Gatineau-based Ottawa Senators fan Jay Trepanier never thought attending the Thanksgiving Day game at the Canadian Tire Centre would result in the creation of his new alter ego.
“I’m just trying to enjoy a crazy game, and people are texting me nonstop,” Trepanier recalls of the day.
It was a wild victory, with the Senators beating the Los Angeles Kings 8-7. But the attention of the television cameras could not be pulled away from Trepanier.
Sporting jeans and a denim jacket, also known as a Canadian tuxedo, a flowing mullet haircut and enacting a contagious goal celebration, Trepanier was as much a part of the day’s entertainment as the on-ice action was.
“I thought they probably put me on TV just like one or two times, and then I come to realize I’m on it all the time. And they’ve now baptized me ‘mullet man,'” he said.
It’s a persona that the 27-year-old French-English musician has embraced since that day.
“Now people will refer to me more and more as mullet man, and they want me to do the [goal celebration] and all that.”
He says the celebration, mimicking the referee’s signal of a goal by pointing to the centre dot, is one he and his brother love to do. Trepanier says they were celebrating his brother’s birthday at the game.
The back of Jay Trepanier’s, or “mullet man’s” jacket given to him from the Ottawa Senator’s. (Dylan Dyson/CTV News Ottawa)
The hairstyle and fashion sense were adopted about a year ago, at first for a themed party, “but then I started digging just the energy around it.”
Since then, the mullet man’s popularity has soared. The Senators organization invited Trepanier to sing the national anthem at the Dec. 5 game against the Detroit Red Wings, and to perform during intermissions on the in-arena stage.
“You could see from the broadcast the fans were reacting around him,” says Jeff Harrop, vice president of marketing and community engagement for the Senators, speaking on the decision to embrace Trepanier.
“He optimizes what we want in the live game.”
For the performance, the team outfitted Trepanier with a one-of-a-kind denim jacket with “mullet man” adorned across the back. It was created by local designer Amy Scarlet, who also created custom pieces for Avril Lavigne and Machine Gun Kelly for their appearances in the nation’s capital.
A professional musician since 2019, singing the anthem is an opportunity Trepanier says he has been waiting for his entire life.
“I’ve been wanting to do the anthem. Lyndon Slewidge is the GOAT for Sens fans and he’s been doing it ever since I was a kid,” he said.
“You want to be in the moment, and you also want to do a good job.”
Trepanier says the organization wants to reach a broader fan base across the Ottawa River into Gatineau and are working with him to do so.
“They’re having me back on Feb. 22 to perform. It’s going to be the Habs playing the Sens. They’ve asked me to sing a few French songs as well at the intermission,” he said.
“They want to help bring the game closer to the French Sens community in the Ottawa-Gatineau region. So I’m just happy to be part of it.”
Jay Trepanier, or “Mullet Man” performing at the Canadian Tire Centre. (Ottawa Senators)
Harrop said he had no idea Trepanier could sing.
“Not a clue,” said Harrop, on first meeting Trepanier.
“We’ve got some great fans in Gatineau as well, but we’re looking to build that fan base. The fact that he’s from Gatineau, again, not why we did it, but it’s certainly a benefit. So, it just honestly just kind of all fell into place.”
Trepanier says the custom denim jacket will forever be the coolest piece of clothing he owns, and will only come out for trips to Senators games.
But his stardom comes from the haircut, a style he says comes naturally to him.
“Little product to help the curls and then hairspray for the top, and party’s in the back, and we’re good.”