Hynes, McDonagh, Glass Featured in Debut Behind the Glass Episode

Get ready to see your Nashville Predators like never before.
The first episode of the NHL Network's highly-anticipated Behind the Glass: Nashville Predators docuseries - which focuses on the ins and outs of training camp - is out for all of Smashville to see, and there's plenty of key points to focus on from the first episode.

A Wakeup Call

In the opening minutes of the first episode we see Predators Captain Roman Josi exiting his Nashville home before sunrise to make the drive over to Bridgestone Arena for the first official day of training camp.
In the car ride over, Josi opens up about the disappointing end to last year's brief postseason appearance.
"It was tough," Josi said. "Going out in four games against Colorado was pretty rough. But I thought it was a pretty good regular season for us… But I think [playoffs were] kind of a reality check. You play the best team in the League and they end up winning the Cup - you kind of see where you're at and I think it just makes you look in the mirror in the offseason and know how good you need to be to win the Stanley Cup."

While closing the gap between expectation and result became a key focus of the Predators offseason - as the team re-signed the franchise's all-time leading goal scorer Filip Forsberg and made some needed additions in two-time Stanley Cup champion defenseman Ryan McDonagh and forward Nino Niederreiter - the first episode of Behind the Glass shows that that focus remained unwavering at training camp.

Meet the New Guys

Speaking of McDonagh and Niederreiter, the two feature prominently in Episode 1, with the doc crew even stopping by the McDonagh family's home for a visit with the 33-year-old defenseman, his wife and their three young children.
While McDonagh the hockey player's trade to Nashville was analyzed and discussed ad nauseam this offseason, here we get to see McDonagh the family man discuss life off the ice and the familial considerations he needed to make before packing up and moving to the Music City.
"You're kind of blindsided by the news," McDonagh said of the trade, wife Kaylee sitting beside him. "But at that moment you just kind of right away start thinking about your family, your kids and how you're going to get your family situated in the next destination - wherever that may be. Nashville just separated from the rest of the group, so to speak, as far as what it had to offer both hockey-wise and family life-wise."
McDonagh's on-ice resumé obviously offers much to the Predators squad, but in his Behind the Glass segment, it's clear his character and personality off the ice may offer just as much.

Embracing the Atypical

Since Head Coach John Hynes started with the Predators in February 2020, he's been faced with a number of challenges and circumstances that can perhaps most simply be described as 'atypical.'
From starting midway through a season in which the Predators were struggling to live up to expectations, to a global pandemic triggering a shortened, realigned season and a year and a half of fluctuating League protocols and restrictions, unconventional adversity has almost become a mainstay of Hynes' coaching tenure in Nashville.

This year, the added challenge has been getting his team ready for a new season with another shortened training camp - this time due to the team's involvement in the 2022 NHL Global Series.
While Hynes at this point might be used to unique challenges, in Behind the Glass he stresses the importance of making each day of the shortened camp count.
"We want you guys to understand the reality," Hynes says to his club at the camp's opening meeting. "The practices will matter, the scrimmage games this weekend will matter. We have to evaluate and we have to make decisions on guys. Training camp is hard. The practices are harder and the practices are longer. It's conditioning ourselves, regardless of what the circumstances are in training camp, to get ourselves ready for the grind of the regular season."

Becoming the Best Cody Glass

In one of Episode 1's more intimate behind-the-scenes moments, we get a look inside Coach Hynes' office as he meets with 23-year-old forward Cody Glass, who spent the 2021-22 season in Milwaukee after recovering from a surgery done the year prior.
"When you came into camp last year, physically you weren't ready," Hynes says. "But I think you went down and did a great job in Milwaukee last year and when you got recalled at the end of the season and played in the playoffs, you really caught our attention."
Hynes' parting advice to the young first round pick:
"Play smart, not safe and be the best Cody Glass that you can be. And if you do, that's a hell of a player."
Glass has seemingly taken the advice to heart, and has already iced three notable performances during Nashville's preseason schedule, earning a spot on the team's extended Global Series roster in the process.

Speaking to the media after Thursday evening's exhibition, Glass said he feels ready to make the jump to the next level.
"Playing full time in the AHL, getting a lot of minutes working with Karl Taylor and all the Milwaukee coaching staff really helped my game and made me feel more confident," he said. "And just playing a ton of minutes just made me feel that much more comfortable coming into this year and then jumping up in the playoffs with the team just gave me that extra step of confidence to be able to play with this team and now I'm more comfortable. I know the situations I'm going to be in and with these opportunities I've just got to try and take advantage."
And what about that documentary crew following him around?
"It's a change," Glass said, a boom mic hovering inches over his head. "I mean, it was a big camp for me first of all, so to have a camera crew following me around too - it just puts my anxiety a little bit higher than usual. But it's been good. They've been great and I've enjoyed it a lot. It's a fun process, and it's just playing hockey, you know. I mean, off the ice I see them all the time but on the ice, they're kind of out of my way, so it's been nice."
The Behind the Glass crew certainly sees the same potential in the young forward, and Glass' name comes up numerous times throughout the first episode of the docuseries - most notably during a closed door hockey ops meeting concerning the team's extended Global Series roster.
While Glass' performance in three preseason games did ultimately earn him a spot on the plane to Europe, whether Glass makes it onto the team's opening night roster remains to be seen.
Either way, it's clear the rookie's presence will be felt throughout the show's three remaining episodes.
You can watch the Behind the Glass series on the NHL Network, as well as Sportsnet and the official NHL YouTube channel following each episode's broadcast premiere. See below for the remaining episode broadcast schedule:
Tuesday, Oct. 4, NHL Network, 9 p.m. CT
Tuesday, Oct. 11, NHL Network, 7 p.m. CT
Tuesday, Oct. 18, NHL Network, 8 p.m. CT