Ryan O'Reilly & Kelly James: How a Stanley Cup Champ Started a Kids' Band Called Mac N Cheeze
It started as a joke in a hockey locker room. It ended with a record deal, a kids' album, and the Nashville Predators' win song playing in the showers.
Nobody planned this. That is exactly what makes it great.
In Episode 46 of SuperFan Diaries, J.R. Green sat down with Nashville Predators center and future Hall of Famer Ryan O'Reilly and his best friend — actor, musician, and former hockey player Kelly James — to talk about their debut children's album Pizza Party, the band they built from nothing, and why making silly songs turned out to be one of the most serious things either of them has ever done.
Two Teenagers, One Hockey Team, a Friendship That Stuck
Ryan O'Reilly and Kelly James met as teenagers on the OHL's Erie Otters, playing major junior hockey in a sport that chews through friendships as fast as it does careers.
This one stuck.
They knew it almost immediately — that this was the kind of friendship that does not need maintenance, does not need explanation, just is. Years later, one of them would hoist the Stanley Cup. The other would pursue acting and music. And somehow, inevitably, they would end up in a band together making songs about pizza.
The Origin Story of Mac N Cheeze
It was not a business plan. It was not a brand strategy. It was two guys goofing around in a locker room, writing dumb songs, making each other laugh.
At some point, the joke stopped being a joke.
Mac N Cheeze — named with the exact level of seriousness you would expect — got a real record deal with Dine Alone Records. They recorded their debut album Pizza Party in Nashville with producer Chris Kimmerer, the drummer for Thomas Rhett. The silly songs from the locker room became actual, produced, real-deal children's music.
And then their song became the Nashville Predators' win song. And Ryan's teammates were singing it in the showers.
That is not something you plan. That is something that just happens when the thing you are making is genuinely good.
Why Music Made Ryan a Better Hockey Player
This is the part of the conversation that catches you off guard.
Ryan O'Reilly is one of the most decorated players of his generation — a Stanley Cup champion, a Conn Smythe Trophy winner, a guy who has done everything the sport has to offer at the highest level. And he will tell you that making music with Kelly made him better at hockey.
Not because of the creativity. Not because of the discipline. Because of what it did for his mental health.
Getting outside the pressure of the game, making something purely for the joy of it, laughing with his best friend — that, Ryan says, gave him something the rink alone could not. It is a reminder that the best athletes are not just physical machines. They are whole people who need whole lives.
Tim Hortons, Stanley Cup Stories, and What They Want to Do Next
The conversation went places. Stanley Cup stories. Tim Horton family memorabilia. An upcoming adult TV concept with Canadian comedian Jerry Dee that sounds equal parts chaotic and wonderful.
Ryan and Kelly are not people who take themselves too seriously. They are people who take the things they love — hockey, friendship, music, making kids laugh — extremely seriously. The combination is irresistible.
What They Want You to Remember
Pizza Party is a children's album. But the message underneath it is not just for kids.
Do not lose the part of yourself that is willing to be silly. That is willing to make something with no guarantee it will work. That is willing to look like a goofball in front of the people you love.
Ryan O'Reilly lifted the Stanley Cup. He also wrote a song about pizza. Both things matter. Both things are real.
Never lose the kid inside you.
Connect with Mac N Cheeze:
Official Website Listen on Spotify Follow on Instagram
🎧 Hear Ryan and Kelly's full story on the SuperFan Diaries Podcast — where passion meets the game.