When Harrison Browne landed a minor role in the Canadian TV show “Heated Rivalry,” he was excited to take part in a project that would get people talking. A show about gay hockey players, “Heated Rivalry” tackles a complex topic in the fabric of male hockey culture, which, as Browne sees it, is due for a “reckoning.”

But even Browne, now working as an actor after being the first pro hockey player to come out as transgender, couldn’t fathom how popular the show would become.

“I don’t think anybody expected this,” Browne told The Athletic. “It’s a pop culture phenomenon right now.”

“Heated Rivalry,” shown on HBO Max and Canadian television streaming platform Crave, follows two fictional male hockey players, Japanese-Canadian Shane Hollander (played by Hudson Williams) and Russian Ilya Rozanov (played by Connor Storrie), who develop a secret romance while fostering a public rivalry throughout their hockey careers. Browne has a cameo appearance in the fourth episode as Rozanov’s teammate. In real life, Browne underwent a medical transition after playing three seasons in the National Women’s Hockey League.

friendly reminder that harrison browne is in tonight’s episode (the first out transgender hockey player)🥳🥳

representation matters!! pic.twitter.com/xCr5qBVRMT

— ev✨ (@hollanovloon) December 11, 2025

Little by little, the show has entered mainstream hockey culture. It raises questions and criticisms about the sport’s failures when it comes to the inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community. But could the rising popularity of “Heated Rivalry” lead to a change in male hockey culture? It has at least opened the door for conversations to be had.

Montrealer Jacob Tierney, a writer and director known for his work on the popular Canadian program “Letterkenny” and its spinoff series “Shoresy,” adapted the first two books for the television series. There’s limited hockey action in the show, which focuses more on the relationship, banter and love-making between its main characters.

“This show is for the girls, the gays and theys,” former pro hockey goalie and LGBTQ+ advocate Brock McGillis said.

“Heated Rivalry” is now Crave’s most successful original debut series of all time, and it has already been renewed for a second season. Fans clamored for Emmy consideration, but the program is ineligible because it is fully financed in Canada. (Crave is owned by Canadian telecommunications conglomerate Bell Canada.) Two of the series’ episodes are ranked among IMDb’s highest-rated television episodes of all time, surpassing installments from shows such as “Game of Thrones,” “Better Call Saul” and “The Mandalorian,” among others. Mega pop star Miley Cyrus wants to make music for the show’s next season.

Although current NHL players have been quiet about the show, the Boston Bruins referenced the show in a social media post during a game against the Montreal Canadiens — the main characters play for fictional Boston- and Montreal-based teams in the show. The Canadiens played a trailer for the show during the intermission of their Pride Night game in early December.

Heated rivalry 🔥💪 pic.twitter.com/8898dRoI47

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) December 24, 2025

Fans are wearing shirts referencing the show at NHL games. And in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter published late last month, an NHL representative called the show “the most unique driver for creating new fans.”

Actor François Arnaud, who plays Scott Hunter, a veteran hockey player at the end of his career who pursues a relationship with a male barista, was interviewed by RDS during an intermission of the Canadiens Pride Night game.

“If you asked me what the demographic was going to be for this show, I wasn’t even sure,” said Arnaud, who spoke to Variety on the red carpet of this year’s Critics Choice Awards. “I was like, definitely people like women who love the books. Maybe LGBT people. But the fact that hockey players are watching the show? The fact that the failing NHL is using us to bring people in?

“I just hope that it brings on actual change in the league and that it has a real influence on how they treat their own players and the possibility of that. Because it’s not, historically, the most open association.”

François Arnaud of #HeatedRivalry talks about how hockey players are watching the show and jokes, "the fact that the 'failing' NHL is using us to bring people in." #CriticsChoicepic.twitter.com/ccewQuA93J

— Variety (@Variety) January 5, 2026

Despite the limited on-ice hockey scenes, the sport is clearly the show’s backdrop. It showcases dressing room dynamics among players, the pressures of being a professional hockey player, and elements of their high-profile lifestyles, all as multiple characters navigate same-sex relationships and the sport’s complicated history with their acceptance — mirroring elements of real life.

The NHL banned Pride Night jerseys and rainbow-colored tape in October 2023, months after some players opted out of their team’s Pride Night festivities. After then-Arizona Coyotes defenseman Travis Dermott defied the ban by covering his stick in rainbow tape during a game, the NHL reversed its tape ban. But special jerseys still can’t be worn in commemoration of specialty nights, including Pride Night.

There have never been any openly gay players in the NHL. Bakersfield Condors defenseman Luke Prokop, who came out as gay in July 2021, was under contract with the NHL’s Nashville Predators until 2024-25.

The Edmonton native said his experiences with every pro hockey team he’s played with have been “positive,” with teams being “accommodating” and “welcoming” at every turn. But Prokop is mindful of when to use his platform and status to call out homophobia, while hoping players and teams can see him for the hockey player he is without ruffling “too many feathers.”

“I want to make sure I’m doing everything in my power to make sure that I get, hopefully, an opportunity to get in the NHL one day,” Prokop said. “With hockey and the LGBTQ community, it’s tricky. You don’t want to do too much to draw attention to it, where some teams might say, ‘Oh, we view that as a distraction. So, we don’t want them on our team.’ There’s been instances where that’s come up.”

