Crave Canada’s Heated Rivalry — a gay, ice hockey romance following rivals Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) — was an unprecedented success at the end of 2025. With its graphic sex scenes and tender depictions of queer love, the show captured the hearts of people all over the world. When the show was acquired by HBO, its success only continued, with Williams appearing on The Tonight Show earlier this month and walking the runway with Versace.
While the show has been criticised for perceived inauthenticity and its steamy content, for many, Heated Rivalry means so much more. Shane and Ilya’s relationship does have its racy aspects, yes, but it is a defiance of the homophobia deeply entrenched in ice hockey. Despite the risks, they agree to make their relationship public, following the coming out of fellow player Scott Hunter (Francois Arnaud).
The ripple effect which Scott causes is very real; in fact, hockey player Jesse Korteum came out via a Facebook post on January 13th. He said that, though he does not post often on social media: “…something has sparked in me (ok — yes credit to #HeatedRivalry)…” In his coming out post, Korteum goes on to say how his identity felt at odds with ice hockey, and that he lived in a “constant state of dichotomy” while surrounded by athletes that would often use ‘gay’ as an insult. Heated Rivalry gave him the strength to come out by making him feel seen. Korteum encouragingly stated: “When we remove the weight of the closet we finally have the mental freedom to give the game our last 110 per cent.”
LGBTQ+ athletes are often harassed online and at sporting events, and homophobia remains a persistent barrier for those who feel they cannot fit in. In spite of this, queer athletes have emerged in the last few years, and their talent is a testament to how queerness should not be a barrier to success.
US figure skater Amber Glenn has recently made history as the first queer woman to represent the U.S Olympic figure skating team, and Team GB are entering the 2026 Winter Olympics with a number of queer athletes — Makayla Gerken Schofield (skiing), Lewis Gibson (ice dance), Gus Kenworthy (skiing), and Bruce Mount (curling), to name a few.
Queer representation in the media is few and far between, and it is even more sparse in the sporting domain. The queer visibility provided by these trailblazers, and by the success of shows like Heated Rivalry, is hugely encouraging. The popularity of the show has not only awarded Storrie and Williams with pride of place in the zeitgeist, but has ensured that the sporting community wakes up. Even within hockey, queerness has been celebrated and embraced, and hopefully other sports will follow its example.