New hockey jerseys show not even the NHL can resist the ‘Heated Rivalry’ hype, Canada Reviews

The Ottawa Senators are getting in on the Heated Rivalry hype. The official team shop is selling jerseys featuring the names and numbers of the Crave mega-hit’s fictional stars, Shane Hollander (#24) and Ilya Rozanov (#81). The team sold out of the jerseys at Canadian Tire Centre ahead of last Saturday’s game against Montreal, but online orders continue to come in from across the globe.

And it’s all for a good cause, with proceeds going to Ottawa Pride Hockey: an inclusive hockey community founded and run by queer and trans individuals, with a goal to promote a safer space for everyone to play.

You can buy Hollander and Rozanov sweaters in three versions (home black, away white and an alternate red), each priced at $325. If you’re a fan of the show, you’ll notice that the product copy fully commits to the bit: Hollander’s home jersey is described as “clean” and “built for the spotlight,” while Rozanov’s black sweater is pitched as “pure intimidation” for the league’s most “mouthy” superstar. Each jersey is made to order, with shipping estimated at one to two weeks from purchase if buying online.

Oh, and the Hollander and Rozanov jersey drop happens to be a bit of a season two spoiler. Fans of the show might note that neither Rozanov or Hollander played on the (fictional) Ottawa team this season. But readers of the Game Changers book series that the show is based on might recognize a plot point from the second book, in which (spoiler alert) Rozanov, and eventually Hollander, switches teams to play for Ottawa.

The jerseys also show just how far Heated Rivalry has broken out of its romance-reader lane into pop-culture fandom. The show was adapted from Rachel Reid’s Game Changers books and was created for Crave by Canadian writer-director Jacob Tierney, starring Hudson Williams (Hollander) and Connor Storrie (Rozanov) as two fresh-faced NHL rookies whose secret fling evolves into a powerful, years-long love story.

Williams recently told Andy Cohen Live that closeted pro athletes have been reaching out to him privately since the show debuted.

“It’s definitely the people who reach out, somewhat anonymously, who are like, ‘I’m a professional player still, and I’m still in the closet,’” Williams said.

Crave renewed the show for a second season after it delivered its biggest original-series debut on record, with viewership that spilled well beyond Canada, and it was later picked up for streaming in the U.S. on HBO Max.

And the Heated Rivalry-fication of hockey merch doesn’t stop at sweaters you can wear to a game. Earlier this month, Toronto-based Province of Canada jumped into the fandom after the show’s viral Team Canada fleece moment, posting that they’d be happy to make a made-in-Canada version of the fleece and sharing their own tribute! And Lauren Kyle McDavid, wife to NHL star Connor McDavid, just dropped a line of Hockey Canada merch, and one particular fleece looks pretty familiar.

If you still haven’t had enough of this international series sensation, check out this complete roundup of Heated Rivalry events taking place across Toronto.