What doesn’t help players such as Prokop is hockey’s conservative nature, which restricts individuality in the name of conformity. McGillis regularly speaks to high school students across Canada about how to make hockey environments more inclusive spaces.

“They can’t even share things about themselves that they like or don’t like without fear of being completely ripped apart and chirped by their teammates,” McGillis said. “So, if the straight, White bro who is assumed to make up 90 to 95 percent of the demo has to adhere to these extreme norms, what hope is there for a queer person?”

Ironically, the sport’s culture of sameness could help NHL teams when it comes to accommodating openly gay teammates if it ever happens, said McGillis.

“I think the insularity of the culture leads to this notion of family, more so than probably ever for any other sport,” McGillis said. “And that family aspect is: You’re going to fight for your family. And once somebody is embedded in that family, they’re not going to be pushed out.”

The crossover moment we all needed 🔥

Heated Rivalry author Rachel Reid and comedian and podcast host Liz Duff joined us in Halifax! pic.twitter.com/sfgqh2bQo9

— PWHL (@thepwhlofficial) December 26, 2025

It’s not as if players in the NHL have never expressed support before for LGBTQ+ issues, or for people in the sport.

NHL player agent Bayne Pettinger came out in 2020 and was immediately greeted by warm texts of support from two NHL superstars: Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby. McDavid said it was “disappointing” to see the NHL ban Pride Night-themed jerseys and tape and had no problem donning a jersey or rocking Pride tape on his stick blade. Organizations such as “You Can Play,” co-founded by former NHL executive Brian Burke following the death of his son, Brendan, who came out as gay, have also worked to end homophobia in sports.

However, the NHL still isn’t considered a particularly friendly space for the LGBTQ+ community, unlike the Professional Women’s Hockey League, which features many LGBTQ+ players and fans.

“Whether you’re lesbian, bisexual, transgender, non-binary,” Browne said. “We’re seeing those (people) within those spaces. So, I think it allows people to feel more safe to express themselves and know that they’re not going to be excluded.

“I think that a show like ‘Heated Rivalry’ is really putting into question masculinity, and toxic masculinity is quite pervasive in hockey,” Browne said. “I think it’s just creating new avenues for visibility of somebody that you might not think stereotypically represents that community. And just knowing that somebody in the locker room can identify a certain way … I just think it sends a different message on what masculinity can be.”

The show’s popularity has presented the NHL with an opportunity to attract new fans, which the league itself has recognized. The onus is now on the NHL to retain them.

“Because if they don’t feel welcomed and safe,” McGillis said, “why would they stay?”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

NHL, Sports Business, Culture, Women's Hockey

2026 The Athletic Media Company

It’s probably not a coincidence that the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s newest markets were part of last season’s “Takeover Tour.”

Vancouver and Seattle each hosted neutral-site games last season and made successful pitches to secure the league’s first expansion franchises, which debuted last month. This year’s 16-stop installment of the barnstorming tour kicked off on Wednesday with a sold-out crowd in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Thank you, Halifax! 🫶

Merci, Halifax! pic.twitter.com/v2bxMupJsD

— PWHL (@thepwhlofficial) December 18, 2025

According to executive vice president of business operations Amy Scheer, the league will add two to four teams, going from eight franchises to as many as 12 by next season. As the league eyes such rapid expansion, the “Takeover Tour” should once again be a solid testing ground for the 11 cities hosting a game (or two) this season.

Here’s how each stop stacks up.

1. Chicago

It might seem odd to have Chicago ranked No. 1, ahead of markets that have already established themselves as serious contenders for expansion. But it just feels like a no-brainer.

Chicago is the third-largest city in the United States and has a robust corporate base and a massive television market, which could certainly help the PWHL land more sponsorships and the kind of major U.S. broadcast deal it still needs. Chicago is also a strong grassroots hockey market, with several youth programs and a number of notable home-grown national team players, including Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Cammi Granato, Kendall Coyne Schofield and 2025 PWHL prospect Abbey Murphy. (I’d be fine with some light tampering to start the franchise with Murphy.)

A Chicago team would also help connect Minnesota, the lone team in the American Midwest, to the PWHL’s Eastern footprint. And Allstate Arena in nearby Rosemont, Ill., where Sunday’s Takeover Tour game will be played, could be easily shared with just one other professional tenant, the AHL’s Chicago Wolves.

The arena is around 17 miles from Chicago, so travel time and traffic for fans could be a concern. Sunday’s game between the Minnesota Frost and Ottawa Charge will be a good measuring stick for the location.

2. Detroit

It’s fair to assume Detroit is among the top contenders for expansion, as the league will play its third and fourth games at Little Caesars Arena this season.

“Hockeytown” checks a lot of boxes for the PWHL. Takeover Tour games have drawn well in Detroit, twice breaking the U.S. record for attendance at a pro women’s hockey game with 13,736 and 14,288 fans at LCA. There’s a great grassroots system; according to USA Hockey, Michigan ranked fourth in female hockey registration last season, only behind Minnesota, Massachusetts and New York, three states that already have PWHL franchises.

The biggest concern with Detroit has been infrastructure, which is the PWHL’s priority when considering expansion markets. The Red Wings and the NBA’s Pistons are full-time occupants at LCA, which also hosts plenty of concerts and other events. The WNBA is coming in 2029 as well, though that season (typically May to September) shouldn’t overlap with the PWHL much.

