'It just feels special': Winnipeg student choir makes NHL history

A group of Winnipeg students made NHL history over the weekend with their performance of Canada's national anthem.

The student choir from Amber Trails School sang 'O Canada' at the Winnipeg Jets game Saturday night – performing the national anthem in English and Punjabi.

It was a first in NHL history.

"I had like a weird feeling in my stomach because I saw the entire crowd around the ice rink," said Fateh Mangat, a Grade 7 student in the choir. "I was kind of scared that I was going to mess up, but honestly, it turned out very good."

Despite the nerves, the choir's performance was met with thunderous applause from the more than 13,000 fans at the game.

Simrat Gill, a Grade 5 student in the choir, said she felt like a record breaker bringing the Punjabi version of 'O Canada' to an NHL game.

"It's to get our culture out to the world and, yeah, we're here too as immigrants and we're also people here a part of this place," she said. "It just feels special."

Olivia Kelly, a music teacher at Amber Trails, said this was her first time working with many of these students. She said it was a learning experience for her.

"The students also really helped me with all of my Punjabi pronunciation and pulling the whole thing off. It was fantastic," Kelly said.

"I have a lot of students who speak Punjabi and come from homes that speak Punjabi. So to learn a little bit more about their lives and be able to speak a bit of their language and make that effort I feel is so important. It unites us all a bit more."

Their performance was a part of the Winnipeg Jets' South Asian Heritage Night.