Singing it, and bringing it

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The anthem singer who has become one of the defining voices of this Memorial Cup has performed at all but one game of the tournament. She will sit out Friday’s semifinal before returning for Sunday’s championship game at Prospera Place.

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“The nerves are always there anytime I have to sing,” Klimpke admitted to RocketFAN. “It doesn’t matter where or what. The nerves are always there.”

Oddly enough, the butterflies hit hardest the day before.

“Last Thursday, oh my gosh, just like clockwork, enter the butterflies,” she said with a laugh. “It’s always the anticipation. Then I wake up game day, and there’s just this calmness that comes over me.”

That calm has become familiar to Memorial Cup fans in Kelowna.

Whether it is the bilingual version of O Canada that smoothly moves between English and French, or the way she keeps perfect timing for a national TSN broadcast, Klimpke has become part of the tournament’s rhythm.

But her journey to centre ice began decades ago in Winnipeg.

Klimpke started music lessons at just four years old through a program called Music for Young Children. By eight, she was taking voice lessons and fully immersing herself in music.

Voice. Piano. Theory. Royal Conservatory exams.

“Nobody in my family was really musical,” she said. “But once I started singing lessons, the trajectory just kind of went from there.”

As a kid, she dreamed big.

“Mariah Carey was everything to me,” she laughed. “I was obsessed.”

Like many young singers, she imagined becoming a recording artist. But life unfolded differently. She stayed rooted in family and community while continuing to sing whenever opportunities appeared.

Eventually, one email changed everything.

Back in 2006, Klimpke reached out to the Manitoba Moose organization, hoping to audition for the anthem.

“I thought, ‘Well, I’ll probably never hear from you again,’” she recalled.

Instead, she got a chance.

She became a regular anthem singer for the Moose and later for the Winnipeg Jets after the NHL returned to the city in 2011.

That experience prepared her for moments like this Memorial Cup.

When the Kelowna Rockets approached her about potentially handling anthem duties for the tournament, one question stood out.

“Can you sing in French?”

The answer was yes.

Klimpke had previously performed bilingual versions of O Canada at citizenship ceremonies and Canada Day celebrations. For the Memorial Cup, she refined a version that allows fans to stay engaged throughout.

“I want people to sing with me,” she explained. “That’s important to me.”

That philosophy shapes everything about how she approaches anthem singing.

“It’s not my song,” she said. “This is the Canadian anthem. I’m not going to go out there and make it all about me.”

Instead, she focuses on connection.

Fans at Prospera Place have embraced her version of O Canada, especially the roar that erupts during the word “guard” – a long-standing Rockets tradition tied to former goaltender Kelly Guard.

“I love that fans have shown up with that energy,” Klimpke said.

Still, while the crowd reacts around her, she stays locked in.

“My job is to keep going no matter what,” she said. “People can sing, people can shout things, awesome. But I have to stay on track.”

That focus even extends to the walk onto the ice itself.

Klimpke performs in heels while carefully navigating carpet laid over the ice surface, something she admits has crossed her mind more than once during the Memorial Cup.

“I always joke that I don’t want to end up on the TSN Top 10,” she laughed.

So she walks carefully.

“Calmly arrive at my spot and exit with dignity.”

The line perfectly captures her presence throughout the tournament.

Professional. Calm. Dependable.

While players chase a championship, Klimpke has quietly become one of the constants of the Memorial Cup itself, the voice that starts the night before the chaos begins.

“The anthems are supposed to get people pumped,” she said. “The way I perceive it is – let’s go.

And in the end, that’s what she loves most, not the spotlight, not the silence before the first note, but what happens after it begins, when a building full of strangers becomes one voice.

“As soon as I’m done, now the teams roll. I’m the last piece before the game starts,” she added.

“I want to get everyone energized. I want it to be a good anthem; I want fans to be in the game.

“Anthem singing should end on a high note. Energy up.”

Mission accomplished.