NHL Launches Romance Novel Campaign, Sparking Backlash from Hockey Romance Community
The NHL has introduced the "Hot for Hockey" initiative, which showcases short stories inspired by romance novels centered around players. These audiobooks, lasting between 60 to 90 seconds, are penned by well-known authors such as C.R. Jane and feature athletes like Trevor Zegras, Sebastian Aho, and Jack Eichel. Promoted by creators on BookTok, the campaign seeks to enhance game viewership but has drawn backlash from romance writers and readers, including Emily Rath and Chelsea Curto, who pointed out issues of mockery and AI-generated graphics. Lacey Conine labeled it as pandering, while NHL commissioner Gary Bettman mentioned that all teams celebrate Pride Nights, despite some distancing themselves. Concerns about player harassment and the merging of marketing with real-life fiction were raised by lecturer Jess Rauchberg.
Key facts
- The NHL launched a campaign called "Hot for Hockey" featuring romance novel-inspired short stories about its players.
- The stories are 60 to 90 seconds long, written and narrated by popular hockey romance authors, and promoted by BookTok creators.
- The first stories feature Trevor Zegras, Sebastian Aho, and Jack Eichel, written by C.R. Jane.
- Emily Rath and Chelsea Curto publicly declined to participate, citing mockery and AI cover renders.
- Lacey Conine criticized the campaign as pandering and mocking, and failing to address homophobia and toxic masculinity.
- The NHL banned specialty-themed uniforms in June 2023, but reversed the decision on tape.
- The Dallas Stars will not host a Pride Night this season, but will host an Iron Flame-themed night with proceeds going to the Trevor Project.
- In 2023, Seattle Kraken player Alexander Wennberg and his wife posted about predatory comments after a BookTok-focused social media post.
Entities
Artists
- Trevor Zegras
- Sebastian Aho
- Jack Eichel
- C.R. Jane
- Emily Rath
- Chelsea Curto
- Lacey Conine
- Gary Bettman
- Alexander Wennberg
- Felicia Wennberg
- Jess Rauchberg
- Jon Weinstein
- Jeremy Knight
Institutions
- National Hockey League
- Philadelphia Flyers
- Carolina Hurricanes
- Las Vegas Golden Knights
- BookTok
- New York Public Library
- Dallas Stars
- Trevor Project
- Hockey Canada
- Seattle Kraken
- NHL Players' Association
- University of Leeds
- Double Hockey Stix
- WIRED
- Sports Business Journal
- The Globe and Mail
Locations
- Philadelphia
- United States
- Carolina
- Las Vegas
- Pittsburgh
- Montreal
- Canada
- Jacksonville
- Leeds
- United Kingdom