A guide to the Heated Rivalry characters, actors, and gay storylines

This rivalry gets puckin' heated.

Based on Rachel Reid's Game Changers series of novels, this six-episode TV adaptation of Heated Rivalry is helmed by out director Jacob Tierney (Shoresy, Letterkenny) and features queer talent both on and off camera.

So, if you're ready to break the ice, here's everything you need to know about the storylines, characters, and actors of Heated Rivalry — now streaming new episodes every Friday on HBO Max.

What is Heated Rivalry based on?

Most of the six novels in Rachel Reid's Game Changers literary franchise focus on different characters/lead couples who have their own standalone stories (not all, but more on that later!). Thus, it's worth noting that the story of lust and love between Shane and Ilya, as seen on the Crave/HBO Max TV show, comes from book 2 in Reid's series, Heated Rivalry, originally published in 2019.

The publishing timeline of the Game Changers series of novels is as follows:

• Book 1: Game Changer
• Book 2: Heated Rivalry
• Book 3: Tough Guy
• Book 4: Common Goal
• Book 5: Role Model
• Book 6: The Long Game

Heated Rivalry author Rachel Reid, a proud resident of Nova Scotia, Canada and a lifelong hockey fan, has clarified that none of the queer hockey players in her books have been inspired by real-life athletes.

"I've been a hockey fan since the eighties, long enough to be very familiar with the different general types of hockey players," Reid has written on her website. "One of my inspirations for Heated Rivalry was, obviously, the extremely entertaining rivalry between Crosby and Ovechkin. But I was also inspired by other sports rivalries, by other fictional stories, and by my love of the enemies-to-lovers and forbidden romance tropes."

The author is also open about having Parkinson's Disease. "I don't mind talking about it and I love to joke about it," Reid has also written on her website. "It's objectively a very silly disease. Right now I'm still comfortable signing my name and maybe a personalization but I can't write longer inscriptions in books anymore."

Hudson Williams plays Shane Hollander.

From Vancouver, Canada, Hudson Williams is best known for playing Brandon on Tracker, Junior on Allegiance, Sean on Nobody Dumps My Daughter, and Jason on Devil Makes Three. Starring as Shane Hollander on Heated Rivalry, Williams is certainly experiencing a career breakout by portraying the main character in the series.

Williams has discussed in past interviews that his mother, who is of Asian descent, had concerns about his acting career.

"When I told [my mom] that I was going to be an actor, she says it scared her, because she thought her being an Asian lady… that it would kind of limit my possibilities for roles I could get. She hadn't really seen people like her on the screen," Williams said during a panel for Heated Rivalry.

In the duality between the two main characters of Heated Rivalry, Shane Hollander is more of the overachieving athlete with a flawless reputation in professional hockey. As the captain of the Montreal Meteors (named Montreal Voyageurs in the original novel), he is also adored by sports media outlets.

Shane grows up in a loving family — mom is Japanese-American, dad is Canadian — and struggles with his sexuality due to always being so responsible and committed to a hockey career that could be blown up to pieces if he were found out to be gay.

Instagram: @hudsonwilliamsofficial

Connor Storrie plays Ilya Rozanov.

Connor Storrie is also reaping the benefits of landing a breakout role on Heated Rivalry as the cocky and irresistible Ilya Rozanov. The 25-year-old actor is best known for playing Baxter in April X, a young inmate in Joker: Folie à Deux, Liam Hauser in Riley, and Tom in Headless Horseman.

In interviews, Storrie discussed the physical transformation that he went through in order to embody a character like Ilya, who's described in the book as being very different from how the actor actually is. Storrie also told Etalk that he's always been fascinated by Russian culture and language as a clear juxtaposition from how things are in America.

Ilya Rozanov is, in many ways, Shane Hollander's complete opposite. He comes off as someone who is entirely confident, and even arrogant at times, as captain of the Boston Raiders (named Boston Bears in the original novel). However, there are plenty of complications under that hard exterior.

A big part of Ilya's personality is influenced by having a cold, distant, dismissive family from Russia, a country that still has intense anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in place. Even though Ilya feels secure about his bisexuality and has hooked up with both men and women, he's very aware that coming out to the world could not only damage his career, but also his ability to travel back home to visit Russia.

Instagram: @connorstorrieofficial

The Heated Rivalry novel takes place between 2008 and 2017 — starting when Shane and Ilya meet for the first time at a championship and following them for almost a decade after that.

Reid's book can be sweet and heartfelt, but has received even more praise for not shying away from explicit sex scenes. The story also navigates the lives of closeted athletes in a way that feels modern and realistic: Public feuds, media frenzies, and endorsement deals are all tackled to varying degrees.

