GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Mika Zibanejad opened his New York City home and personal life to a camera crew last week, admittedly unsure of what he was hoping to get out of the experience but certain of the value in it.
"Hopefully through showing some outside the rink stuff there might be a little more understanding for who I am as a person," Zibanejad, the New York Rangers forward, told NHL.com. "I think anyone from outside looking in has no idea who I am. They know what I do but not much of me as a person."
That should change a little bit when Zibanejad is seen through a different lens, that of the camera that followed him from the Rangers' suburban practice facility to his home for a segment on the first episode of "Road to the Discover NHL Winter Classic presented by Enterprise." The critically acclaimed behind-the-scenes four-part docuseries returns this year in advance of the Winter Classic game between the Rangers and Florida Panthers at loanDepot Park in Miami on Jan. 2 (8 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SNW, SNO, SNE, TVAS).
The first episode debuts Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET on TNT and will be simulcast on truTV in the United States. Sportsnet will carry the Canada debut of the episode on Friday at 7 p.m. ET.
The Winter Classic will be Zibanejad's fourth outdoor game after he played for the Ottawa Senators in the 2014 Heritage Classic at BC Place in Vancouver, and the Rangers at the 2018 Winter Classic at Citi Field in New York and the 2024 Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
But this is the first time he has had a camera crew follow him.
"I think for the people that are not in this environment, just from outside, getting a little bit of a different look is cool," Zibanejad said. "You see some of the interviews we do but you don't see a whole lot of personality. Obviously, there are some that are better in front of the camera and more inviting than others, but I think this is cool.
"I've done some stuff in Swedish. I'd say I would feel more comfortable doing it in Swedish than English because personality-wise it's a little bit different, but as a fan I appreciate it. I appreciate it when I see it in soccer and other sports, when you get to follow and see behind the scenes. It's cool."
Zibanejad said he typically wrestles with how much of his off-ice personality he wants to show. It's why he said he doesn't post a lot on social media.
"As much as we play a sport, a lot of attention is on us," he said. "We get covered by media and all that. I don't know if selective is the right word, but keeping things more private, maybe. I don't know. It's hard to know what I want to show. I'm kind of on the fence on that kind of stuff. I don't know what to share. I don't want to just put stuff out there just because."
The behind-the-scenes access offers a different perspective, Zibanejad said. It is disarming being that it's away from the rink, away from the emotion of the game. It shows the home side, the family side, the human side.
Zibanejad is married and has a two-year-old daughter.
"I just think [this show] gives people more of a window into the human side of it," Rangers coach Mike Sullivan told NHL.com. "When you get to know some of our players, I think what people are going to find is that they're really good human beings and they live for the most part fairly normal lives other than their livelihood. But they have kids and they're married and they have challenges, and they go through things just like everybody else does.
"I think the best asset that our NHL has is the players themselves, the way they carry themselves, these guys, they have a certain humility to them, and I think that is admirable. When fans get to know some of the players in that regard, maybe they'll be more inclined to root for them."
The first episode will also feature behind-the-scenes footage of Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad and New York forward Matt Rempe away from the rink.
There will also be on-ice chatter through mic'd up players and coaches.
"To have a little bit of an inside look into how these respective teams go about their business every day, I think a lot of people are really interested in that," Sullivan said. "I think it's good for our players too in a lot of ways.
"One of my experiences being a part of these in the past is because of these inside looks, the shows that they're putting together, it provides a chronical of events. Someday when these players are my age and their kids are adults it'll be something that will be really neat that they can share with them."