This year’s PWHL games in Detroit are being played back-to-back with Red Wings home games. Detroit will play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 3 at noon, before the Vancouver Goldeneyes play the Boston Fleet at 7 p.m. On March 28, the PWHL will serve as the matinee before the Red Wings play later that night, which will be an interesting test to see if adding another pro team to LCA could work.

3. Denver

If the PWHL wants another “Western Conference” team, Denver would be a solid option. It’s the most populous American city on the Takeover Tour list behind Chicago and Dallas and has a growing number of girls registered to play hockey in the state. Colorado is top-10 in the U.S. for female hockey registration, according to USA Hockey, just ahead of Illinois.

The league also has had success in the market, with over 14,000 fans at last year’s neutral-site game at Ball Arena, home of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche and NBA’s Denver Nuggets. That the PWHL will make two stops in Denver this season could suggest it’s on the short list.

4. Edmonton

If the PWHL wants to continue westward expansion, there is no better option in Canada than Edmonton.

It’s a well-established hockey market, with a multi-million dollar arena that only hosts one pro sports franchise – the NHL’s Oilers – and a junior hockey team, among other events. So Edmonton feels a bit less busy than, say, Detroit or Denver, which have NBA franchises. More girls and women are registered to play hockey in Alberta than any other Canadian province outside Ontario, which would provide a ton of grassroots and community engagement opportunities.

The PWHL already sold out a game at Rogers Place last season, with over 17,00 fans in attendance, and will have two more games this season to prove the fan interest in women’s hockey is real.

5. Halifax

Halifax would be a smaller market than any of the other cities in the top five, but it hits a lot of the right marks.

With 10,500 seats, the Scotiabank Centre would be an ideal size for a PWHL rink with a central location. A Halifax team wouldn’t need to compete with other pro teams for space at the arena, which is primarily home to the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads – and the National Lacrosse League’s Halifax Thunderbirds. The city hasn’t had a professional hockey team since the AHL franchise left in 1993, which would make a PWHL franchise a major attraction. The team could also draw fans from elsewhere in the Maritimes.

The only downside would be travel. Halifax isn’t close enough to any current PWHL cities to allow for bus trips, and there wouldn’t be direct flights to Minnesota, Seattle or Vancouver.

6. Quebec City

Quebec City made a strong case for expansion during last year’s Takeover Tour with more than 18,000 fans at the game between Montreal and Ottawa. Fan support and ticket sales would be strong in Quebec City, which also checks the infrastructure box better than most options.

The Videotron Centre is a professional rink — built in a very public attempt to lure the NHL back to the city — without a pro tenant. As the main tenant, the Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) have been treated very well since the building opened in 2015.

“It would be the same thing for a PWHL team,” Martin Tremblay, the CEO of Quebecor Sports and Entertainment, told The Athletic last year.

A team in Quebec City could also reignite one of the most intense rivalries in the sport with the Montreal Victoire.

7. Hamilton

Sticking with the venue conversation, Hamilton, a city around 40 miles from Toronto, is an intriguing option for the PWHL to consider.

TD Coliseum – originally built as Copps Coliseum with NHL ambitions in 1985 – recently reopened after $300 million in extensive renovations. A PWHL team in Hamilton would really only need to compete with the Toronto Rock (a pro lacrosse team) and concerts in the venue.

Now, there is a school of thought that a team in Hamilton could siphon support away from the Toronto Sceptres. But it could also provide a natural rival and attract fans from surrounding areas who might see downtown Toronto as too far of a trek.

8. Washington, D.C.

D.C. has often come up as a landing spot for professional women’s hockey. The Washington Capitals have been big supporters of the game and played host to women’s hockey events over the years.  Monumental Sports & Entertainment majority owner Ted Leonsis has also been bullish on women’s sports. Monumental, which owns the Capitals, also owns the Washington Mystics. Back in May, Leonsis reiterated his desire to make Washington the “capital of women’s sports” and said he’d look at adding a women’s hockey team.

A Monumental-backed PWHL team would also have broadcast infrastructure via the Monumental Sports Network.

But – sorry to sound like a broken record – a D.C. franchise could struggle to find an appropriate, or available, arena. Capital One Arena hosts the Capitals, the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the Georgetown men’s basketball team. That said, Monumental made things work when the Mystics played at Capital One until the team got its own facility, so it’s not impossible.

9. Calgary

If the PWHL were looking to expand in 2027 or 2028, Calgary might be higher on the list. But right now, with the Scotiabank Saddledome booked, busy and old, Calgary just isn’t a realistic option. The Dome is already home to the Calgary Flames, the AHL’s Wranglers, junior hockey’s Hitmen and a pro lacrosse team. There is no other suitable arena in the city for a professional hockey team, either.

When the $1.2 billion Scotia Place opens in 2027, perhaps Calgary could throw its hat in the ring for future expansion, but the PWHL might already be holding at 12 teams by then. It’s a shame because the Calgary Inferno – from the now-defunct Canadian Women’s Hockey League – was an iconic and successful women’s hockey franchise. Not to mention Calgary would geographically make sense if the league is going to continue its westward expansion, and would be a great rival for a potential Edmonton team.

