From Dive Bars to Arena Stages, Nickelback Is Inducted Into Canadian Music Hall of Fame
Karen Bliss Nickelback’s induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at Monday’s Juno Awards called for a local hero — and who better to introduce the honorees than Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid. “The LeBron of hockey,” as Junos host Simu Liu called the athlete, is currently regarded as the NHL’s best player. In Edmonton, not far from the tiny town of Hanna, Alberta (where a sign welcoming visitors reads, “Proud to be the home of Nickelback”), the rock band is equally respected. To wit: an introduction by Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds in an 11-minute video chronicling their start as a cover band to global rock act with sales of over 50 million albums. “They played a show here a number of years ago and I met them backstage and ended up having a really good time together,” McDavid — who is from Toronto and joined the Oilers in 2015 — tells Variety. “I think there’s always a mutual respect for athletes to musicians and musicians to athletes, and we definitely bonded over that.”