The pressures of performing masculinity, dealing with internalized homophobia, and constantly choosing between a better career or personal life are all realities that challenge these characters throughout the story. For instance, it doesn't take long for them to assign nicknames for each other on their phones. Ilya, on Shane's phone, is nicknamed "Lily." Shane, on Ilya's phone, is nicknamed "Jane."

​François Arnaud plays Scott Hunter.

François Arnaud has been an out bisexual man since 2020, when he disclosed his sexual orientation in a thoughtful social media post related to Bisexual Visibility Day. On the Heated Rivalry TV series, the actor plays Scott Hunter: A professional hockey player who happens to be the protagonist of Reid's first book in the Game Changers series of novels.

Over the years, Arnaud starred in projects such as Twinless, Blindspot, UnREAL, Yellowjackets, The Borgias, and Midnight, Texas, to name a few. In May 2024, Arnaud played a love interest in between Orville Peck and Noah Cyrus in the country singer's music video for "How Far Will We Take It?"

Instagram: @francoisarnaud

Robbie G.K. plays Kip Grady.

The Heated Rivalry television series also features an exciting appearance from Kip Grady, the main love interest in Game Changer whose romance with Scott Hunter is the main focus of Reid's first book. Here, the character is played by actor Robbie G.K.

Previously, Robbie G.K. was best known for playing Riley on Overcompensating, Simon Carpenter in Marry F*** Kill, Tempo 3 on Utopia Falls, and Charlie on The Next Step.

Instagram: @robsgk

Heated Rivalry episode 3 release date and story.

Heated Rivalry episode 3 centers on the relationship between Scott Hunter and Kip Grady, thus covering the events from the first book, titled Game Changer, in Reid's literary series. Overall, fans are pretty excited that book 1 is getting its own dedicated episode, meaning that Scott and Kip's love story won't just be on the sidelines all season long. Meanwhile, Scott has popped up a few times in the first two episodes of the show, and has been clocking the situationship between Shane and Ilya since episode 1.

To recap: Heated Rivalry episode 3 comes out Friday, December 5 on HBO Max, and will be led by actors François Arnaud (as Scott Hunter) and Robbie G.K. (as Kip Grady) in a one-episode story arc covering the events of the Game Changer novel that kickstarted this whole franchise.

Kolton Stewart plays Carter Vaughn.

Scott Hunter and Carter Vaughn are heavily featured in the first two episodes of Heated Rivalry as best friends who are constantly hanging out together. On the show, Carter is played by Kolton Stewart, otherwise known for starring in projects like Some Assembly Required, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, and Disenchanted, to name a few.

Instagram: @koltonstewart

Callan Potter plays Hayden Pike.

Hayden Pike isn't just another hockey player on Shane Hollander's team. In fact, he happens to be Shane's closest friend on Heated Rivalry. As the series goes on, try to keep an eye out for the dynamics between Hayden (as Shane's best friend) and Ilya (and Shane's love interest). Are these two guys going to get along right away as they examine their places in Shane's life? Stay tuned!

On Crave/HBO Max's Heated Rivalry TV series, the character is played by Callan Potter, who's been in Workin' Moms, Zombie Town, The Other Kingdom, Riot Girls, and Murdoch Mysteries, to name a few.

Instagram: @cal_potter

Harrison Browne plays Connors.

Harrison Browne — a hockey player who came out as a trans man in 2016 and went on to become the first out transgender professional hockey player in history — also stars on Heated Rivalry as a character named Connors.

Besides his appearance on the Crave/HBO Max series, 2025 has been a landmark year for Browne as director, writer, and star of the short film Pink Light about a former pro hockey player who gets to "time travels to his pre-transition past."

Instagram: @hbrowne24

​Christina Chang plays Yuna Hollander, and Dylan Walsh plays David Hollander.

Shane's parents, Yuna and David Hollander, are played by actors Christina Chang and Dylan Walsh on Heated Rivalry. While it's wonderful for Shane to have such supportive parents who are invested in his future, their intense encouragement often translates into an even higher level of pressure for Shane to be the best and biggest hockey star that he can possibly be… which complicates things for the character while navigating his sexuality and hiding his relationship with Ilya.

RELATED: 'Heated Rivalry' breaks the internet: Gays react to horny hockey show

Walsh's noteworthy acting credits include Dr. Sean McNamara on Nip/Tuck, General Sam Lane on The CW's Superman & Lois, Morgan on The Lake House, and Mayor Peter Chase on Blue Bloods. Meanwhile, Chang is best known for playing Dr. Audrey Lim on The Good Doctor, Taylor in Live Free or Die Hard, Dr. Sunny Macer on 24, and Megan Vannoy on Nashville.

Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova plays Svetlana Vetrova.

Svetlana Vetrova, played by Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova, is a friend and occasional lover in Ilya's life. In many ways, Svetlana represents an easier life that Ilya could have if he committed to a relationship with a woman who also came from Russia, was very independent, and didn't even have issues with Ilya's bisexuality.

