Matthew Tkachuk, 11 other NHL stars to be featured on new behind-the-scenes show 

SUNRISE, Fla.  -- Matthew Tkachuk said he’s always riveted by shows that give viewers a look behind the curtain into the lives of professional athletes.

“We love watching all those shows, whether it’s the golf or tennis or Formula 1, whatever it is,” the Florida Panthers forward said Friday at Stanley Cup Final Media Day. “It kind of just gives a good sneak peek on how athletes are…”

Fans will get a look into the life of Tkachuk and 11 other NHL stars in a new Prime Video docuseries by Box To Box Films and NHL Productions that will be released this fall.

The yet-to-be-titled series that will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories will trail Tkachuk and Edmonton Oilers forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl as their teams pursue the Stanley Cup.

Crews also followed New York Rangers captain Jacob Trouba, Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak and goalie Jeremy Swayman, Vancouver Canuck captain Quinn Hughes, Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel, Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander, Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg and Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog during the regular season and postseason.

Filming began in February shortly after the 2024 NHL All-Star game and will continue through the best-of-7 Cup Final between the Oilers and Panthers that begins Saturday (8 p.m. E.T.; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS, CBC).

“It’s been different, for sure,” McDavid said, “I think hockey guys are certainly more private and stuff like that, so it’s been a little different to have cameras around, but I think they’ve done a good job of staying out of the way and you don’t really notice them being around, and I’m sure everybody is going to like it.”

McDavid said the all-access series will be a good way to bring in new fans.

“That’s the hope, we want to get more people into the game, more fans,” he said. “It seems like it’s worked in other sports, and I hope it works for us.”

The series will feature in-depth interviews with the players, their rivals, their inner circles, teammates, coaches and family members to provide insight into what it’s really like for some of the League’s top players on the ice and away from the rink.

Steve Mayer, NHL Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer, said the docuseries will provide the deepest dive than previous shows like the “Road to the Winter Classic” series.

“One of the things that makes this series unique is where most of the things we’ve done in the all-access space in the past has been about teams, this one is strictly about the players and their teams, with the focus being on our stars,” Mayer said.

Mayer said the chance to do it with Box to Box was too good to pass up. The company produced “Drive to Survive,” the 2019 Netflix series that’s helped grow Formula 1 racing’s popularity in the United States and helped spawn its resurgence in other parts of the world.

“I think any time you can partner with a high-quality production company like Box To Box, and given their track record, for us, it was quite the opportunity,” Mayer said.  “These shows bring in audiences not only in your own world but all worlds: Sports, entertainment, pop culture. We’re always looking to how we can increase the audience and how we can humanize our players and how we can tell our story.  And we felt that this was the perfect opportunity to take what we’ve been doing to a whole other level.”

For Box To Box, the chance to capture an action-packed sport like hockey was hard to resist.

“The sport is as beautiful, skillful and graceful as it is brutal, pressurized and powerful; and we aim to balance the energetic and face-paced action leading up to the Stanley Cup Final, with the quiet and raw drama taking place off the ice,” Box To Box Films Co-founder and Executive Producer Paul Martin said.

Shaun Alperin, head of content for Prime Video, Canada, said, “This generation of NHL superstars are modern-day gladiators unlike anything ever seen before, with big personalities and even bigger play-makers, and we have the perfect partners to capture that energy for an unparalleled sports docuseries.

“Working with Box To Box Films and NHL Productions we cannot wait to bring to the screen the passion, the intensity, and the sheer excitement of the road to the Stanley Cup Final, revealing what fans have only speculated goes on behind the scenes of the world’s fastest team sport,” Alperin said.

NHL.com staff writer Derek Van Diest contributed to this report