Warning: Light plot spoilers from Rachel Reid’s Game Changer book series ahead.
After months of eagerly awaiting any crumbs of information about the second season of Heated Rivalry — the beloved NSFW gay hockey romance — a slew of new cast members and the characters they are playing were recently announced.
But for those who haven’t read all of Rachel Reid’s Game Changer book series, which is Heated Rivalry’s source material, you might be scratching your head wondering who all of these brand-new people are.
The second season will bring Hudson Williams as closeted hockey golden boy Shane Hollander and Connor Storrie as bisexual Russian hockey star Ilya Rozanov back to TV screens alongside François Arnaud as hockey legend Scott Hunter and Robbie G.K. as the former smoothie barista Kip Grady. Joining them will be a total of seven new cast members who will be playing roles from the book series.
Season 2 will draw a lot of its story from The Long Game, the sixth book, which picks up a few years after events of Heated Rivalry, when Shane and Ilya are navigating their new loves as boyfriends while dating in secret. In this new era, Ilya is traded to a new team, the Ottawa Centaurs, to be closer to Shane, and the two are running their charity together while seeing each other in secret.
Not only are characters from The Long Game now cast, but the announcement also let fans know that characters from other books in the series will also appear in the TV adaptation.
But who are these new characters?
Troy Barrett
Played by Charlie Gillespie (Julie and the Phantoms, Splitsville)
Deeply closeted hockey forward Troy Barrett first shows up in Tough Guy and Common Goal as the lackey of the homophobic and sexist player Dallas Kent. Following sexual assault allegations against Dallas, a confrontation between the two men is leaked, and Troy is traded to the Ottawa Centaurs. This, coupled with a sudden breakup with his boyfriend, put Troy in a bad headspace when he first joined the team.
Ilya befriends Troy while they are playing on the same team, and the two men come out to each other: Troy as gay and Ilya as bisexual.
Role Model, the fifth book in the series, follows the grumpy/sunshine romance between Troy and the Centaurs' social media manager, Harris Drover.
Harris Drover
Played by Justice Smith (I Saw the TV Glow, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t)
Harris Drover is the bubbly and outgoing social media manager for the Centaurs, where he falls for Troy, the team’s grumpy forward. Harris quickly becomes a beloved fixture of the Centaurs locker room as he creates videos for the struggling team’s social media presence.
Harris grew up on the Drover Family U-Pick Farm, an apple orchard that has been in his family for generations. He was also born with a rare congenital heart defect called truncus arteriosus. He has had to have major heart surgery, and the condition kept him from ever playing hockey himself despite loving the game.
He is also responsible for adopting a team dog named Chiron, who Ilya falls in love with and inspires him to adopt one of his own, named Anya.
Vanessa
Played by Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek, The End of Sex)
Vanessa doesn’t have any interactions with Shane or Ilya, but she appears in Tough Guy, the third book in the series, which follows the relationship between anxious NHL player Ryan Price and confident musician Fabian Salah.
Vanessa is a feminist lesbian who works in a sex shop and runs a sex toy review blog. She becomes a close confidante for both Troy and Ryan in the book. The actors who will play Ryan and Fabian haven’t been announced yet, but Ryan was briefly mentioned in the first season when Shane and Ilya talk about him being frequently traded.
Luca Haas
Played by Edvin Ryding (Young Royals, 28 Years Later)
Luca Haas is the rookie right winger for the Centaurs who appears in The Long Game as one of Ilya’s teammates. Lucas has a schoolboy crush on Ilya growing up, and hero-worships him once they are on the same team. In his childhood bedroom, he even had a poster of Ilya from when he played on the Boston Bears hanging on the wall.
Luca is from Switzerland and gets some emotional support from Ilya when he admits to feeling homesick. Luca is also an artist who draws pictures for the kids when the team visits the local children’s hospital.
Wyatt Hayes
Played by Robert Naylor (Hair of the Bear, Alice in Borderland)
As the goalie on the Centaurs, Wyatt Hayes plays the role of the supportive friend in Tough Guy, Role Model, and The Long Game. He was originally a player on the Toronto Guardians, where he became friends with Ryan Price and played with Troy Barrett. Wyatt is a vocal ally who supports his queer sister. Wyatt is married to Lisa Hayes, a doctor at a children’s hospital.
Farah Jalali
Played by Sabrina Jalees (Farming for Love, Roast Battle Canada)
Farah Jalali appears in The Long Game as Shane and Ilya’s sports agent. Shane comes out to her before his team, and when the two men’s relationship is outed, she is the first person they call. Farah reassures them that she will support them even if the hockey commissioner doesn’t.
Tarek
Played by Priyanka (Canada’s Drag Race)
Tarek is one of Fabian’s friends in Tough Guy and shares an apartment with Vanessa in Toronto’s Gay Village. He works as an office assistant at an immigration services organization. He hosts brunch at their apartment every Sunday, where everyone brings waffle toppings and cheap champagne.
Tarek is also responsible for Ryan finding out that Fabian is in love with him, thanks to a drunken admission.
Heated Rivalry season 2 is slated to debut in April 2027 on Crave and HBO Max. Here's everything else to know about the upcoming season.
