NHL Recognizes Growth Due to 'Heated Rivalry' Show

A Canadian series centered around a love story between two male professional hockey players is reportedly causing a rapid spike in the growing number of fans across the National Hockey League.

New episodes of 'Heated Rivalry' drop through HBO Max each week in the U.S. and premium streamer Crave in Canada.

The story caters to protagonists Russian Ilya Rozanov (played by Connor Storrie, 25) and Shane Hollander (played by Hudson Williams, 24). Both are members of the fictional "Major League Hockey" with Rozanov being the star center of the fictional Boston Raiders and Hollander eventually becoming the team captain of the also-fictional Montreal Metros. The series takes place across years and years — seeing the players and their love play out from rookies, to Olympians, to All-Stars and beyond. It's a major success in terms of viewers ('Heated Rivalry' is the No. 2 most popular tv show online as of Dec. 21), with the NHL even chiming in on the hype.

In early December at the Montreal Canadiens' Pride Night, a trailer for 'Heated Rivarly' was put on the big screen at The Bell Centre for fans in attendance. Additionally, a NHL rep told The Hollywood Reporter that the league is seeing a spike in fans due to the show's recent success.

“There are so many ways to get hooked on hockey and, in the NHL’s 108-year history, this might be the most unique driver for creating new fans,” a league rep said to The Hollywood Reporter . “See you all at the rink.”

Show Credited With Growing Professional Hockey Popularity by NHL Rep

Per NHL Public Relations, the business of the NHL was the strongest it had ever been in the calendar year of 2024, with teams playing to 96.2% capacity in 2024-25. ESPN's Emily Kaplan recently reported that the NHL is currently projecting league revenue for the 2025-26 season to be around the $6.8 billion mark.

Kaplan's report also referenced that the NHL is operating with an upper limit of $95.5 million for this year, which is projected to rise to $104 million in 2026-27 and $113.5 million in 2027-28.

HEATED RIVALRY TRAILER AT THE BELL CENTRE FOR PRIDE NIGHT IM LOSING MY ENTIRE MINDJDKWJFJDSK pic.twitter.com/eZObCDMGgq
— char (@ga11agher) December 10, 2025

Heated Rivalry was Crave’s No. 1 show the weekend it premiered (Nov. 28) and it continues to trend as a top show for that particular streamer and HBO Max. It was also recently picked up for a second season.

Creator, writer and director Jacob Tiernay adapted the second novel in Nova Scotia writer Rachel Reid’s bestselling Game Changers gay hockey romance series to the small screen. Reid came up with concept after being a hockey fan for most of her life. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the books inspired the TV show after becoming best-sellers for Reid and selling around 650,000 copies.

NHL rep hails ‘Heated Rivalry’ for igniting fresh interest in hockey:

“There are so many ways to get hooked on hockey and, in the NHL’s 108-year history, this might be the most unique driver for creating new fans. See you all at the rink.” (@THR) pic.twitter.com/TdVfapiz18
— Buzzing Pop (@BuzzingPop) December 22, 2025

The actor who plays Hollander in the show — Williams — is a Canada native who grew an understanding of the sport of hockey from watching the NHL and hanging out with various friends from his childhood who played the sport.

The PWHL's New York Sirens also added a version of the song All The Things She Said to their warmup playlist following the song's use in a recent episode of the show. The Sirens publicly warmed up to the song at Newark, New Jersey's Prudential Center ahead of play against the Toronto Sceptres on Dec. 21; Toronto won, 4-3.

The show's most recent episode is ranked no. 2 on the IMDB's list of best-reviewed TV shows and had generated huge social media buzz. The highly anticipated Heated Rivalry finale airs this week on HBO Max and Crave.

Make sure you bookmark Breakaway On SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!