The Netflix series Formula 1: Drive to Survive drove a pack of new fans to the sport. Now the team behind that show have moved on to the NHL with the docuseries Faceoff: Inside the NHL on Prime Video, giving us unprecedented access to the world’s top professional hockey players, their families and coaches.
If there’s one thing Drive to Survive did is prove how much of an impact a well crafted sports documentary can have, specifically when it finds that balance between thrilling sport moments and personal stories about the people involved. It’s that approach to Faceoff: Inside the NHL that makes this series an interesting watch for anyone, not just hockey fans.
“We found these amazing characters that we were able to really go deep with and spend time with, get to know, and some of the best access we’ve had on any of our shows has come here,” Paul Martin, executive producer and co-founder of Box To Box Films said at an event in Toronto last month.
“At Box To Box, for us we always try to take the sport, out of the story and focus on the individuals, and really finding compelling narratives that really could exist in any world. And the hope is if we do that, we deliver those type of shows, people will fall in love with the sport behind it, or hardcore fans of the sport will see a different side of of the athletes that they love. And I think we’ve done a really great job on this show.”
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The new series about the NHL is now available to stream on Prime Video.
Faceoff: Inside the NHL consists of six 45-minute episodes.
Each episode of Faceoff: Inside the NHL is centred around two or three hockey players. One thing to keep in mind is that the series is very centred on the particular players highlighted in each episode, and only them.
The stars in Faceoff: Inside the NHL are:
Episode 1 – Best of Rivals featuring William Nylander and David Pastrnak
Episode 2 – As Tough As It Gets featuring Filip Forsberg and Jack Eichel
Episode 3 – Learning to Win featuring Jeremy Swayman and Matthew Tkachuk
Episode 4 – The Captains featuring Quinn Hughes, Gabriel Landeskog and Jacob Trouba
Episode 5 – Cup or Bust Part I featuring Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman
Episode 6 – Cup or Bust Part II featuring Matthew Tkachuk and Connor McDavid
Faceoff: Inside the NHL easily checks the first box required for any sports documentary. Even if you ultimately know the outcome of the games, you still need to feel that nervous, frantic energy of watching scenes from some of the biggest games in the last NHL season.
But much like Martin promised, the series tries to also focus its energy on what the players are going through off the ice. For some it’s the pressure of a family legacy, like Matthew Tkachuk, for others, like Nylander, it’s about meeting expectations of devoted fans, while players like Forsberg are balancing being a professional hockey player with starting a family, including a very real conversation about whether his wife, Erin Alvey, should tell him if her water breaks during a game.
The first episode looks at the rivalry between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins, but through the friendship between Nylander and Pastrnak.
This includes Nylander being a support for his friend who lost his father when he was just 17 years old, and Pastrnak also opens up about the loss of his newborn son after only six days in 2021.
On Nylander’s end, who we mostly see walking his dog around Toronto, the series set the stage for the fierce devotion of Leafs fans. The hockey star talks quite openly about the backlash of sitting out the first three games of the season, due to severe migraines.
“I wouldn’t have been of any help,” Nylander says in the episode.
Of course, Faceoff: Inside the NHL had to tackle how to handle the Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers.
“From a story perspective, it’s a gift,” Martin said. “When you produce these shows, you sort of have to take on the given and sometimes you get lucky, and sometimes you don’t.”
While it might be tough for Oilers fans to relive that game, McDavid talking about what it’s like to be in that locker room after a loss of that scale is particularly interesting. There’s also an appealing joy watching Tkachuk talk about the Stanley Cup win.
