World juniors: Camouflaged cameraman is a hit
HALIFAX –
The last thing Nathan Eides wants – and he makes this abundantly clear – is to be in the limelight.
And yet he is there.
Every TV timeout, every goal celebration, every victory, every defeat.
Dressed head-to-toe in white, the camouflaged cameraman on skates takes center stage at the Men’s World Hockey Championship at the Halifax Scotiabank Centre.
“It’s not lost on me that I have the best seat in the house,” Eides said between two recent games. “It’s pretty neat to be in the middle of it all.”
The 39-year-old, originally from Rosenort, Man., maneuvers around the ice during stoppages to provide an intimate, up-close perspective on hockey’s next stars.
“He’s getting cool shots of the boys,” Canadian defenseman Brandt Clarke said. “I’ve seen him almost get hit.
“When I scored against Germany, I smiled for him.”
Eides sits in the penalty boxes and jumps into the fray — specific situations agreed upon with the International Ice Hockey Federation — as soon as play stops.
The Winnipeg-based freelancer, who mostly works for TSN on hockey and football broadcasts, said the only time he notices teenagers change their behavior is during warmups.
“They’re playing with the puck a little more,” he said.
Eides weaves in and out of the chaotic yet orderly sessions where every player has a routine and potential risks are many.
“Knock on wood, never been hit with a puck,” he said. “I try to patrol the red line as much as possible.
“Then I pick my moments and go in there.”
Eides can be inches away from a goalie who stretches or a silky stick handler like Canadian phenom Connor Bedard.
“Strange the first time,” said Austrian forward Vinzenz Rohrer. “Hats off to this guy. He always sneaks through everyone.”
“Quite camouflaged,” added Swedish netminder Carl Lindbom. “The end product is amazing.”
On-ice cameras have been a part of European hockey for a while, but the free access at the world juniors is relatively new.
Eides used to only take the ice at the end of games, but TSN started pushing the envelope at the 2018 Under-18 Hlinka Gretzky Cup because it wasn’t an IIHF-sanctioned event.
There was a problem. Eides was dressed in white. It wasn’t his camera.
The Great One knew that had to change.
“We were in the hotel after one of the games with my director, (play-by-play man) Gord Miller and Wayne Gretzky,” Eides recalled of that incident in Edmonton. “Wayne Gretzky said, ‘I love it … but we have to cover that camera in white.’
“That’s where the white camera cover came from.”
Eide’s skate cover, meanwhile, was made by the mother of two TSN production managers who are skilled at sewing.
On-ice availability — there’s another cameraman working in Moncton, NB, the tournament’s second venue — increased at the 2019 and 2020 world juniors.
“I got a little more leash where I could walk the ice during TV timeouts,” Eides said.
The couplet got longer in 2021 when the tournament went into a bubble format in Edmonton to keep covid-19 at bay.
And when TSN, which also used on-ice cameras at last year’s Women’s World Cup, took over the Memorial Cup rights this spring, Eides and his bosses wanted to go further.
“I was sitting there thinking, ‘How else can we run this?'” he said. “Maybe I can jump on the ice for warmups and show (the IIHF) I’m not going to knock players in.”
The tape went to the game’s decision makers, who gave the thumbs up for having Eides out there before the game.
“It’s important to do the warm-up to develop relationships with the players – whether it’s spoken or unspoken,” he said. “Shooting is 10 percent of the job. The rest of it is managing people and relationships.”
A former goaltender, Eides rarely lifts his skates off the ice as he commands the camera to both create a steadier shot and reduce the likelihood of him getting the upper hand.
The married father of three has also gained a bit of a cult following.
Three white-clad fans — including helmets — during Canada’s 5-1 win over Sweden on Saturday clapped every time Eides hit the ice.
“Mom is probably my biggest fan,” he said with a smile.
Eides is also still getting used to his unique take on the spotlight.
“I’m behind the camera for a reason,” he said. “I’m a pretty modest individual. I don’t like to downplay what the camera actually provides.
“It’s weird to get the attention.”
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on January 1, 2023.