses playlists to suit specific moments — practice, pre-game and post-game.