The NHL Is Releasing Its Own ‘Hot’ Fanfic. Romance Lovers Hate It

For better or for worse, romance lovers have never been hornier for hockey. Now, the National Hockey League wants to cash in. As part of its new “Hot for Hockey,” campaign, the NHL is rolling out romance novel-inspired short stories starring the league’s players on audiobook platforms. According to the Sports Business Journal, the league contacted popular hockey romance writers to write and narrate the 60 to 90 second stories, and will tap creators on BookTok, the romance-heavy literary subculture on TikTok, to promote the content. The first batch of short stories, which dropped this week, feature players including the Philadelphia Flyers’ Trevor Zegras, the Carolina Hurricanes’ Sebastian Aho, and the Las Vegas Golden Knights’ Jack Eichel. They’re written by Pucking Wrong author C.R. Jane and more closely resemble back-cover summaries than actual romance novels. And, despite the nods to genre tropes, the players aren’t paired with romantic partners. Much more boringly, the stories appear to be a bid to get people to watch the actual games. The entirety of The Summer I Turned Gritty with Trevor Zegras is as follows: “Trevor Zegras came to Philly looking for a fresh start. But after battling with Pittsburgh in the playoffs last year, he found out how gritty things could get. One heated summer later, Philly’s pretty boy is looking a whole lot grittier.” Not all romance readers are thrilled about the campaign. Some argue that it makes players targets for sexual harassment. Others see the stories as cheap pandering that fails to engage with female and LGBTQ hockey fans’ concerns about homophobia and toxic masculinity in the sport. “I cannot begin to describe the depths of my rage that this is actually happening,” Emily Rath, a best-selling hockey romance novelist, posted on Threads. “Yes, the NHL contacted me to participate. And I have never turned down an offer so fast.” “They See Dollar Signs” Romance novels focused on hockey players have been on the rise for years—the New York Public Library first highlighted the trend in 2019. Hockey romance burst into the mainstream with the massive success of romance novel-turned-streaming series Heated Rivalry, followed by Off Campus. Jon Weinstein, a spokesperson for the NHL, tells WIRED in a statement that the campaign is a “playful nod to something that’s clearly going on in the cultural zeitgeist.” “We were very proud to partner with real hockey authors, illustrators and voice actors in the space, and we’re grateful the players were willing to have a little fun with it too,” he says. Yet many hockey romance fans applauded Rath and Chelsea Curto, the author of the steamy D.C. Stars series, for their refusal to participate in the campaign. Rath, whose Jacksonville Rays series recounts a myriad of sexual relationships involving a fictional NHL team, said on Threads that the league’s slide deck for the campaign was filled with jokes she considered to be mockery of the genre, as well as what she alleged were AI cover renders. Curto also clocked the AI graphics, writing on Threads that it was probably for the best that she declined to be involved, as her books “can be very critical of the league.” “They’re just encouraging the idea that women only care about hockey if it’s packaged like a romance novel,” Rath posted. “And they’re using popular authors and our credibility to launder their tarnished brand and lure in our readers.” In Rath’s opinion, the NHL has failed to take accountability for or take action to address “racism, homophobia, and misogyny” in the league—a view shared by several hockey fans who spoke with WIRED. Lacey Conine, the founder of Double Hockey Stix—a clothing brand aimed at underrepresented hockey fans—says she initially thought news of the romance-centric campaign was satire. “I had so many comments,” she says, “of people just being like, ‘This is disgusting. We hate this. What is this? How is the NHL this tone deaf?’” In its current iteration, Conine says, the campaign feels like the NHL is “mocking you, and pandering to you, and making fun of you,” while failing to address fans’ concerns about aspects of hockey culture that can be hostile for fans that break the straight, white, male mold. “I think that they see dollar signs,” Conine says. “They're trying to bring in Heated Rivalry fans—and then canceling Pride Nights. That tells you where they're at.” While NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters earlier this year that “every team does a Pride Night,” a handful of teams have moved away from themed nights that celebrate the LGBTQ community. That includes the Dallas Stars, which will not host a Pride Night this season, the team’s first time in five years without one. The Stars—which will host a night focused on romantic fantasy novel Iron Flame—did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment. A portion of the Iron Flame event’s proceeds will go to the Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on suicide prevention among LGBTQ youth. The NHL banned players from wearing specialty-themed uniforms, such as Pride sweaters and tape, in June 2023. The decision on tape was later reversed, with the league emphasizing that it does not single out Pride specifically in its ban. The NHL also highlighted other partnerships with the LBGTQ groups, such as the annual Pride Cup. Several female hockey fans say the NHL’s attempt to cater to romance readers falls flat because of how the sport’s governing bodies approach sexual assault allegations. Echo, a 35-year-old fan of the Montreal Canadiens who asked to be referred to by her first name to protect her privacy, says she believes the league aims to use “romanticized narratives to whitewash the insidious aspects of hockey culture and its players.” The Globe and Mail reported in 2022 that Hockey Canada, the sport’s national governing body, had used players’ registration fees to build funds that covered certain expenses—among them, sexual assault claims, as well as other lawsuits. (A spokesperson for Hockey Canada, Jeremy Knight, said in an email that the organization has taken “considerable action to help drive systemic change” in the sport over the last four years.) Last year, five former Canadian Junior Hockey players were deemed eligible to play in the NHL after being acquitted in a high-profile sexual assault case. Three currently play in the league. Players Can Face Sexual Harassment NHL teams’ past hockey romance-centric campaigns have also raised concerns about the sexual harassment of players. In 2023, a player on the Seattle Kraken, Alexander Wennberg, and his wife, Felicia, posted about an influx in “predatory and exploiting” comments after the team’s social-media account published content aimed at BookTok. The NHL said that players approved all content for the new campaign, which will be exclusively focused on hockey. (The NHL Players’ Association did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment.) Still, Conine and other fans question if romance-inspired marketing focusing on specific players fuels an uncomfortable brand of sexualization and parasocial relationships. “Fans are going to do what fans are going to do in their spaces and their time,” Conine says. But, when the league is “literally creating these narratives—I think there's a line there. And, I think they crossed it.” Jess Rauchberg, a lecturer in the school of media and communication at the University of Leeds, notes that the campaign is essentially league-approved real-person fiction. Hockey RPF has existed since at least the late ’90s and often involves romantically or sexually coupling hockey players with other players. “Breaking the fourth wall”—discussing RPF outside of fandom spaces or with players—has historically been seen as poor form. But as the NHL’s marketing efforts increasingly encourage fans to feel a personal connection with players, Rauchberg says, the division between RPF and marketing material has blurred. A hockey fan herself, Rauchberg believes that hockey RPF and romance are popular because they allow fans to imagine a reality where their desires are represented. Sometimes that desire is for players to make out. Other times, it’s a league where players push back against rape culture and toxic masculinity. “I describe them as fantasy novels,” Rauchberg says. “In real life, the players probably aren't like Ilya Rozanov, consent king.”