After securing a two-year deal with the NHL and Rogers Communications to launch its "Prime Monday Night Hockey" live-game franchise in Canada next season, Amazon continues to put pucks in nets, as the cliche the players like to say goes.
The tech giant on Wednesday announced a new partnership with the National Hockey League and Box to Box Films, producer of Netflix's popular Formula 1: Drive to Survive, to create a new "action-packed" behind-the-scenes docuseries focused on pro hockey players, coaches and their teams.
The series will feature in-depth interviews with notable players, their rivals and those in their closest inner circle -- teammates, coaches, and family. Star players followed in the series include Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid; Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk; New York Rangers captain Jacob Trouba; Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl; Boston Bruins teammates David Pastrnak and Jeremy Swayman; Vancouver Canucks 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, among others.
“This is so meaningful for our league. Box To Box has revolutionized modern storytelling for Formula 1, golf and tennis,” said Steve Mayer, NHL chief content officer and senior executive VP, in a statement. “With the full support of the League, players, coaches and owners, we welcome the opportunity to showcase our stars and the greatest season and postseason in sports – the Stanley Cup Playoffs – to a global audience.”
This upcoming show will mark the fourth original hockey program Amazon has produced with NHL Productions for Prime Video. In 2021, All or Nothing: Toronto Maple Leafs multi-episode docuseries chronicled the team’s 2020-21 season. This season, original hockey documentaries Chosen One: Alexandre Daigle and Saving Sakic premiered on Prime Video in Canada to critical and fan acclaim.
The sports docuseries has been a winner for rival streaming company Netflix. Not only has Drive to Survive carved out a productive audience niche over six seasons, Netflix has more recently established a new NFL-centric behind-the-scenes franchise with Quarterback, as well as the upcoming Receiver.
Then there's HBO's seminal NFL docuseries Hard Knocks, which will kick off its 19th season in August profiling the Chicago Bears' training camp.
