Canadian hockey drama ‘Heated Rivalry’ star Hudson Williams made his first appearance on late-night TV with Jimmy Fallon.
A new romantic drama from Crave is turning up the heat and shining a light on LGBTQ2S+ representation in hockey.
“Heated Rivalry” tells the fictional love story of two professional male hockey players who navigate a queer relationship in the shadows of a hyper-masculine sport. The show is an adaptation of a best-selling novel byRachel Reid.
“Hockey has been probably the most masculine-portrayed sport in Canadian society for a really long time,” said Ann Pegoraro, the Lang Chair in sport management at the University of Guelph. “And to have this kind of a romance story portrayed inside the context of men’s professional hockey at the highest level will have an impact.”
With the portrayal of Asian-Canadian hockey player Shane Hollander and Russian Ilya Rozanov, Pegoraro said the show shifts conversations about inclusivity in sport culture.
“I know many people are working at shifting it in the grassroots, but it’s going to take a long time to trickle up to the professional level,” she said.
Etobicoke, Ont. The film studio and sound stage where scenes that couldn’t be replicated in Ontario, like the Las Vegas rooftop scene or the Tampa beach scene, was located in Etobicoke, Ont. (Crave/Sabrina Lantos)
Programs like You Can Play are leading the charge — with a goal of making sure everyone feels seen and safe in sports.
“While the representation itself doesn’t change hockey overnight, it does change who feels welcome to step on the ice tomorrow,” said Ren Dawe, You Can Play’s education and programs director. “And I think that that’s really the biggest success of ‘Heated Rivalry.’”
The show also aims to bring community together.
“I think it really means a lot to LGBTQ+ fans who haven’t always felt welcomed by the NHL,” said Harrison Browne.
Browne stars in the series as Rozanov’s (played by Connor Storrie) teammate. Before he retired from professional hockey, Browne came out as the first openly transgender player.
“It was just a really validating process to be able to take place as just a man in society, post my hockey career,” Browne said.
Local connection
The theme of representation in the show isn’t limited to the queer love story off the ice.
Scenes from the show on the ice were filmed at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph, Ont.
“It’s always great when you watch something on TV that resonates with you because it’s in your local community. I think it makes it mean more,” said Pegoraro.
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Hot new hockey romance “Heated Rivalry” has dominated social media this holiday season. Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie star as rival Major League Hockey (MLH) players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, who fall into a years-long relationship outside of the rink. Based on the “Game Changers” book series by Nova Scotia author Rachel Reid, these are all the locations across Toronto and Ontario where the hit Crave series filmed. (Crave/Sabrina Lantos)
McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont. In episode 1, when Ilya and Shane meet for the first time against the backdrop of the International Prospect Cup in December 2008, filming was done outside of McMaster University’s Burridge Gym. Another one of the university’s gyms was used in episode 4. Different areas of McMaster’s Pulse Fitness Centre served as the gyms Ilya and Shane workout in, in a montage scene at the top of the episode. (McMaster University)
Sleeman Centre, Guelph, Ont. Across all six episodes, any scenes filmed on the ice, whether for an MLH game, the Olympics, an All-Star game, or any shots of characters watching the action from their seats, were done in Guelph’s Sleeman Centre, home of the Guelph Storm. (Crave/Sabrina Lantos)
FirstOntario Concert Hall, Hamilton, Ont. A number of scenes were filmed at the FirstOntario Concert Hall on Summers Lane in Hamilton. When Ilya and Shane present an award together at the MLH Awards in episode 2, and when Scott Hunter, another gay hockey player who episode 3 is centred around, gives his MVP speech in episode 6, those scenes take place on the concert hall’s stage. (Google)
FirstOntario Concert Hall, Hamilton, Ont. The infamous “wow, genetic” bathroom scene from episode 2 was also filmed within the concert hall, as was the post MLH Draft party in episode 1 and the post MLH Awards party in episode 2. (Google)
SoHo Hotel, Toronto, Ont. Located at 318 Wellington Street West, SoHo Hotel served as the backdrop for Shane’s hotel room after the MLH Draft, before he heads down to the gym where he ends up going pedal-to-pedal with Ilya on the stationary bikes. (SoHo Hotel)
Ciao Bella, Hamilton, Ont. When Shane meets his parents, Yuna and David, to eat in episode 1, that was filmed inside Italian restaurant Ciao Bella on Augusta Street in Hamilton. It’s the same restaurant the trio eat at again in episode 4, post tuna melt scene. (Ciao Bella Hamilton)
Sheraton Hotel, Hamilton, Ont. This hotel is where Ilya sits in bed and watches Shane give a post-game interview on TV after they played each other for the first time in their rookie MLH season, as members of the Montreal Metros and Boston Raiders. The hotel is also used for the follow-up scene where Ilya gets in an argument with his brother on the phone, and again in episode 5 when Ilya tells his teammate he wants to go out to a club while they’re in Montreal, QC. (Marriott)