10. Winnipeg

The health of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets, both on and off the ice, has been well-documented over the years, so I’m not going to pile on here. But there have been attendance issues and arena challenges that push Winnipeg down the list, especially compared to other Canadian markets.

The PWHL would likely need to have the support of True North Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Jets and operates Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg, to have a shot at being successful. The last hockey team that moved to Winnipeg, the WHL’s Winnipeg Ice, played at a 1,600-seat arena at the University of Manitoba and was sold and relocated after just four seasons after failing to build a new arena in the city.

Like other cities on this list, Canada Life Centre is busy with the Jets, their AHL affiliate and other concerts and events. Given the early rave reviews from players in Vancouver, where the PWHL is a primary tenant, being the third or fourth priority might not cut it anymore.

11. Dallas

Dallas feels like the fun Takeover Tour stop where players will be treated well and enjoy the weather — and Coppell, Texas, native Hannah Bilka’s homecoming — but it won’t go further than that. Unless the league wants to aggressively expand its footprint south, dropping a team in Texas doesn’t make a ton of sense. There’s also an ongoing legal battle between the NHL’s Stars and NBA’s Mavericks over their shared arena, the American Airlines Center, which the league probably doesn’t want to get involved in.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Women's Hockey

2025 The Athletic Media Company

EDMONTON — While there has been so much focus on the NHL’s reaction to the dimensions of the hockey rinks at the Winter Olympics and that the main arena isn’t scheduled for completion until just a few days before the Opening Ceremony, it’s the women’s tournament — not the men’s — that actually starts three days after the newly announced completion date.

Nine of the 28 games in the women’s tournament will be played at Santagiulia Arena, which now has a listed capacity of 14,012 (despite being reported for two years as 16,000) and is way behind schedule with the arena’s construction now scheduled to be complete Feb. 2.

The women’s tournament begins at the arena Feb. 5 with a preliminary-round game featuring Italy and France. A test event is scheduled for the ice surface on Jan. 9-11.

Quick peek at the main arena in Milan. Obviously, a lot of work needs to get done. The NHL sounded positive earlier this week at BOG meetings the work will get done in time for the Olympics. pic.twitter.com/58UXkwmDFd

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) December 12, 2025

The other 19 Olympic women’s hockey games will be played at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena, which has a capacity of 5,738 and is technically a temporary rink built at a convention center.

At the Rivalry Series that featured the United States and Canada and ended with a four-game sweep by the U.S. over the weekend, none of the players or coaches for the respective countries voiced concern.

“It’s just kind of noise,” said Team Canada defenseman Renata Fast, who is preparing for her third Olympics. “There’s always noise around the Olympics, no matter where the Olympics are. Each one I’ve been to, there’s been noise around it. So I know the teams and whatever group of people that go there, they’re just excited. We’re honored to represent Canada.”

Added soon-to-be four-time Olympian Kendall Coyne Schofield, “It’s something we can’t control. You know, we’re reading the same thing you’re reading, and at the end of the day, none of us here can control it.”

The NHL, and for that matter the USA Hockey men’s brass, wasn’t pleased two weeks ago when they first learned that the rinks at both arenas will be a little more than four feet shorter and a little less than a foot wider than a typical 200-by-85 NHL rink. While the changes are largely irrelevant and the league says it has no safety concerns, this still was in defiance of the Olympic agreement signed by the NHL and NHLPA as the entities sending NHLers to the Olympics for the first time in 12 years.

As for the women, they don’t care.

“We’re so used to playing on different ice surfaces,” Fast said. “Every time we go over to Europe, we’re playing on a different ice surface. There really isn’t any standardized ice surfaces around the world. It’s just the NHL used to being on NHL ice. I think we’ll be ready for whatever the conditions are, and you just adjust throughout the game.”

The IIHF said in a news release that the Santagiulia Arena ice dimensions are the same as the rink size used at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. NHL players have not competed in the Olympics since 2014.

Both coaches echoed that rink size doesn’t matter as long as the main arena is complete. The United States and Canada play a preliminary game at Milano Santagiulia on Feb. 10, and the semifinals and bronze and gold medal games will be at the arena.

“I just don’t get caught up in it,” Canada coach Troy Ryan said. “I’m not in the construction business. I’m not there to know exactly when all the deadlines are going to be. The one thing with the IOC and Hockey Canada, everybody does such a good job of updating us. I’m not too concerned. I think it’s somewhat common that construction goes right until the final days. I’ve had the honor, I guess, of being part of two Olympics. Women’s hockey starts pretty early in these events, right at the front end of it. And a lot of times you’re going into the village, and things are just getting ironed out as you move in on day one. So it’s all part of it. A lot of these athletes have been through it — it’s what you expect. You just kind of got to learn to adapt.”

Added United States coach John Wroblewski, “I mean, I’ve been to enough IIHF events, and they’re all over the world, whether it’s Russia, Slovakia, there’s always something happening at the end that they have to tighten up. And they want the event as much as anybody, that things will go off. I’m sure it’ll be fine, and as long as there’s ice somewhere, the players will find a way to solve that equation and provide a winner.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

NHL, Olympics, Women's Hockey

2025 The Athletic Media Company

An official with the International Olympic Committee acknowledged Wednesday that organizers are behind schedule on installing the ice at the main arena for the upcoming Milan Cortina Games, while another insisted the rink dimensions are “exactly what it should be.”

