"A very real hockey season is underway, but this year, fictional action on and off the ice is garnering fans. Heated Rivalry follows the secret, seasons-long romance between professional hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, beginning as rookies. The series, now streaming on Crave and HBO Max, is based on the Game Changers books by Rachel Reid. As a romance lover, I already had the show on my watchlist. But a colleague mentioned something that immediately launched it to the top: The books, this person said, are purportedly inspired by real-life rivals Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and our very own Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin."
"Though they entered the NHL draft a year apart, Crosby and Ovechkin have refined their rivalry over 20 years. In addition to their competitive tension, it's tough not to notice the parallels between personalities: Hollander, like Crosby, is quiet, diligent, and Canadian, while Rozanov is a boisterous Russian phenom, similar to Ovechkin. Some of the sports elements also overlap. Both Ovechkin and Rozanov were the number one draft picks, and they're the captains of their American teams."
"Reid herself has highlighted the connection. On her website she writes: "One of my inspirations for Heated Rivalry was, obviously, the extremely entertaining rivalry between Crosby and Ovechkin." However, Reid is clear that the characters themselves are not meant to be stand-ins for the players, despite the similarities. "I never directly base my characters on any real people," she notes."
Heated Rivalry follows a secret, seasons-long romance between professional hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, who meet as rookies. The series streams on Crave and HBO Max and is based on Rachel Reid's Game Changers books. The books draw inspiration from the longstanding Sidney Crosby–Alexander Ovechkin rivalry while keeping fictional characters distinct from real players. Hollander mirrors Crosby as a quiet, diligent Canadian and Rozanov echoes Ovechkin as a boisterous Russian phenom. Both Rozanov and Ovechkin were number one draft picks and captains of American teams. The story has attracted local interest, visible in library holds and fan reactions.
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