{"id":246215,"date":"2025-10-28T11:31:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T11:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/246215\/"},"modified":"2025-10-28T11:31:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T11:31:09","slug":"two-nhl-players-openly-falling-in-love-in-real-life-thats-a-fantasy-not-in-this-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/246215\/","title":{"rendered":"Two NHL players openly falling in love? In real life, that\u2019s a fantasy. Not in this series"},"content":{"rendered":"

Imagine a world where the two best players in the National Hockey League weren\u2019t just rivals, they were also truly, madly, deeply in love with each other.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If this seems like an impossible scenario to conjure while thinking about a league that has not had a single openly gay player take the ice in its nearly 108 years in operation, fear not: Halifax author Rachel Reid has done the work of bringing it to life for you.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In her novel Heated Rivalry, soon to be a television series on Crave, a Canadian NHL star begins a star-crossed romance with a Russian rival that threatens to change both their lives \u2014 and the game \u2014 forever.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The novel, and Reid\u2019s seven other books, are situated firmly in the genre of hockey romance, which has exploded in popularity<\/a> in recent years.<\/p>\n

WATCH | Halifax author\u00a0imagines\u00a0a world where gay NHL players thrive in the league:\"\"<\/p>\n

This Halifax author’s popular hockey romance book is being made into a TV series<\/p>\n

Rachel Reid is making a splash with her bestselling series of hockey romance novels. Her most popular book, Heated Rivalry, is being made into a television show that premieres in November. But it has one big twist: it\u2019s a romance between two male NHL stars. Andrew Sampson reports.<\/p>\n

The books are sexy, and often quite explicit, but what makes Reid\u2019s work transgressive is how she writes into existence a world where queer men\u2019s professional hockey players are able to be out and thrive at the game they love, something that is still mostly in the realm of fantasy in real life.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cI was just being hopeful,\u201d Reid said this week from her home in Bedford, N.S. \u201c[My first novel] was my own kind of \u2026 best case scenario if, like, a player did come out and in a way that he completely owned and it was a joyous moment for him and it was celebrated.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"ARachel Reid’s eight novels all focus on romances involving LGBTQ hockey players. (Andrew Sampson\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Reid says she began writing these queer hockey romances as a way to transform her complicated love of hockey into something that challenged the sport\u2019s more problematic elements, including reports of homophobia, racism, and sexual violence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of times that sport has broken my heart that had nothing to do with what was happening on the ice,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the books are kind of like a little bit therapeutic for me and a way of pushing back a little.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

No openly gay players in the NHL<\/p>\n

As of 2025, the NHL remains the only major North American men\u2019s sports league <\/a>that\u2019s never had an openly gay player compete in regular competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time that I wrote it, I thought, well, surely maybe even before this is published, there\u2019ll be a player that comes out,” said Reid. “But it still hasn\u2019t happened many years later.”<\/p>\n

\"ALuke Prokop, seen here in a file photo, became the first openly gay player with an active NHL contract in 2021. (Vaughn Ridley\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

In 2021, Luke Prokop became the first active player under NHL contract<\/a> to come out as gay, but he\u2019s yet to compete in the league.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He currently plays for the Bakersfield Condors in the American Hockey League.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kurt Weaver, executive director of You Can Play, an organization that works with organizations like the NHL to make sports more inclusive for 2SLGBTQ+ athletes, said that progress is happening, even if it isn\u2019t always linear.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The NHL faced pushback after it banned all players from wearing themed jerseys<\/a> in pre-game warm-ups after several players refused to wear Pride jerseys in 2023, but Weaver said the fact that most players supported the program is proof of how far the league has come. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we got started, zero [NHL] players were wearing Pride jerseys. And even if one wore it, it was the biggest win we could ever imagine in our lives. And now, just 10 to 12 years later, all these players are wearing these jerseys, minus a few who ended up not wearing it,” he said.<\/p>\n

Queer-friendly hockey groups are growing<\/p>\n

Over the past number of years, there\u2019s been a grassroots movement in many cities across Canada to create spaces for 2SLGBTQ+ hockey players to learn and return to the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AThe Halifax Mussels, a hockey organization for 2SLGBTQ+ people and allies, pose for a photo after a game. (Submitted by Kathleen Higgins)<\/p>\n

Chuck Dauphinee said he formed the Halifax Mussels, a hockey organization that is open to 2SLGBTQ+ community members and allies, because he wanted to create a space that was more accepting to people on the margins.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was my first sport, but I got scared out of it at five years old, and it took me a while to get the confidence to reintegrate myself as a player in hockey,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Halifax Mussels [give] people, like, an avenue for players to return to the sport. Some had never tried it, but some had, like, kind of got scared out in high school or university, and it basically gave them the courage to get back into it.”<\/p>\n

Some players with the Mussels are even fans of Reid\u2019s series \u2014 eagerly consuming each novel when it comes out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething I appreciate about Rachel’s writing is that the queerness and the hockey just exists,\u201d said Kathleen Higgins.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gay readers connecting with books<\/p>\n

Reid estimates her books have sold hundreds of thousands of copies, a number that\u2019s only poised to grow with the release of the Heated Rivalry TV series.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her fans come from all over the world, and while a big portion of these readers are women, she also regularly gets emails from gay men.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe books really resonated with them and men who played other team sports especially, and also \u2026 men who maybe got bullied by hockey players and have been carrying a lot of resentment towards hockey in general for a long time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

As Reid acknowledges, there\u2019s plenty of work to be done to change the game of hockey to make it more inclusive for everyone. But if her novels serve as a gateway to getting people to think more critically about the difficulties that 2SLGBTQ+ athletes might face, that\u2019s a win.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it stops one person from \u2026 thinking that queer men can\u2019t play hockey \u2014 because I think a lot of people do think that \u2014 that there just aren\u2019t any in hockey because it wouldn\u2019t be possible \u2026 I hope that the books help with that, if nothing else.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AFans of Rachel Reid’s novels regularly send her trinkets and homemade art. (Andrew Sampson)<\/p>\n

In women\u2019s professional sports, though difficulties for 2SLGBTQ+ players have hardly been eliminated, there have been tremendous strides made in recent years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For fans of the PWHL<\/a> and the WNBA for instance, it\u2019s now a familiar sight to see players who are openly gay and in relationships with a teammate or rival players.<\/p>\n

In that world, the scenario presented in Heated Rivalry is no longer the stuff of fantasy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

WATCH | The trailer for Heated Rivalry:<\/p>\n

Barring a total statistical anomaly, there have almost surely been gay NHL players who simply haven\u2019t been comfortable \u2013 for valid reasons \u2013 coming out of the closet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But until one does, the status quo will remain.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Reid is looking forward to seeing what happens when the TV series based on Heated Rivalry premieres in November.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad the story\u2019s reaching a larger audience,\u201d she said. \u201cI think in Canada, especially, it will be hard to ignore this show. It\u2019s going to be talked about, and I\u2019m sure that it\u2019s going to get a lot of pushback too, and I\u2019m fully prepared for any backlash it might get.\u201d <\/p>\n

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