Christophe Dubi, the Olympic Games executive director, told reporters that ice will start being produced at Santagiulia Arena “toward the end of the year.” An IOC spokesperson had previously told The Athletic the rink would be completed in mid-December.

Though Dubi said the ice-making equipment is still being installed at a facility due to host 33 games between the men’s and women’s tournaments, he expressed optimism about the viability of the event based on a test conducted at the secondary Milan Rho Arena this week that he deemed “successful.” Rho’s rink has the same dimensions as Santagiulia’s.

“It bodes extremely well for what is coming,” Dubi said.

The status of the facilities in Milan has been the cause of significant concern for the NHL and NHL Players’ Association ahead of their first Olympic tournament in 12 years. That included news last week that they’ll be playing on ice surfaces that don’t match the typical NHL specifications.

It’s too far along in the process to change those dimensions.

The International Ice Hockey Federation confirmed Monday that the rink will be 196.85 feet by 85.3 feet, more than 3 feet shorter than the NHL’s standard layout of 200 feet by 85 feet and also substantially narrower than the international standard of 196.85 feet by 98.4 feet.

The parties had agreed on using NHL-sized ice in their Olympic agreement, signed last summer. Asked this week why there was a discrepancy, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the IIHF “had a different interpretation of what NHL meant than maybe we would have.”

Pierre Ducrey, the IOC’s sports director, said Wednesday that “everybody’s now aligned.”

“The ice rink measurements is exactly what it should be,” he said. “We can compete at the highest level on this ice rink. … We are now very clear regarding the measurements of the ice rink.

“We can move forward.”

The next big step is completing construction at Santagiulia Arena in time for a test event scheduled for Jan. 9 to 11. Any issues that arise there will need to be resolved by Feb. 5, when the puck drops on the women’s Olympic tournament.

“We’re still having a test event that will replicate the conditions of the Games, which is three matches per day, so that we really put the ice under the right level of tests,” Ducrey said. “It’s just been delayed a couple of weeks so that we can have all of the circumstances to test the venue. But also to have spectators in the venue so that we can really replicate as close as possible the circumstances we would have during the Games.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

NHL, Olympics, Women's Hockey

2025 The Athletic Media Company

The International Ice Hockey Federation has confirmed that the ice surfaces it will use in two arenas for the upcoming Milan Olympics will not be built to NHL specifications but said it doesn’t expect the smaller surfaces to have any impact on the NHL players contesting the men’s tournament.

The IIHF approved a sheet of ice measuring 60 meters by 26 meters (196.85 feet by 85.3 feet) in Milan, as The Athletic reported last week, which is more than three feet shorter and only a few inches wider than the 200-foot-by-85-foot (60.96-meter-by-25.91-meter) dimensions required under NHL rules.

News of that difference came as a surprise to officials with the NHL and NHL Players’ Association. They had signed off on an Olympic agreement last summer that called for NHL-sized ice to be used for the Feb. 11 to 22 tournament. Both the NHL and NHLPA indicated they would have to look into the issue last week.

In the IIHF statement released Monday, the sport’s governing body said everyone was on board with the specs that will be used at the Santagiulia Arena and Milan Rho Fiera exhibition center.

“All involved, the IIHF, the Organizing Committee, NHL, NHLPA, IOC and the relevant venue authorities agree that the differences in rink specifications are insignificant, and should not impact either the safety or quality of game play,” read the statement. “We look forward to welcoming the world’s best players for a best-on-best competition at the Games.”

The IIHF added that the same dimensions were used for the 2022 Beijing Olympics, which did not feature NHL players. It also noted that the recent Global Series games played between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators at Avicii Arena in Stockholm featured the same size ice surface.

With concerns around the readiness of the Milan venues growing, the NHL recently dispatched staff to help oversee the project, according to league sources. Among the tasks they’re involved with is making sure the differences in the smaller surface are mitigated by accounting for them in the neutral zone.

Hockey Canada was aware of the smaller ice surface approved for use in Milan and advised players during its Olympic orientation camp in August about the issue.

However, multiple potential Olympians from other countries told The Athletic they only found out about it last week.

Canadian star Nathan MacKinnon said he thinks the smaller surface will be noticeable when players get out there in a game setting.

“If you have a foot less space, it can be a big difference,” MacKinnon said. “If you get a foot closer in the slot, I think that could be a big difference. But it’s the same for everybody.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

NHL, Olympics, Women's Hockey

2025 The Athletic Media Company

Adding to the growing list of concerns regarding the arena being built for the upcoming Milan Cortina Olympics, now there’s this: The ice surface may be smaller than the specifications used in NHL buildings, which could be a safety concern given the speed of the game.

The International Ice Hockey Federation approved a 60-meter by 26-meter sheet of ice (196.85-foot by 85.3-foot) in Milan, a source familiar with the decision tells The Athletic, which is more than three feet shorter and only a hair wider than the 200-foot by 85-foot (60.96-meter by 25.91-meter) dimensions required under NHL rules.

The NHL has sent players to an Olympics with a 26-meter length in the past, but that was with the wider surface (30 meters) typically used for international play. The agreement between the NHL, NHL Players’ Association, International Olympic Committee and IIHF for the Milan Games called for hockey to be played on a surface completed to the specifications used in NHL buildings.

