Paul Cotter and his girlfriend, Caylie, were among the first to arrive at the New Jersey Devils' annual Halloween party. 

The couple was dressed as Britney Spears and the astronaut from the "Oops I Did It Again" music video. 

Iconic, if I do say so myself. 

While Cotter had nothing to do with the concept or execution of the costume, he took full advantage of his helmet, which had a tinted visor. 

"The fun thing for me was that when I put the visor down, no one knew it was me," he told The Hockey News. "As people were coming in, I was messing with them, and that is always a highlight. 

"Once I put the visor up, everyone was like, 'Oh no way.'" 

Every year, teams around the league host their annual Halloween bashes that serve as an integral bonding moment for the players and their significant others.

"It is probably one of the first, if not the first, times that everyone and their wives and girlfriends are all together and are able to let loose a little bit," Cotter shared. "Normally, there is some karaoke or a dance floor to make some lasting memories." 

While there was no karaoke this year, rumor has it that someone last season "killed the song Rock Star by Nickelback." 

"Very, very good singing," Cotter said with a shy smile. 

A Moment For Emma Dillon 

I don't think Brenden Dillon's wife, Emma, has gotten nearly enough credit for her creativity in the time that the couple has been in New Jersey.

Last season, she assisted Stefan Noesen's wife, Aly, with the 2025 Devils WAG playoff jackets. This season, she was revealed as the mastermind behind Connor Brown's Halloween costume. 

"My wife was hanging out with Emma, and she had the idea, so I have to give her props," Brown said. "When my wife told me, I was laughing because I love that video and the little redhead kid, so it made me laugh. It gave me an excuse to talk in that voice all night, too." 

Dillon praised his wife after a recent practice, saying she is always dialed in to Halloween.

"This year we were Avril Lavigne and a Sk8er Boi, so I was the Sk8er Boi," Dillon said. 

He additionally shared that his two young daughters will be dressed as Rapunzel and Pascal when they venture out for trick-or-treating. Excellent choices, Emma. 

The Best Costumes Of The Night 

I am going to repeat what I told Cotter: The NHL Halloween parties are my Met Gala.  

These athletes around the league have the funds and resources to go all out every year, and expectations are high, with no player setting those standards more over the years than Marc-Andre Fleury and his wife, Veronique. 

And no Devils player committed more this season than Jacob and Amanda Markstrom.  

"Marky and his wife went full gold," Brown said. "I mean the commitment to that. I don't know how long the shower was after that." 

"Marky always has a good one," Cotter added. "You can always count on him for an 'ooh and aah' moment. One of the best every year." 

Another costume that caught Cotter's eye was Dennis Cholowski, who took a different approach than his goldtender. 

"I liked (Cholowski's) costume," he said. "He was from Monsters, Inc. It was absolutely massive. His head was in the ginormous thing, and you just saw this humongous thing walking around the entire time." 

Thankfully, Cholowski stepped into the locker room at this very moment, and I couldn't run over to that part of the locker room faster. 

I am happy I did, because my initial thought that he was Sullivan was not correct. 

"I don't know if 'good' is the right word (to describe my costume)," the defenseman said with a laugh. "Probably ridiculous is more correct."

Turns out, he was Randall. 

Cholowski was kind enough to submit a photo for this article, as there was no photographic evidence of this costume on social media. Thank you for your service, Dennis! 

"The tail was huge, it was ridiculous," he continued. "I couldn't breathe. It was really hot, but it was funny. I am glad everyone liked it. That was the point." 

The 27-year-old also gave props to Cotter and Markstrom and gave a shoutout to Dawson Mercer and his girlfriend, who dressed as Fred and Daphne from Scooby Doo. 

Additional Costumes Are Below: 

Arseny Gritsyuk: 

Stefan Noesen: 

Jesper Bratt: 

Dawson Mercer: 

Zack MacEwen: 

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