Ice hockey and hot sex might not seem like the most natural combination. But for romance novel readers, the appeal of the pairing is well-established.
The hockey subgenre has been popular for years, with works like the Maple Hills series by Hannah Grace, “Mile High” by Liz Tomforde and other books about sexually alluring college and professional players selling millions of copies.
Then in late 2025, “Heated Rivalry,” a Canadian TV adaptation of Rachel Reid’s popular novels, thrust the genre into the mainstream.
Now a new hockey romance is steaming up the small screen: “Off Campus,” based on the novel series by Elle Kennedy, is streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Louisa Levy, the creator and showrunner, learned through adapting the show why novelists (and readers) are so eager to romanticize hockey players.
“There’s something about hockey,” she said. “It is such a masculine — and can be violent — sport.”
“There is something really appealing about taming the bad boy,” she added.
Each of the “Off Campus” books, which collectively along with two spinoff series have sold over 25 million copies worldwide, focuses on a different hockey star at Briar University, a fictional New England college. The first season of the show, like the first novel, follows Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli), who pretends to date his classmate Hannah (Ella Bright) so she can get the attention of her crush. In exchange she tutors him in philosophy.
But in a surprise to the novels’ readers, this season also weaves in the love story from third book, between Garrett’s teammate Dean DiLaurentis (Stephen Kalyn) and Hannah’s best friend, Allie (Mika Abdalla). For Levy, it was a fun wink to fans.
“I love that in the book it’s a secret romance, and we get to platform it and even keep a secret from the audience,” she said.
In a video call from São Paulo, where they were promoting the show, Cameli and Kalyn talked about hockey romances, college sex and, of course, the legacy of “Heated Rivalry.”
“We’re so excited to be the internet’s new boyfriends,” Cameli said. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
Why do you think hockey romance stories have become so popular?
BELMONT CAMELI The disposition of hockey players is so different from other professional athletes. Hockey players are more reserved, their humor is more understated, and they play this violently masculine sport. It’s a great opportunity to find contrast in their humanity when you bring it into the world of romance. When you can get them in a room alone with a girl that they’re falling in love with, that’s just a compelling juxtaposition.
Did you feel any pressure in portraying characters so many fans already have strong feelings about?
STEPHEN KALYN My fiancée read the book series. She told me I had to read for it, because I would be perfect for Dean. For me, it was like any other role: I tackle it with a 100 percent effort. The pressure is good, though — I like it. It makes me want to work even harder.
CAMELI We got into it so quickly that it’s really hitting us now, how many fervent fans of this series exist. I knew Garrett Graham was a tall task to portray, but for me it wasn’t about appeasing any fans.
For readers, the fact that Dean is a big part of this season is a major surprise. Has it been hard to keep that a secret?
KALYN Not as hard as I thought it would be. I just shrugged my shoulders a lot and said, “We’ll see.”
CAMELI We were being so coy about it, like “I don’t know …”
“Off Campus” was filmed before “Heated Rivalry” came out and brought so much attention to the hockey romance genre. Are you concerned about how the popularity of that show might affect the perception of this one?
CAMELI I don’t have any concerns about it. I was stoked when “Heated Rivalry” had the success it did because it’s in the same lane as us. Once in a while a show goes supersonic because it has good story. Our show is so different. Naturally people are going to compare just because it’s hockey and romance, but those are the only two things that make them similar. The hope is that fans of “Heated Rivalry” come to “Off Campus” and find something completely different to enjoy.
A big part of hockey romance stories is the smut. Going into filming, how did you feel about it involving so many sex scenes?
KALYN We know fans love the smut. But it was done in a way that was like: Are we telling the story right? We didn’t want to add scenes just for shock value, or whatever.
CAMELI All the sex scenes in the show are earned; nothing is gratuitous. They’re still sexy and hot and fun to watch — you’re going to get out of it what you came to get. But the sex on our show is really just intimacy, and so we have intimacy in many different forms. It shows what sex during those formative college years is like. Sometimes it’s great, and sometimes it’s not. Sometimes it’s uncomfortable, and sometimes you just have a conversation instead of having sex. I knew I was going to be naked and doing sex scenes, but it’s like filming any other scene. It’s not like there’s R&B playing in the room when you make it.
KALYN We also had a great intimacy coordinator. It was like any other scene, just super professional.
Some people online were concerned the show would be toned down and not have those sex scenes.
CAMELI I mean, the show is about sex in college. In the show, there’s an important conversation to be had around discovering your sexuality and sharing it with other people during that time in your life.
A big part of the story is Garrett helping Hannah work through sexual trauma. How did you prepare for those moments?
CAMELI It’s a really important story line that we wanted to get right. The beauty of those scenes, when she’s asking him to help her overcome this mental barrier, is that Garrett is approaching it as a friend trying to help a friend, which is endearing. He’s not taking advantage of the situation. He’s helping a friend out, which is beautiful and part of the reason they’re falling in love. Ella is extremely talented, and we have a ton of trust between the two of us.
Stephen, I am a fellow Canadian, and we care a lot about hockey. How do you think people will feel about the way the sport and the culture around it is portrayed on “Off Campus”?
KALYN We talked to the Hockey Guys [a group of former college players on TikTok]. They watched the first two episodes — there’s quite a bit of hockey in there — and they were like, “Nailed it.” Even the dynamic between the boys, the way they speak to each other, it’s just hockey college fun, you know? The sequences were really well shot, and we look like we’re really good, thank God. I’m pretty fast. Belmont got pretty fast, too — I’m a little faster.
CAMELI Did you say, ‘I’m a few seconds faster’?
KALYN He’s second place, and I’m first.
CAMELI Yeah, not for long, buddy.
KALYN Bring it on.