Kharlamova's past acting credits include Robyn Hood, The Boys, Downsizing, and A Very Jonas Christmas Movie, among others.

Instagram: @daniela.xk

Kaden Connors plays Sasha.

Kaden Connors, who's starred in projects like The Wrong Paris, Foragers, Wild Cards, and His & Hers, has been cast to play Sasha on Heated Rivalry. During Ilya's first trip to Russia in the series, it doesn't take long for fans to see that Sasha can get quite handsy.

Instagram: @kadenconnors

​Yaroslav Poverlo plays Grigori Rozanov.

Yaroslav Poverlo plays Grigori Rozanov, Ilya's father, on Heated Rivalry. The character is properly introduced during Ilya's trip to Russia, and clues about Grigori seemingly suffering from memory loss are also introduced pretty early on the show.

As audiences had come to suspect, Grigori is indeed a pretty tough and conservative father with whom Ilya doesn't have the warmest relationship with… Even if the character wasn't experiencing any memory loss.

​Slavic Rogozine plays Alexei Rozanov.

Another character quickly introduced in the first two episodes of Heated Rivalry is Ilya's brother, Alexei Rozanov, played by actor Slavic Rogozine. This first scene between Ilya and Alexei already establishes the sibling as someone who is known to call asking for money.

On the other hand, the TV series immediately shows Alexei looking back at a woman caring for a baby, hinting that there's probably more depth to this story than just spending a lot of money and asking for more.

Instagram: @slavicrogozine

​Benjamin Roy plays JJ Dagenais.

Benjamin Roy portrays JJ Dagenais — another teammate of Shane's — on the show. Roy's acting credits prior to Heated Rivalry include Clouds, STAT, and Dinherio.

Instagram: @simplyzenben

Aidan Shaw plays Kolya.

Aidan Shaw, known his roles as Michael Deangelo in Youngblood and Jeff Ellis (young version) on Locke & Key, also plays one of Shane's teammates, named Kolya, on Heated Rivalry.

Instagram: @aidanshaww

Nadine Bhabha plays Elena.

Elena is Kip Grady's best friend on Heated Rivalry. She keeps it real, too, which is actually very valuable when it comes to matters of "Skip" (the fans' ship name for Scott and Kip).

The character, played by Nadine Bhabha, got lots of praise after breaking things down for both Kip and Scott, highlighting how their relationship is simply not working.

Instagram: @nadinebhabs

Brandon Ash Mohammed plays Shawn.

Another close friend of Kip's, Shawn, is played by the hilarious Brandon Ash-Mohammed.

The comedian and writer has contributed to several seasons of Canada's Drag Race, and even wrote in animated shows like Doomlands. Here, though, Ash-Mohammed simply stars as one of Kip's friends (who also occasionally works with him in catering for events).

Instagram: @brandonamcomedy

Bianca Nugara plays Maria.

Played by Bianca Nugara, Maria works at the same smoothie shop as Kip Grady. She is the first person to see him interacting with Scott Hunter, and can obviously tell that something is going on between them from the very beginning.

Though Kip intensely denies it and hides his relationship with Scott as much as possible, Maria is on the case, and she doesn't miss a single clue.

Instagram: @biancanugara

Matthew Finlan plays Kyle Swift.

Matthew Finlan plays Kyle Swift on the show, who seems like the preferred bartender for Kip Grady and his friends. He's as confused as Kip's friends upon seeing Kip so intensely invested in hockey… Seemingly out of nowhere.

Kyle doesn't say much, but he does play an integral part in Kip's early days with Scott Hunter.

Instagram: @matthewfinlan

Franco Lo Presti plays Cliff Marleau.

Played by Franco Lo Presti on Heated Rivalry, Cliff Marleau is one of Ilya's teammates who actually gets to bond with the Russian hockey star. Cliff is certainly a recurring character, but he does show up enough times as they travel together, as a team, to another game, or spend time chatting in in the locker room.

Considering that Ilya isn't a man of too many friends, it feels good to see that he's made at least one acquaintance/peer at this point.

Does Shane and Ilya's story end on Heated Rivalry?

Editor's note: Potential spoilers ahead.

After setting up the love story between Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander in the Heated Rivalry novel (book two in the overall publishing series), these characters get a sequel in The Long Game novel (book six, and the final installment in the Game Changers series of novels so far).

Author Rachel Reid not only wrote The Long Game as a sequel for Shane and Ilya, but also as the final book in this saga of stories about enemies-to-lovers in the world of hockey. As of this writing, it is unclear if the six-episode TV show on Crave Canada and HBO Max will reach the story explored in The Long Game.

Without giving too much away, that follow-up novel is known for giving Shane and Ilya's romance a more definitive ending… so stay tuned for more updates!