TEAM TUNEUP

Pierre-Olivier Joseph is this season’s designated DJ, playlist curator and man with his hand on the mood of the team at any given moment.

In training camp, a few Penguins veterans approached Pierre-Olivier Joseph.

Now that he had established himself as a full-time NHL player, the team’s leaders felt he was ready to take on an important role in the dressing room. Brian Dumoulin had departed in free agency. Somebody needed to fill the void.

Did the young defenseman have what it takes to be their new team DJ?

“I think guys just started pointing their finger at me, knowing that I know a little bit of music,” he said. “As the preseason went along, it just became a thing.”

This task may seem inconsequential, but it helps to set the tone in their workplace, whether it’s the moments leading up to a big matchup or the morning after a tough loss on the road, when guys might be grumpy and sleep-deprived.

Dumoulin served in the role for several years, getting quite a few public shoutouts from Penguins teammates over the years, before joining Seattle in July.

His absence was noted at the start of camp. After Kris Letang and some other veterans kicked around ideas for potential replacements, they whittled it down to two candidates — Joseph and fellow blue-liner Marcus Pettersson.

“Petey has good knowledge of music and is a great singer,” Letang explained.

Pettersson had about as much interest in that thankless job as he did in singing in front of a group of reporters. So P.O was the pick.

“He’s done a good job so far,” Pettersson, thumbs up, said a few weeks ago.

Dumoulin liked to play country and other more casual music in the mornings or on an off day. Before games, he blasted house music and a little bit of rap.

Looking to strike a similar balance, Joseph asked each of his teammates to give him three of their favorite songs. The full list ended up being a pretty eclectic mix, not surprising given that about two dozen dudes are around the team at all times. It even included a Russian tune proudly picked by Evgeni Malkin. In October, the Penguins’ content team released a separate playlist curated by the players. The musical artists ranged from country singers Zach Bryan and Morgan Wallen to older-school rappers Nas and Eminem to Taylor Swift. Letang is also a big fan of ’80s music, which explained how he stumbled upon the team’s victory song for this season — “I Touch Myself” by the Divinyls.

“I had never heard that before,” Joseph said. “It was a surprise when I heard it. I definitely didn’t expect it to stick around, but then guys started to like it.” Anyway, their feedback gave Joseph a lot of songs — and a little less anxiety.

“It’s pretty tough to please everyone,” Joseph said. “But once guys started to tell me what tunes to put on, it was easy for me to base my playlists on that.”

He started to build a few different ones to queue up depending on the mood.

Joseph added similar artists from the popular genres and mixed in modern hits for the older guys. Equipment manager Jon Taglianetti gave him a hand.

“I’m trying to show them some new songs, as well,” the 24-year-old explained. “It can really be a bit difficult sometimes, but I feel like they’re enjoying it.”

Joseph wouldn’t bite when I asked him which guy had the worst taste in music.

Eavesdropping on our conversation, Malkin chimed in. “Say Crosby!” he yelled.

As for his own listening habits, Joseph said he prefers “rhythm,” meaning electric dance music. He also likes ’80s rap and more modern country music.

But in his role, he knows the DJ’s job is all about making his audience happy.

“Sometimes,” Joseph said with a grin, “I just shuffle it and hope for the best.”