The NHL did not comment on the situation Tuesday when reached by The Athletic. One source with knowledge of the league’s dealings with the IIHF and IOC on the arena said that the league is looking into it, implying that it was not previously aware of the issue.

The NHL Players’ Association also told The Athletic on Tuesday that it is “looking into the matter.”

An ice surface with a shorter length but not substantially greater width will leave players with less room to maneuver. That could put players in dangerous situations based on what we saw at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, which featured some of the fastest, hardest-checking hockey ever played at Montreal’s Bell Centre and Boston’s TD Garden.

“If we learned anything from the 4 Nations, it was like, I don’t want to say mistake-free hockey, but the checking, there was no room,” U.S. men’s Olympic team general manager Bill Guerin told The Athletic in October.

Countries’ Olympic federations have until Dec. 31 to submit 25-player rosters for the Olympics and are aware of the unique rink dimensions. Team Canada assistant coach Pete DeBoer visited Milan earlier this fall and mentioned the shorter Olympic ice surface during an interview with Fan 590 in Toronto on Monday, saying, “I don’t understand how that happened.”

Consider it the latest in a string of puzzling developments around Santagiulia Arena, a planned 16,000-seat venue scheduled to host 33 games during the Olympics, including both the men’s and women’s gold-medal finals.

Another problem? Construction is still ongoing, a little more than two months from the opening ceremony. One source well-versed on the building’s status told The Athletic that organizers needed a “big bomb,” not just a fire, lit under them with the clock ticking loudly.

The NHL has been raising alarms about the arena for years, with commissioner Gary Bettman expressing concern as far back as the Board of Governors meeting in December of 2023 about the fact that construction hadn’t started at that point. When a group of league personnel toured the site southeast of Milan in August, it found an arena still under construction, with no infrastructure complete, including no roads built to the building. They’d also yet to break ground on the practice facility.

Those delays forced a planned December test event to be pushed back to Jan. 9 to 11. While there had been growing industry speculation about potentially looking to a rink in Switzerland as a standby venue, it was determined during a mid-November meeting in Stockholm, featuring representatives from the IOC, IIHF and NHL, that there would be no Plan B, according to league sources.

Following that meeting, NHL representatives Derek King and Dean Matsuzaki visited Milan to give a precise update to the league on the status of construction.

“It appears that positive forward progress is being made with respect to the necessary hockey-related facilities in Milan,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun on Nov. 19. “We intend to continue to monitor progress as we get closer to the planned test events and the Games themselves.”

In October, the IOC said in a statement that the arena is “scheduled for completion in mid-December,” and an IOC spokesperson told The Athletic two weeks ago that the IOC stood by that statement.

The first Olympic event scheduled for Santagiulia is a women’s preliminary round game between Italy and France on Feb. 5. The men’s tournament runs from Feb. 11 to 22.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

NHL, Sports Business, Olympics, Women's Hockey

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USA Hockey announced its 2025 Hall of Fame class Wednesday, including longtime NHL veterans Joe Pavelski, Zach Parise and Scott Gomez. The class also includes Olympic gold medalist Tara Mounsey and photographer Bruce Bennett.

The five will be enshrined at a ceremony in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Dec. 10.

Pavelski’s 1,068 points over 18 NHL seasons are the sixth-most ever by an American-born player. He added 143 more points in his 201 playoff appearances. He is one of the best players in San Jose Sharks history, having helped the club reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2016 and retiring with the second-most goals in franchise history. Internationally, Pavelski won a silver medal with the U.S. at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Parise scored 889 points in the NHL — 17th all-time amongst Americans — and captained the New Jersey Devils to the 2012 Cup Final. He also won a silver medal with Pavelski at the 2010 Olympics, and served as the United States captain in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Gomez finished with 181 goals and 575 assists in his 16 years in the NHL. He won two Stanley Cups with the Devils in 2000 and 2003, and played for the U.S. in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

Mounsey helped the U.S. win Olympic gold in 1998 and silver as the hosts in 2002. She was considered one of the best offensive defensemen in women’s hockey during her career.

Bennett is one of the most prolific hockey photographers of all time. He has taken photos at more than 5,300 NHL games, 45 different Stanley Cup Finals and six Winter Olympics.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

New Jersey Devils, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks, NHL, Women's Hockey

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A star-studded class is heading to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Led by a couple of Norris Trophy-winning defensemen, Zdeno Chara and Duncan Keith, along with former Hart Trophy winning Joe Thornton, and Jennifer Botterill, a three-time Olympic gold medal winner with Team Canada, the Hockey Hall of Fame will welcome eight new members in November. A vote on Wednesday by the selection committee in Toronto also guaranteed fall enshrinement for Brianna Decker and Alexander Mogilny as players and longtime NCAA men’s coach Jack Parker and Daniele Sauvageau, who served Team Canada as a general manager, coach and consultant, as builders.

Mogilny made the Hall of Fame in his 17th year of consideration.

Sauvageau will be the first woman to enter the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder.

An induction ceremony will be held on Nov. 10 in Toronto.

A candidate’s entire hockey career is considered by the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee, but Chara, Keith, and Thornton built overwhelming resumes based solely on their respective accomplishments in the NHL.

