MILAN (AP) 鈥� Olympic hockey knows all about big hits.
That now includes a gay TV series in which two players from opposing teams carry out a secret, long-term relationship.
The steamy connection between the characters 鈥� Canadian Shane Hollander and Russian Ilya Rozanov 鈥� has attracted fans to both the show and the sport itself, with the NHL seeing a boost in ticket sales by one estimate.
The show’s impact was evident long before the when co-stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie . And it hasn鈥檛 stopped there. Athletes and fans from Canada and the U.S. are feeling the show鈥檚 impact.
Athletes recognize the phenomenon
Zach Werenski, a defenseman on the U.S. team who plays for the NHL鈥檚 Columbus Blue Jackets, said the show has come up in conversation in the locker room.
鈥淓veryone is saying how great it is, I just haven鈥檛 seen it yet,鈥� Werenski told The Associated Press after a . 鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely good for the sport of hockey. Whenever you can add more eyes to the game and have people talk about the game and talk about inclusivity, I think it鈥檚 just great for the sport.鈥�
Jake Sanderson, another U.S. defenseman who plays for the Ottawa Senators, said he has heard about the show, but doesn鈥檛 know much about it. When asked how far off the NHL is from having an openly gay player, Sanderson cited . In 2021, Prokop was a Nashville Predators prospect who became the first player signed to an NHL contract to come out, though he has not yet played in the league.
鈥淵ou never know if that show (will) instill some confidence in some people,鈥� said Sanderson, adding that any openly gay player would be fully accepted in the locker room. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we would treat them any differently. They鈥檙e our teammate, we love them no matter what, and obviously embrace them, absolutely.鈥�
Rachel Reid鈥檚 novel 鈥淗eated Rivalry鈥� was published in 2019 as part of a series. The TV adaptation, originally developed for Canadian streaming service Crave, was in its first season. It has been renewed for a second season.
鈥淚t鈥檚 obviously a show about hockey that鈥檚 sparked a lot of interest in people even outside of our game,鈥� Canada’s Travis Sanheim said Tuesday. 鈥淛ust heard a lot of people talking about. It鈥檚 obviously good to have our game being talked about.鈥�
Its biggest fans at the Olympics may be the Canadian delegation.
As part of the Olympic experience, athletes were gifted a potted plant. Many of the Canadians named theirs Shane or Ilya, according to the delegation’s lead press liaison, Tara MacBournie.
Canadian Alpine skier Kiki Alexander took the love a bit further, sharing on TikTok that the village鈥檚 Canadian moose has been named Shane.
鈥淚f you know, you know,鈥� she wrote.
Adam van Koeverden, a 2004 Olympic champion in kayaking who is now Canada’s secretary of state for sport, is a fan of the show.
鈥淲e鈥檙e the perfect country to be having the conversation and be putting that art out there that I think is advancing the conversation on diversity in hockey,鈥� van Koeverden told the AP at the Games. 鈥淗ockey is for everyone and 鈥楬eated Rivalry鈥� makes it clear.鈥�
The show launched in Europe in January and is proving a surprise despite the country’s . Because of the war in Ukraine, the IOC has allowed just to compete at the Milan Cortina Games as neutral individuals.
Fans of hockey and 鈥楬eated Rivalry鈥�
Athletes aren鈥檛 the only ones riding the 鈥淗eated Rivalry鈥� wave. Kim Sweet of Calgary, Alberta, is only on Episode 3 but is loving it.
鈥淭he show has me very intrigued,鈥� Sweet, 50, said before entering the arena to watch last week. 鈥淗ow a very male-dominated sport has two guys having to work through the privacy of it all, and whether you ever want to come out.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 great having more eyes on the sport,鈥� added Sweet, who described herself as 鈥渁 huge hockey fan.鈥�
Angie Campos, a California resident, was also in attendance and wearing a sweatshirt featuring the jerseys of the show’s main characters.
Campos is new to hockey, drawn to it by the series, and she isn’t alone. Weekly NHL ticket sales saw a more than 20% rise after the show debuted in late November, according to data from ticketing platform SeatGeek. It saw no similar surge the same period a year earlier.
鈥淭he series didn鈥檛 just light up social media feeds, it may have sent fans straight to hockey games themselves,鈥� SeatGeek said in its analysis Jan. 16. 鈥淲hile it鈥檚 impossible to attribute all of this growth to a single show, the timing is hard to ignore.鈥�
Campos likened her newfound fandom and that of fellow 鈥淗eated Rivalry鈥� viewers to the after Taylor Swift started dating Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce and attending games.
鈥淚t just makes it a little bit more relatable and it has definitely opened eyes to a human side of competition,鈥� she said.
More representation in hockey
Hockey is a rough-and-tumble sport with occasional fighting and hard hits, even in crucial games where a penalty can prove costly. Canada鈥檚 in Canada’s win on Sunday.
All the machismo and aggression make the rink 鈥� and hockey in general 鈥� an unlikely and provocative setting to explore the delicate feelings of forbidden love and taboos around male sexual orientation. No active NHL player has in the century-plus existence of the league.
鈥淗eated Rivalry鈥� has been wildly popular among women, but men are starting to find the appeal.
At the Canada-France game, Christopher Ryan York, 20, said he has hopped on the bandwagon, too. It was hard not to watch the show given how popular it has become, he said, and he’s happy it’s creating new hockey fans.
鈥淎nything to grow the sport, for sure,鈥� he added.
His father Kevin York, 60, said he hasn’t seen the show, but can鈥檛 stop hearing about it back home in Alberta and believes it must be truly inspirational if it spurred a Canadian hockey player to come out as gay: Jesse Kortuem of Vancouver, who stepped away from the game at 17 for fear he wouldn’t be accepted, shared his coming-out statement on Instagram on Jan. 13.
鈥淪omething has sparked in me (ok 鈥� yes credit to #HeatedRivalry),鈥� he wrote. 鈥淚 thought I would share because I want to speak to the athletes out there who are still in the closet or struggling to find their way. I want you to know that there is hope and you鈥檙e not alone.鈥�
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This story was first published on Feb. 17, 2026. It was updated on Feb. 24, 2026 to correct that Adam van Koeverden was an Olympic champion in kayaking, not canoeing.
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Associated Press writer Jennifer McDermott and AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.
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