Zac Dalpe is as big an O.A.R. fan as you'd expect from somebody who went to Ohio State.
The guys in the band, including lead singer Marc Roberge and guitarist Richard On, all are Buckeyes, "so when you walk around Ohio State, O.A.R. is all you hear," Dalpe said.
In fact, there are Ohio State references in many of the popular rock band's songs, and Dalpe, the injured Wild center, has seen them in concert a number of times.
Last Thursday, Dalpe sat down in Andrew Heydt's office and asked the Wild's operations manager what he was up to. Heydt told him Roberge and On, in the Twin Cities to play the Cities 97 Sampler Release Party, were about to meet him so they could skate at Xcel Energy Center.
"I said, 'No seriously, what are you up to today?' " Dalpe recalled.
Heydt told Dalpe that he had gotten to know O.A.R.'s tour manager, Chris Wrightsman, and Roberge over the past few years while working for the Tampa Bay Rays and the Twins.
Stunned, Dalpe said, "Do you know I went to Ohio State, that O.A.R.'s my thing? You've got to let me meet them."
Dalpe, 27, plays guitar. He fancies himself a singer, too, even playing at a few teammates' weddings and once singing "I Will Remember You" with Sarah McLachlan and some Vancouver teammates at a Canucks charity event.