Chara played the most games by a defenseman with 1,680. He won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman in 2009 and captained the Boston Bruins to the Stanley Cup in 2011.

Keith was a key figure on the Chicago Blackhawks’ Cup champions in 2010, 2013, and 2015, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as postseason MVP for that third championship run. His Norris wins came in 2010 and 2014.

Thornton, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1997 NHL Draft, is most remembered for his time with the Bruins and San Jose Sharks, and is one of only 15 players to score 1,500 points. And though he never played for a Cup champion, he won a gold medal for host Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Mogilny debuted in the NHL in 1989 with the Buffalo Sabres. A dynamic offensive player, he finally won the Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 2000. He is a member of the IIHF Triple Gold Club, winning Olympic gold (1988) and the IIHF World Championships (1989) for the former Soviet Union in addition to the Cup.

Botterill was a first-team All-American in each of her four seasons at Harvard University. She played professionally until 2011 and was a mainstay for Canada’s national team at the Olympics and IIHF World Championships, where she was named MVP in 2011.

Decker played collegiately at the University of Wisconsin and earned awards, but her star turn came for Team USA, with whom she won the gold medal six times at the IIHF World Championships and gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Parker captained Boston University in his final season as a player and became his school’s head coach in 1973. His teams won the NCAA championship three times and appeared in an NCAA-record 24 tournaments during his 40 seasons.

Sauvageau’s contributions to the women’s game are unrivaled among non-players in Canada. She was part of seven Winter Olympics in various roles with Team Canada. Sauvageau also was the first woman to coach in the QMJHL, as an assistant with the Montreal Rocket.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks, NHL, Women's Hockey

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Red Light newsletter 🏒 | This is ’s hockey newsletter. Sign up here to receive Red Light directly in your inbox.

Good morning to everyone except front offices that say “as per team policy, terms were not disclosed” when they make transactions.

It’s game night, let’s get into it.

While You Were Sleeping

… you didn’t miss any hockey. The weekend delivered our first three-day break of the Stanley Cup Final. We’ll get another before Game 4, and again before Games 6 and 7 (if necessary). Weirdly, the only two-day break left on the schedule is between Games 4 and 5, which have travel in between. Edmonton is close to Sunrise, right?

The good news is that the extra night off gave everyone one more day to get rested and healthy for a crucial Game 3 …

Game 3 goes tonight

The series shifts to Florida, tied 1-1 after the Panthers’ Friday night win. We’ve got a lot of moving parts here. In fact, let’s break out the bullet points:

We’re not sure if Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will play tonight. He missed practice yesterday, a bit of a surprise given he never left Game 2, and coach Kris Knoblauch called him a game-time decision. It sounds like he’s more likely to suit up than not, but obviously any sort of significant injury to the former 100-point forward could be big.

The Oilers already sound like they’re tired of the Panthers “accidentally” falling onto their goalie. Mattias Ekholm says “enough’s enough,” but he’s not a referee, so his opinion won’t matter much. Lobbying the officials between games is part of the playoffs, and the Oilers certainly have a case here. Let’s see if it earns them a call in the blue paint at some point the rest of the way.

Notably absent from the scoresheet so far in this series: Sasha Barkov and Sam Reinhart, both of whom have been pointless. Wait, that sounded harsh — I meant that they haven’t scored any points, not that they’ve been … you know what, you get it.

As Daniel Nugent-Bowman points out, the ice has been tilted in the Panthers’ favor in the two second periods we’ve seen so far. That could be a fluke, or it could be a lack of focus from the Oilers. (It could also be the long change, although that hasn’t been an issue in overtime.)

Game 3 is tonight at 8 p.m. ET on TNT, truTV, Max and Sportsnet.

Has this been the best 2-game start of the era?

I think it has been. If we’re just going based on the first two games of every Stanley Cup Final since 2005, this one is at least on the podium, if not taking home gold.

That’s partly because it’s been a legitimately great start, with a pair of overtime games, plenty of offense and multiple highlight-reel plays. It’s also because the bar is kind of low. In fact, this is only the sixth time in the cap era that a Stanley Cup Final has been split 1-1 after two games. The other 14 series all saw a team take a 2-0 lead.

Of the five previous splits, three — the finals in 2015, 2018 and 2020 — didn’t feature any overtime at all. We did get one overtime in 2019, when the Bruins won Game 1 in regulation only to have the Blues come back with an OT win to square the series in Game 2. But with all due respect to those Gloria-infused days, the only final whose start really compares to this one was in 2013, when the Blackhawks and Bruins served up a triple-OT classic in the opener that was won by Chicago, followed by a Boston win midway through the first extra period in Game 2.

That series ended up being one of the better finals in recent memory, featuring an additional overtime in Game 4 and the 17-seconds game in Game 6. It didn’t go seven games, though, which I think we can all agree would be unacceptable for the Oilers and Panthers. For now, at least, we can’t complain. If this hasn’t been the best two-game start to a final in the cap era, it’s been awfully close.

Trivia time💡: Which team holds the record for the most appearances in the Stanley Cup Final without ever having a player win the Conn Smythe? Answer at the bottom of this email … among other places.

