Drive To Survive. FACEOFF: Inside The NHL.
What's next, Keeping Up With The Kopitars?
“Who knows.”
Anze Kopitar is building quite the IMDB page for himself, though that last one might not get past the pilot phase.
Kopitar and Quinton Byfield are two of several players who will be showcased in season two of Prime Video’s FACEOFF: Inside the NHL, which launched earlier today on the Prime Video platform.
The show is in the mold of several shows that are becoming popular in sports. Welcome To Wrexham, Quarterback, Full Swing and so many others have given fans more behind-the-scenes access to the lives of professional athletes in ways that have rarely been seen before. The NHL got on that train last season and the Kings were featured in Season 2, with Kopitar and Byfield in the spotlight.
“It was pretty good, I think the crew did a good job, they were very respectful of the privacy if something maybe a little bit too personal and they would check and ask and everything, so we had a good experience,” Kopitar said. “The kids had fun being in front of the cameras for a little bit. Don't think I want to do it like every day, like some people do, but it was a fun experience.”
While he had a small part on Drive To Survive, featured as a friend of McLaren CEO Zak Brown, Kopitar was featured in much more of a starring role this time around.
The participation required access into Kopitar’s every day life and that of the Kings. Did it feel like he was being filmed as much as he actually was?
“You get used to it,” he said. “At first, you definitely know they're there and then as the time passes, I guess it's more normal, really, you don't notice them that much and you just kind of do your own thing, you forget you're wearing microphone too.”
For Byfield, it was really his first time doing something like this.
As one of the NHL’s up-and-coming stars, Byfield is of a generation that has grown up understanding this kind of access and seeing it in other sports. When he was a kid, if something like this were around, he'd have been watching it eagerly. To be a part of it was something that was pretty cool for him.
“As a fan, if I had that growing up, I’d be all over it, I'm obviously watching it [now], so I kind of try to look at it in that way, just being able to kind of show that side of my life, being a pro athlete and what we do on a daily basis,” Byfield said. “I think it's a good insight and it was really cool getting to do it with Kopi and all the guys here.”
Byfield saw it from the perspective as those watching at home might. He put it interestingly, in that fans have grown up watching Kopitar play for their entire lives but they’ve never had a look like this, behind the scenes, at what Kopitar is doing, how he lives his life and more about the person he is. As Byfield noted, it’s the family man he is, the leader he is and the person he is. He knows that firsthand and now he’s hopeful fans might know it a bit more as well.
While these shows don’t tell the entire story that’s there to be told, it’s a cool piece of it. Byfield appreciated the opportunity to give a little bit of access into his life and who he is, understanding the role that shows like this can play in growing the game of hockey and creating meaningful connections with fans.
“For me to do it now, be able to show our side, my side, it's really cool,” he added. “I think it's a good opportunity to grow the game as well, just being able to get the insight and start to follow along with those players and everything. I think it was really good experience all around and for the fans as well.”
To watch FACEOFF: Inside The NHL, CLICK HERE. The show requires a Prime Video subscription, though a 30-day trial to watch appears to be available through the website.
