Long before the million-dollar empire and the sold-out stadiums, Michael Bublé and Drew Scott were just two ambitious Vancouver kids scraping for a break. Three decades later, they are sitting side by side as minority co-owners of the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants, trading the world stage for the unscripted grit of junior hockey in their new Prime Video docuseries Hometown Giants, which offers viewers unprecedented access.
I’m seated opposite Bublé and Scott in the Langley Events Centre in British Columbia, where they filmed the docuseries. When I ask how they are feeling now that the series is airing, Scott exhales with “a bit of a relaxing breath,” he admits, shaking his head. “There’s just been so much on our shoulders.”
“Hatching the plan, wanting to create the show and highlight these kids and their journey, the ups, the downs. There’s so much that goes into this, and we wanted to make sure we were highlighting these kids in the right way to protect them and set them up for future success. It was a lot of stress. But now we can just… be,” says the HGTV titan and Property Brothers star.
Beside him, Bublé leans in, buzzing with that trademark enthusiasm of a die-hard hockey fan who still can’t quite believe he got the keys to the kingdom. “We didn’t know if this was going to happen,” he admits. “We did a lot of work shooting and working on things, and there was no promise that there was going to be a deal. We just genuinely felt like this is really a wonderful chance to be great storytellers and to connect with the community and to shine a light on junior hockey.”
“[Prime Video] had a lot of guts to really give us the shot because this is groundbreaking. This has never happened in the sport. There’s never been this kind of access,” he says.
Scott adds, “We didn’t want to do a series if we were trying to shoot something that felt like it was scripted reality or it was just surface. We had to open up the curtains and show people everything.”
“Anyone who has a passion, anyone who has a child trying to set their future up, will relate to these stories.” Drew Scott
After watching all six episodes, it becomes clear that Hometown Giants is about far more than just what happens on the ice. It’s a peek behind the scenes that chronicles the lives of these young teen hockey players, from being taken in by billet families to completing their high school education on the road.
“You’re really just rooting for these kids,” Scott says. “I think most people don’t realize the journey they’re going through to make it to the NHL. Anyone who has a passion, anyone who has a child trying to set their future up, will relate to these stories.”
In episode 2, Bublé, who has been a minority co-owner of the team since 2008, draws a striking parallel between stepping onto the ice and walking onto the stage — equating the nerves that set in just before the lights turn on. Bublé is seen asking the question: “What if my voice breaks? What if the crowd doesn’t love me?”
Both are familiar with the pressure to succeed and follow their dreams. Relating to these young athletes brought back memories of their own youthful ambitions and the brotherhood that fueled their drive.
“I really think that in all aspects of our lives, we’re all passionate about something. We all have dreams of what we want to do when we’re older,” Scott reflects. “When I look back, I wanted to be in the NBA. I wanted to be a basketball player. Never quite made it there, but I think you ebb and flow, and your passions and things that get you excited change. When I look at me and my brother [Jonathan Scott], I had a built-in best friend. We did everything together. We built businesses together. There was a confidence that I had because of that camaraderie and supporting each other and then when I look at the team here, at first I was thinking like, what am I going to add to the Giants if I join the ownership? But then when I realize it’s sort of just a larger version of what Jonathan and I did together, the whole team is a camaraderie of support. The whole community, the fans, and everybody’s support, and the fact that I can do it with somebody that’s been a bestie for 30 years.”
Bublé finds the whole thing surreal, reflecting on their 30-year friendship long before fame was in the picture. He fondly remembers how in their early 20s, Drew and his brother were hustling and trying everything from magic to real estate just to break through.
Bublé recalls doing the exact same thing on his own path, acting and delivering singing telegrams. But when the Scott brothers finally hit it big, Bublé says he wasn’t surprised at all; he knew their relentless work ethic and ambition would eventually succeed — a drive he now recognizes instantly in their junior players.
“Now more than ever, I am a fiercely proud Canadian, and I wear it like a badge of honour.”Michael Bublé
“Something that the audience will never see, and I’m not going to ruin it for them,” Bublé says. “But at the very end of this season, when we got to a draft, what they’ll never see is me on my computer watching the NHL draft and bawling my head off, bawling when our guys got taken because for the first time as an owner, I had access to the story that I had never had before. I’d known a few of the kids but I’d never been able to be sent episodes where it was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s what’s happening, that’s what’s happening, with their new family.’ So, even as an owner, I had never been that connected, and so it’s been a very emotional ride.”
He pauses, shaking his head. “Even tonight, it’s like wow! I can’t believe this happened. By the way, I’m a dork that loves hockey so much. I love the game so much. I’m so fiercely protective. I’m such a patriotic Canadian, and it’s our game. I never thought we would get access. This is groundbreaking. Like, as a hockey fan, I can’t believe it happened. I can’t believe I’m sitting here and it happened. I can’t believe you like it and that my wife likes it and I like it.”
When talk shifts to superstitions and pre-game rituals, Scott acknowledges that while every athlete has their routine, he generally doesn’t cling to rituals. Still, he points out one non-negotiable locker room rule they laughed about earlier: the team logo is laid out on the floor, and under no circumstances does anyone ever step on it.
“Anyone who says they’ve made it to being successful without any failure is lying to you. You don’t get to where you are without failure.”Drew Scott
For Bublé, it transcends game-day rituals entirely: “You know, for me, it’s less about winning or losing. I am just such a fiercely proud Canadian. And by the way, I don’t want to get political, but now more than ever, I am a fiercely proud Canadian, and I wear it like a badge of honour. I don’t care where I go. I don’t care whether it was me sitting on The Voice or me somewhere in Europe or Africa. I’m a Canadian boy, and I love my country. And I will tell everyone. So the fact that I’m here and that we’re representing our peeps, and in this great way, and that we’re creating a safe space for these kids to grow, that’s what it’s all about.”
While the series goes on, not all players get drafted or stay with the Vancouver Giants come selection day. Both Scott and Bublé know the value of rejection and share this with the next generation.
Scott emphasizes, “I learned this from every aspect, whether it was being on TV or whether it’s other businesses that I’ve run, anyone who says they’ve made it to being successful without any failure is lying to you. You don’t get to where you are without failure, but it’s not failure. Those are just the building blocks that help you gain resilience to learn to grow, and you have to have that.”
Bublé echoes the sentiment with fatherhood in mind, sharing that he has the same conversation with his own children whenever they come home dealing with bullies or rejection.
“I tell my kids every day: when they come home because they felt left out, or a girl didn’t like them, I tell them that all those feelings are okay. We’re all insecure. We’re all scared. We all think we’re faking it sometimes. But those are the things that grow you. They make you humble. They give you self-deprecation, and that turns you into a beautiful, sensitive human being. I wasn’t the cool kid growing up. I was a romantic, awkward kid who had his first kiss at, what, 35?”
And if the Vancouver Giants go all the way to win the Memorial Cup? Scott promises that if the team wins, he is treating the entire roster to a well-deserved team vacation somewhere warm. Bublé is ready with his own counter-offer: “I’m gonna finance a film and have Jack Black star as Drew.”
‘Hometown Giants’ is now streaming on Prime Video.