Coast to Coast

🚨 The only thing weirder than an NHL goalie is a third-string NHL goalie. Peter Baugh had a fun piece on some of the guys who held that role for championship teams, and the weird thing that connects many of them during the Cup handoff.

🐀 Speaking of weird connections, Michael Russo found one between veterans Corey Perry and Brad Marchand.

🥅 We can enjoy the final, but let’s not forget how we got here. I’ve got you covered with a ranking of the 14 series that led us to this one.

👶 The NHL Scouting Combine has wrapped up, meaning your favorite team now has a good idea of which player it will claim to be shocked was still available when their pick came up. Eric Stephens has more on the week and how much the draft process has changed over the years.

🍁 And finally, be sure to check out this slick YouTube video in which we try to explain the Canadian Cup drought. Come for the high-quality content, stay for the nagging feeling that you didn’t think my voice would sound like that.

PWHL Expansion 🔥

And then there were 8

It’s expansion draft night in the PWHL. We covered some of the basics in the last edition of Red Light, but a lot has changed since then. New homes for superstars such as Sarah Nurse and Hilary Knight are taking the spotlight, but you can track all of the moves right here. With the draft set for 8:30 p.m. ET tonight (we’ll have live coverage), I asked Hailey Salvian to check in with an update.

Sean: As someone who follows the PWHL but doesn’t know all the ins and outs, the last few days have seemed stunning to me. Are league insiders surprised too, or is this more a case where casual fans just have to play some catch up?

Hailey: Honestly, the whole process has been pretty wild.

When you see the rules — specifically that teams could initially protect only three players — you that stars are going to be on the move. But its one thing to understand that and another to see players like Knight, Nurse and Alex Carpenter left unprotected by their respective teams. Not protecting Carpenter, who ranks third all-time in league scoring, might have been the only real surprise to me over the last few weeks. Because as baffling as it is to leave Nurse or Knight unprotected, you can at least understand why teams might have made those decisions.

In terms of who signed and where, nothing was too surprising. I figured the general managers in Seattle and Vancouver would want to use their five signing slots on top players who were left unprotected, rather than negotiate with free agents who might still be available later this summer. And for the unprotected players, its reasonable that they’d want to dictate where they go, rather than take their chances in the draft.

If you’re a casual fan who feels overwhelmed, don’t feel bad. It’s been a whirlwind for literally everyone involved, from die-hard fans to players, agents and your local PWHL writers.

Sean: What should we be expecting tonight, and are there any realistic options that could add to the surprise factor?

Hailey: Without knowing the draft order (which the league won’t be revealing until the broadcast starts) it’s hard to project exactly what might happen. My safe assumption is that once the top remaining players (like 2024 fourth-overall pick Hannah Bilka) are off the board, both general managers will look for the best players at the best price — rather than just grabbing the top scorers or most recognizable names.

Vancouver and Seattle will need to keep the salary cap — which will go up to $1.34 million next season — in mind and won’t want to spend too much on 12 players out of what will need to be a 23-player roster.

Each GM would do well to keep some money earmarked for free agency, where top players such as Natalie Spooner, Tereza Vanišová and Jesse Compher might be available, and the entry draft, with some top young talent incoming.

There will surely be some off-the-board picks, but I don’t expect any extra fireworks from side trades or truly wild selections.

Sean: When the dust finally settles, are Vancouver and Seattle going to be contenders right away?

Hailey: It’s hard to imagine Seattle and Vancouver coming out of the draft without having legit playoff-caliber rosters. If either team is bad next season, that would likely be due to user error. The rules have been set up for these teams to contend on day one.

The Votes Are In

America loves Edmonton?

Last time around, I wondered about the USA/Canada divide in this Stanley Cup Final, especially with everything that’s happened between the two nations both on and off the ice in recent months. I wasn’t sure whether that would impact allegiances, and so I asked Red Light readers what they thought.

Well, the results are in, and … well, there’s a bit of patriotism playing out, but you have to squint to see it.

Up north, we’re all-but-unanimous in backing the Oilers, and 60 percent of the Edmonton bandwagon says it’s because they’re Canadian. That’s a majority, but not as much as you might expect given how much the “bring Stanley home” message has been beaten into the ground up here.

As for you Americans, you barely seem to have noticed the cross-country stakes at all. What you have noticed is that the Panthers are a bunch of dirtbags, with the overwhelming majority of you saying that you’re rooting for Edmonton. I wasn’t expecting that, but I can only assume it’s because your entire country has fallen in love with Oilers legend Dwayne Jetski.

Trivia Answer

The answer was hiding in plain sight

After a string of admittedly tough questions, today I gave you one where the answer was staring you in the face. The record for most final appearances without a Conn Smythe win is held by the Florida Panthers, who are currently in the final for the fourth time in history but have never had a player win playoff MVP honors. (They lost the final in 1996 and 2023 and then won the Cup last year, but Connor McDavid was the rare case of a player on the losing team getting the Conn Smythe.)

Of course, we don’t know who’ll win the MVP honors this year — Sam Bennett has a sneaky good chance if the Panthers win — so maybe you don’t want to count the 2025 final just yet. If that’s the case, it knocks the Panthers down to three appearances. That would tie them with the Vancouver Canucks, who went to the final in 1982, 1994 and 2011, only to see their opponent skate off with the Cup — and the Conn Smythe.

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This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Women's Hockey

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