Kyle Davidson is just an average guy on the street who loves him some hockey.
That's what the folks from Penalty Box Radio thought, unaware that he's the general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks, when they interviewed Davidson prior to the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft on Wednesday.
Davidson was just taking a walk with Blackhawks associate general manager Jeff Greenberg when Penalty Box Radio, which offers hockey coverage in Nashville, approached him.
"They had asked me if I wanted to interview and I was like, 'No thanks.' I think I made the comment to Jeff, I was like, 'It's funny, they have no clue who we are, what we do.' I was like, 'You know what? I'm going to go back,'" Davidson said.
"It's funny. I had to wait for two people to finish interviewing that were wearing (former Blackhawks forwards Patrick) Kane and (Brandon) Saad jerseys. They didn't recognize me, either. So yeah, it was probably the backward hat or freshly shaven face. Maybe I looked a little younger."
Asked how much he knew about hockey, on a scale of 1 to 10, Davidson said, "Probably like, I didn't play professionally or anything so probably a 4. Some people say I don't know that much."
Then Davidson had to name as many NHL player as possible in 20 seconds. He started with Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux before naming a slew of former Blackhawks, including Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Bryan Bickell and Michal Rozsival, the latter two names earning kudos from Davidson's interviewers.
Davidson, however, didn't mention defenseman Brian Campbell, now Blackhawks advisor for hockey operations.
"I actually intentionally left him out," Davidson said. "I'm going to hear about that one. That was the most nervous I was, when I got the question. It was all kind of natural and then they asked me to start rhyming off NHL players and I'm like, 'Oh no. If this comes out that they realize what I do, and I stumble and can't name players, I'm in big trouble.' So, I was like pressure was on."
Finally, Davidson was asked if the NHL rigged the draft in favor of the Chicago Blackhawks, who won the No. 1 pick, with which they selected forward Connor Bedard.
"No."
The interviewer commented on Davidson's confidence in his answer.
"I'm very confident, Davidson said looking into the camera.
Davidson revealed his identity before departing.
"As soon as it cut, I said, 'Hey, by the way, I'm the GM of the Chicago Blackhawks' and I think he just gave me a sideways look, like, 'Yeah, whatever buddy,'" Davidson said.
Penalty Box Radio did follow up on Twitter with its new knowledge, ending a tweet referring to Davidson's video with, "@NHLBlackhawks come get your GM!"
