Helene St. James

Detroit Free Press

Johan Franzen scared the daylights out of everyone, before and after teammates figured out it was him. That's what a little time with his wife's makeup artist can do for a man.

The Detroit Red Wings have to play this Halloween - they're hosting the fearsome Los Angeles Kings - so they held their annual costume ball last Sunday. Franzen and his wife, Cecilia, went as skeletons. Several of the younger guys went as Gumby, because that's what last-minute planners find at stores.

Tomas Tatar went as Playboy magnate Hugh Hefner. Tomas Jurco went as pin-stripe suited mobster with an exaggerated face mask. Henrik Zetterberg went as Gustav Nyquist.

Andrej Nestrasil went as Jackie Moon from the movie Semi-Pro. "I had to get a big, huge wig," Nestrasil said. "I had nice, tight shorts, high socks. It was pretty good."

A Halloween holiday party has been tradition for years, uniting Swedes and Slovaks, Canadians and Czechs. Most of the Europeans didn't know about the holiday until they arrived in the United States, but they've quickly embraced it. Others, like American Jimmy Howard, entertain teammates with tales of his infamous Dracula costume, worn as a young child for about 10 minutes.

"My dad did such a good job with the paint that I took one look in the mirror and started to cry," Howard said. "I made him take it off."

Now a father of young boys himself, Howard is embracing his kids' choices. "James is going as Olaf and Henry is going as Nemo. I can't wait to see them dressed up."

Olaf of course is from Disney's 'Frozen.' Howard said his oldest is "a huge Frozen fan. He knows the chorus."

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.