How Amazon's NHL docuseries got players to show the 'raw emotions' of Stanley Cup hockey

TORONTO — As the NHL's chief content officer, Steve Mayer lives behind the scenes with the world's best hockey players, interacting with them on everything from organizing the season-opening player media tour to redesigning All-Star Weekend to planning outdoor games.

But even the veteran league executive didn't expect what he saw when cameras were given unrestricted access to Connor McDavid and other NHL stars during last year's playoffs for a new Amazon Prime docuseries releasing in October.

“You think McDavid is just focused,” said Mayer The athlete“But there are a few scenes where he, as a leader, loses his temper with his team.

“I was surprised. I didn't think he had that side.”

NHL fans got a taste of it in a newly released trailer for FACEOFF: Inside the NHL that went viral on Monday and shows McDavid screaming in the visitors' locker room at Amerant Bank Arena during the Stanley Cup Final, where his Edmonton Oilers were down 3-0 in the series to the Florida Panthers.

Connor McDavid had a FIRED UP moment in the new trailer for the BTS Amazon Prime series “FACEOFF: Inside the NHL” 😳

(above @NHL) pic.twitter.com/QpROUvajfI

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) 23 September 2024

There's much more to come.

The same setting later provided some of the most powerful behind-the-scenes footage ever available to NHL fans. Cameras rolled as Oilers players left the ice after the siren sounded following a 2-1 loss in Game 7 that denied them a historic championship comeback.

“Those emotions, those raw emotions after their loss, if you're human, you're going to feel it,” Mayer said. “It's unbelievable. They were all crying, but with Connor, you could see how much he wanted it.”

“(The series) really shows an interesting side of him. I think of all the players, people will walk away feeling more like they think differently about him than anyone else.”

GO DEEPER

McDavid reacts to viral clip from Amazon documentary series

The project promised to provide “unprecedented access” to life in the NHL when it officially launched earlier this year, and by all appearances it has achieved that goal with a six-episode series that will be available on Amazon Prime starting October 4.

To understand how they managed to overcome the many obstacles and bureaucratic hurdles that hampered previous attempts at all-access programming of the NHL, one must revisit the decision to partner with Box to Box Films on production.

The company behind the Formula 1 docuseries Drive to Survive and the PGA Tour docuseries Full Swing established instant credibility, holding a meeting with players during February's All-Star weekend in Toronto and securing early approval from McDavid, William Nylander, David Pastrnak, Quinn Hughes, Filip Forsberg and others who would later star.

There was some initial concern about how willing the NHL players would be to open up their lives and put themselves out there for the public, but Box to Box found that they were even more forthcoming than the athletes they had worked with before.

“Some other sports are just more managed,” said Paul Martin, co-founder of the company. “There are more layers you have to go through. Some sports feel like they have nothing to do. But there was definitely a feeling that hockey wanted a show like that.”

Nylander struck an encouraging tone from the start and, according to showrunner Daniel Amigone, threw himself into the project “with full commitment.”

The Toronto Maple Leafs star let the cameras into his home for a shoot in March, restricting access without restrictions as they followed him on visits to a favorite restaurant, an outdoor shinny rink and walks with his dogs Pablo and Banksy. Later, when Nylander missed three games during a first-round series against the Boston Bruins due to severe migraines, he allowed the cameras into his home while he watched his teammates play without him on television.

The son of longtime NHL player Michael Nylander is a huge fan of behind-the-scenes sports programming and saw it as an opportunity to give back to the next generation of aspiring hockey players.

He simply opened his doors and put his full trust in the producers.

“I had no say or nothing in the final outcome of the show,” Nylander said. “So that's just me.”

He plays alongside Pastrnak in the first episode of the series and wore a microphone when he returned to the Leafs' lineup for Game 4 against the Bruins and engaged in a heated exchange with teammates Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner on the bench.

This entire sequence is seen uncut in FACEOFF, including the audio of Nylander telling Marner, “Shoot it. Stop crying, brother.”

“That's the exciting thing about the show and being able to see that aspect of the game,” Nylander said. “Without the cameras there, nobody would know what was going on. They also saw a scene with Connor (McDavid) in the locker room. Those are exactly the emotions that everyone looks for in players.”

McDavid's participation was ultimately crucial to the documentary series, as it put the cameras in the right position to capture the most emotional moments on the Oilers' road to the Stanley Cup Final, during a spring in which he was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff's most valuable player.

The Edmonton captain said it required him to open up and be vulnerable, but that he also felt a responsibility to do his part to help the sport reach a wider audience.

“We're all in this together,” McDavid said. “The league and the players need to work together to move the game forward.”

“It was never my plan to be the star of the show,” he added. The athleteDaniel Nugent-Bowman. “I think we just wanted to take a look, but now we've jumped headfirst off the diving board.”

An added benefit of having someone of his stature on board was that it made it easier for his colleagues to participate in the series, which was a big reason why Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes got involved.

“I like my privacy,” Hughes said at the NHL players' press tour earlier this month. “I like going back to Michigan (in the summer). You don't hear from me for three months. So the box-to-box thing wasn't something I had to do. But when I heard the others were doing it, I thought, 'If they're doing it, how am I supposed to say no?'”

Ultimately, the final product should speak for itself.

There's no doubt about how seriously the NHL has taken this endeavor. Commissioner Gary Bettman, Vice Commissioner Bill Daly and several other high-ranking league executives were on hand at Monday's glittering launch event in downtown Toronto.

It is also an important project for Amazon, which is becoming significantly more involved in the league with the launch of Prime Monday Night Hockey and the NHL Coast to Coast broadcast starting this season.

GO DEEPER

Mark Messier joins Amazon Prime’s hockey broadcast team

The company also has high hopes for the inclusion of FACEOFF.

“It's really impressive,” said Kari Roe, vice president at Prime Video. “There's a little more honesty than I expected, especially in that series with the Panthers and Oilers. That was really tough. I really appreciated that they caught people in their true selves.”

And in fact, due to the positive feedback from those involved in the series, players have already volunteered to take part in Season 2.

The barrier to access behind the scenes has undoubtedly been raised in hockey circles.

“We've learned a lot,” Mayer said. “We're just praying we get a second season because there have been so many little things along the way that we think we can do better.”

— Michael Russo of The Athletic contributed to this story.

(Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)