Park Hyatt Hotel, Toronto, Ont. The Park Hyatt Hotel on 4 Avenue Road in Toronto is featured several times throughout season 1. The restaurant located inside the Park Hyatt, Joni, is seen during the post MLH Awards party in episode 1 after Shane wins Rookie of the Year. (Crave/Sabrina Lantos)
Park Hyatt Hotel, Toronto, Ont. The hotel, specifically the Presidential Suite, was used again in episode 3 multiple times as the setting for Scott’s apartment that Kip temporarily moves into with him. (Crave/Sabrina Lantos)
Dundurn Castle, Hamilton, Ont. Scenes during the off-season where Ilya is running through Moscow, Russia were filmed in front of Hamilton’s historical Dundurn Castle. In episode 4, when Shane and his teammate Hayden are also seen running in Montreal, those scenes were filmed along a trail behind Dundurn Castle. (National Trust for Canada)
88 Rocmary Place, Vaughan, Ont. In episode 2, after Russia loses at the Sochi 2014 Olympics, the backdrop for both Ilya’s home and a party thrown by Russian diplomats is filmed inside a 24,000 sq. ft. mansion on Rocmary Place near Weston Road in Vaughan. (Zolo.ca)
88 Rocmary Place, Vaughan, Ont. The scene in the bathroom at that same party with Ilya’s friends Svetlana and Sasha was also filmed inside the home. (Crave/Sabrina Lantos)
88 Rocmary Place, Vaughan, Ont. The extravagant house is used again as Ilya’s house in episode 5 when he returns home to Russia after his father’s death. (Crave/Sabrina Lantos)
Relay Coffee Roasters, Hamilton, Ont. In episode 3, the smoothie shop where Kip, Scott’s boyfriend, works is actually Relay Coffee Roasters on King William Street in Hamilton. It was filmed both inside and outside of the cafe. Before Scott arrives at the smoothie shop, he is also filmed running along King William, with Mexican restaurant The Mule visible in the background. (Doors Open Ontario)
The Winchester Arms, Dundas, Ont. The bar where Kip and his friends go to hangout and watch Scott’s hockey games, and where Kip has dinner with his friend Elena in episode 3 was filmed inside of British pub The Winchester Arms in Dundas. (Dundas BIA)
Gore Park, Hamilton, Ont. The scene in which Kip is shown walking around downtown New York when he finds a pair of banana socks at a bodega that he buys for Scott was actually filmed in Hamilton’s Gore Park at the corner of King and James streets. (Reddit)
Augusta and John streets, Hamilton, Ont. When Kip and Scott leave an event they run into each other at, they leave through a back alleyway that was located on John Street in Hamilton. The Mexican restaurant the pair planned to eat at afterwards was shot out front of the now closed Paloma on Augusta Street, also in Hamilton. (Google)
Liuna Station, Hamilton, Ont. The hockey fundraiser that Scott brings Kip to in episode 3 was shot inside the banquet and convention centre, Liuna Station. When Scott dances with Elena at that same fundraiser, it was also filmed there. (Crave/Sabrina Lantos)
Mansion, Hamilton, Ont. Located on Hamilton’s King Street West, the sprawling, multi-level Mansion nightclub was used to film the Russian club scenes that take place during a montage at the start of episode 4. (Eventective)
Mansion, Hamilton, Ont. The club was featured again later in the episode as the setting for the viral “All the Things She Said” moment where Ilya and Shane see each other on a night out in Montreal after Shane starts dating movie star Rose Landry. (Crave/Sabrina Lantos)
66 Weirs Lane, Dundas, Ont. An 8,019 sq ft. home for sale in the Hamilton community of Dundas was used as Iyla’s Boston mansion at multiple points throughout the season. Most of episode 4 takes place in the home, during a pivotal day for Ilya and Shane. (Sotheby's International Realty)
66 Weirs Lane, Dundas, Ont. The home’s private gym stood in for the hotel gym where Ilya and Shane ride stationary bikes and talk following the MLH Draft. (Sotheby's International Realty)
Le Tambour Tavern, Hamilton, Ont. A tavern on the corner of James Street North and Murray Street does double duty as the Montreal bar where Shane meets Rose in episode 4 and the restaurant where the pair break up at the beginning of episode 5. (Crave/Sabrina Lantos)
Lavelle, Toronto, Ont. The rooftop bar and pool at Lavelle on King Street West in Toronto masqueraded as Tampa, Fla., serving as the hotel bar and pool during the All-Star game weekend in episode 5. (Crave/Sabrina Lantos)
Trocadero Restaurant, Hamilton, Ont. Located on Barton Street, the now closed Trocadero Restaurant was used to shoot the dinner scene when Ilya fights with his brother in Russia following their father’s funeral in episode 5. (Google)
Pink Tunnel at Shamrock Park, Hamilton, Ont. The extended monologue where Ilya speaks only in Russian to Shane over the phone following his father’s funeral was shot in a graffitied, pink-walled tunnel in a Hamilton park. (X/Reddit)
Barlochan Cottage, Muskoka Lakes, Ont. A gorgeous, 2,500 sq. ft. cottage stood in as Shane’s Quebec getaway where Ilya comes to spend the summer in the final episode of the season. The entire episode is set there, both inside and outside and on the lake. (Trevor McIvor Architect Inc.)
Etobicoke, Ont. The film studio and sound stage where scenes that couldn’t be replicated in Ontario, like the Las Vegas rooftop scene or the Tampa beach scene, was located in Etobicoke. (Crave/Sabrina Lantos)
Crave, which is owned by CTV parent company Bell Media, has greenlit the show for a second season. A release date has yet to be announced.
