Making the Cut

The first episode focuses on the Bell Making the Cut Tryouts, which attracts a wide range of hockey enthusiasts. Players from every province and territory descend on tryout events located in seven cities-Toronto, Winnipeg, Halifax, Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa and Montreal. Over 4,200 participants turn out-from teenagers to fathers, spanning 19 to 58-all hoping to impress the professional evaluation team and be selected to attend the training camp in Vernon, B.C.

The top 68 players selected from the Tryout Challenges arrived at camp from all over Canada and met with Bell Making the Cut Director of Hockey Operations Jack Birch and hockey legends Scotty Bowman and Mike Keenan before dividing into Team Bowman and Team Keenan. This week Team Bowman acclimatized to the high altitude and the intensity of Training Camp.

Up before the sun, Team Keenan take to the trails for a grueling 20 minute run at 5300 feet. They split up into Team Grey and Team Gold, warm up their new gear and put camaraderie aside as they hit the ice for a fiery double-header. While Keenan addresses rumours that the teams are being picked by the television crew, the scouts decide which players have ""a skill you can't teach"" and which players ""just like the uniform.""

Mass cuts mean mass disappointment for players demoted to the Black Aces, and with the first round of cuts complete, performance psychologist Dr. Saul Miller goes to work helping players to develop their skills and determination. Bell Making the Cut Director of Hockey Operations Jack Birch and his staff of evaluators juggle the newly refined rosters of the elite Blue and Gold squads with the help of Sport Psychologist Dr. Dana Sinclair's profiles. Isolation breeds intensity and bonds of friendship between teammates and roommates, but on game day all eyes are on the prize as the elite teams prove that ""Good players make good hockey."" Old tensions flare and new sparks fly when teams Blue and Gold clash. Only the best will make the cut as players on the bubble meet face-to-face with destiny.

By Day Six of training camp, the players are feeling the burn. The realities of high level hockey begin to take their mental and physical toll through injury and fatigue. But the game goes on and the misfortune of some players leads to unexpected opportunities for members of the Black Aces. Team Gold and Team Blue pump up before the next grudge match and when they take to the ice the stakes are high: Big goals, big hits, huge saves and vengeful promises from the stands amplify the intensity, prompting one defenceman to proclaim; ""If they're looking for trouble, I can help them out.""

Peter Twist calling the shots, the surviving players will be pushed to the absolute limit. Everyone will suffer, but who will break? After splitting their two elite team match-ups, the players of Teams Blue and Gold move to the gym for further evaluations. Measured against the demanding standards of top NHL players, the Bell Making the Cut competitors discover that a day away from the rink is no walk in the park. No one can hide from their fitness scores as the surprising results find their way to the War Room. As Jack Birch and his team of evaluators crunch the data, the fallout will be more black helmets.

As game action resumes, the Black Aces are desperate for another chance and some injured players are chomping at the bit to get back in. But during roll call at the rink, coaches are stunned to find that one player has gone AWOL. A switch to 3-on-3 play tests the skills of the players—especially the goalies. Speed and skill are on display as some players struggle to keep up with the swift pace. Then a shocking on-ice incident leaves players and coaches buzzing. When the 3-on-3 game is over more players find themselves on the bubble. Some will be cut. But back in camp, everybody's still talking about The Incident.

""This is the day we promised you,"" Mike Keenan tells the Black Aces, players who have already been cut. All the black-helmets will get one last chance. The Black Aces will play each other and the evaluators will pick the top 20 players to challenge the elite team in a contest and give those Black Aces a shot at reclaiming a white helmet. Before leaving the dressing room, Keenan says what all the Black Aces are thinking: ""It's do or die right now.""

""If the colour of your helmet doesn't light a fire under you, nothing will"" coaches tell the Black Aces before their game against the elite team. For the Black Aces, the day of reckoning has arrived. Twenty of them have been selected to play against the elite squad. At stake is a chance to return to the main team and regain the chance to be one of the final six. It's game time. High stakes lead to fierce action as the Black Aces battle for vengeance and redemption. ""This is turning out better than anyone could have hoped,"" says Mike Keenan. But before the Aces find out who has earned another shot, a group of elite players will face Keenan at centre ice and lose their white helmets for good. Some of training camp's most memorable characters must face the music.

For the remaining players, there's only one goal: Get to the Top Six. A few Black Aces are back in the running - called-up by Mike Keenan they're awarded the coveted white helmets. All eyes are focused on the first of three intense games between Team Gold and Team Blue. The stakes are even higher as NHL scouts and agents watch closely from the stands. For one player the dream is all but over after an on-ice collision sends him to the hospital. But no one can escape ""the bubble"" as some from the elite squad are called to centre ice.

Ryan Power's dream hangs in the balance as he awaits his diagnosis. Mike Keenan makes a surprise visit to the pre-game locker room with a white helmet for an exceptional Black Ace. The goalies have only three periods each to show who's the best. Game Two of the final Three game series is played. Some players rise to the occasion, while some from the losing team will have to answer for their poor play.

At last, there is only one more game to be played. One more chance for these players to make it to the final group from which six players will be drafted for NHL tryouts in 2005. All of the players who play today, black helmets and white, have a shot. ""There could be a couple of black helmets that could surprise us all,"" says Jack Birch. After the most dramatic game of camp comes the final, crucial War Room discussion. Coaches and evaluators must render their ultimate decisions. The players gather on the ice to hear the verdicts. Who will be eligible for the final draft that will send six players to NHL training camps?

Live from Mississauga, Ontario the two-hour Bell Making the Cut series finale features the Top 18 players centre ice for a series of skills and drills under the watchful eye of the six NHL General Managers; mentors Mike Keenan and Scotty Bowman; and Jack Birch and his insightful team of evaluators. The players compete in four skill-testing drills: Shot Accuracy, Hardest Shot, Fastest Skater, and the Ambush. This is their last shot at impressing the NHL big-wigs – each GM will pick one player to attend their NHL training camp. Only six will make it. With family and friends crowding the stands, emotions will be tense and expectations high. Interviews with the players and their family's take place rink side, and the winner of the Reader's Digest Readers' Choice Award will be announced. But? it's all about the Top Prize, a shot at an NHL career – next week, the dream continues for six players.