The Colorado Avalanche’s Celly Squad and the Denver Nuggets’ Skyline Drumline are bringing the beat to Ball Arena this playoff season.
DENVER — At Ball Arena, a group of percussionists is helping fans stay hyped for the Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets.
A professional drumline plays at every home game for both teams. They’re known as the Celly Squad for the Avs and the Skyline Drumline for the Nuggets.
“It’s just been such a great time. You can’t ask for better teams to play with,” said Austin Jankwoski, who plays the quads, or the tenor drums, with the group.
Along with keeping a beat during the action, he marches with the rest of the team to Ball Arena as part of a pregame parade.
“It takes a lot of energy carrying these drums and doing a parade while also trying to stay hyped up and hype up the fans, and also focus on playing the music” he said.
The Skyline Drumline started nine seasons ago with the Denver Nuggets. They made their official debut as the Celly Squad with the Colorado Avalanche during the 2021-2022 playoffs. Austin said playing for an NHL team was a novel experience for the group.
“I love hockey. It’s so much fun. The crowds are a different breed. The fans are a different breed. They care so much about the sport. And it’s so much fun to be able to be a part of that and get to join in with the fans who have been here for so many years rooting on the Avs,” he said.
Rachel Vincent plays the bass drum for the group. She joined the squad in 2019. Along with adding hockey games to their schedules, she said the group itself has changed substantially in the few years she’s been a part of it.
The group originally had only 10 members. Now, it’s made up of 40. Still, only around 10 people play each game.
“It’s been crazy and the talent has been incredible,” Vincent said. “Watching new people come in and see us before we were even the Celly Squad, when we were just the Skyline. People would come in and hype us up all the time and want to be part of that. So, being able to see that grow and all the people auditioning and that kind of thing has been crazy.”
Although a big fan of the drums, Vincent said she never knew much about either sport before joining the team’s drumline.
“I have watched basketball and hockey but I wasn’t really into it,” she said. “[I] didn’t know what was going on.”
But now, she’s right alongside the avid fans.
“I’d love to see both teams make it all the way to finals. That would be amazing. But regardless, I love being here at the playoffs that we have right now and just being able to drum with my friends,” Vincent said.
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