The main characters of the hugely popular series have been influenced by NHL stars.
Ice hockey season is in full swing around the world, but at the same time, the general public has found itself at the edge of a completely different ice hockey drama.
A new series from the streaming service HBO Max Heated Rivalry has become a big topic of conversation in North America, and it has not remained just an internal phenomenon among the sports people.
The six-part series combines top-level hockey, years of smoldering competition and hidden romance. It is based on the author by Rachel Reid to the popular novel of the same name and follows the lives of two top players, Shane Hollander and Ilja Rozanov, and the secret relationship between the two.
The Canadian drama series premiered in the United States and Australia at the end of November. It has also attracted the attention of quite straightforward people and with their passionate sex scenes.
Heated Rivalry is coming ashore According to Yle also to Finland.
From enemies to lovers
The series is about two professional ice hockey players who start their careers at the same time as newcomers to the Huippuliiga. Shane and Ilja are initially seen as fierce opponents, whose encounters in the rink spark sparks from the very first meters.
In the middle of the confrontation, a secret relationship emerges, which the men try to keep hidden from their teammates, the media and the entire puck world. The story unfolds over seasons and years as they meet each other in secret and struggle with whether a relationship can ever be more than a hidden secret.
The series moves smoothly between locker rooms, arenas and hotel rooms and brings out what it’s like to live the life of an elite athlete when one of the most important things is to be kept a secret.
NHL rivalry in the background
Although the story of the Canadian Shane and the Russian Ilya in the series is fiction, the competitive setting at its core is loosely based on real hockey history.
Author Reid has said that he drew inspiration from one of the NHL’s most famous confrontations, Sidney Crosby and Aleksandr Ovechkin from years of competitive partnership.
Crosby was the number one pick in the NHL draft in 2005. Ovetškin, in turn, a year earlier. PDO
Crosby and Ovechkin were drafted to the NHL in back-to-back years in 2004 and 2005, and their rivalry as stars of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals quickly became the most talked about topic in the entire league.
– I never base my characters directly on real people. One clear inspiration for the series was the extremely entertaining confrontation between Crosby and Ovechkin, but influences also came from other sports confrontations, fiction and themes of forbidden love, Reid wrote on their website.
Back shadow
However, according to Reid, the characters’ similarities to real stars remain at the surface level. Ilya is a Russian star player, but otherwise the similarities to Ovechkin are minimal.
Reid told the Canadian in an interview for CP24that Ilja has been influenced by several spectacular European and Russian top players.
– Jaromír Jagr, Teemu Selänne, Ilya Kovalchuk and later also Ovechkin all act as a single entity and a clear inspiration for Ilya’s character, Reid described and mentioned that these players have been loud, confident and explosive personalities on the rink.
Jágr and Selänne met several times in the NHL. EPA / AOP
Shane, on the other hand, represents the opposite. According to Reid, he shows “good boy” style captain players who bear responsibility and act as role models.
– Shane has been influenced by, for example Sidney Crosby, Wayne Gretzky and Paul Kariya. Such leading figures, Reid said.
The former hockey player criticized
The series has also received critical feedback from the hockey community. Brock McGilliswho is considered the first openly gay professional hockey player, is wary of the series.
The 42-year-old goalkeeper, who has already finished his career, said For PinkNewsthat he doesn’t think the series will encourage any current players to come out.
– No one thinks that “now this came out and I’m ready to tell too”. That just doesn’t happen. It’s even more likely to have the opposite effect, McGillis said.
He emphasized that he liked the series as a spectator, but doubted that it would reach hockey circles.
– I don’t think many so-called “hockey dudes” are even watching this. And if they do, I don’t think they’ll talk about it in a positive light.
McGillis also revealed that the first episode of the series triggered a strong anxiety response in him as it reminded him of his own youth.
– I was afraid. I was in a relationship with a man for three years and no one in my life knew about it. We even had an alias on the phone in case one of his friends saw.
McGillis pointed out that although he considers hockey players to be basically good people, he would not allow his own children to play the sport regardless of their sexual orientation.
– The language, behavior and attitudes of the costume booths are sometimes homophobic. It starts really young and continues throughout life. You are programmed to think that everyone will hate you and you will lose your career.