CSN Bay Area

SAN JOSE – On Saturday morning, Sharks coach Todd McLellan was asked if he had talked to counterpart Joel Quenneville about how to deal with the behind the scenes camera crew from Epix, which is producing the Road to the Stadium Series that premieres on Feb. 3 at 10 p.m. PST.

McLellan said he hadn’t. Quenneville and the Blackhawks have dealt with these types of documentaries twice now, including the lead up to the 2015 Winter Classic against Washington.

Most of the crew that was recently with Chicago is now with the Sharks full time until the game on Feb. 21 at Levi’s Stadium.

Quenneville had a good laugh when I told him McLellan doesn’t seem too keen on letting the camera crew behind doors that are typically closed off to everyone except team personnel.

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Does he have any advice for McLellan?

“I’d tell him to enjoy it,” Quenneville said through a hearty chuckle.

“I guess after awhile it’s almost like they’re part of the woodwork, and I think you get acclimated and adjusted to it. They’re a good group of guys. I think they’ve got the same group that was with us for a month. There are some good times with it. He’ll be fine.”

McLellan, who didn’t watch the Epix series featuring the Blackhawks and Capitals, recently gave his early impressions of the experience.

“Everybody has a different feeling towards it. There are a couple guys that I think really enjoy it. You can probably guess who they are,” McLellan said.

“For myself, I’d rather just be with the group alone, to tell you the truth. I feel more comfortable there. Maybe I’m a little more old school where you don’t open up the room to people you’re not too familiar with and you keep your emotions in check. There have been some times where we’ve had some closed meetings without the Epix crew involved, and we have the right to do that. We may have to exercise that again, but if things are going well we’ll keep doing what we’re doing.”

There haven’t been any issues so far.

“I think that the Epix group are experienced,” McLellan said. “They know where to be and when to be there, they know when to give the players their space and their time. They can read emotions. So far, it’s been a good marriage. We’ve got another month with them, so we’re just in the honeymoon phase. We’ll see what it’s like later on.”