The NHL’s “Hot for Hockey” campaign turns real players into the subjects of brief, romance-novel-style audio promos meant to get people watching games. Romance writers and fans have criticized the effort as pandering: they say the league is borrowing romance’s audience and credibility without confronting problems such as homophobia, misogyny and racism in hockey culture. The objections are not simply to hockey romance or fan fiction; they are also about who controls the stories, how real players are represented, and what the league is doing beyond marketing.
What is the NHL’s “Hot for Hockey” campaign?
In a report published October 2, 2026, WIRED described “Hot for Hockey” as a series of short, romance-inspired audio stories released on audiobook platforms. Each runs 60 to 90 seconds, and the first batch features Philadelphia Flyers forward Trevor Zegras, Carolina Hurricanes player Sebastian Aho and Vegas Golden Knights player Jack Eichel. Romance author C.R. Jane wrote the pieces.
These are promotional vignettes, not complete romances: they evoke the sales-copy style of a romance novel and do not pair the players with romantic partners. The stated commercial aim is to draw people to NHL games. The league also plans to promote the campaign through BookTok creators, the book-discovery community on TikTok.
WIRED reports that the NHL said the players approved all campaign content and that the material would remain focused exclusively on hockey. That describes the league’s stated boundaries; it does not settle how fans will respond to stories about identifiable players.
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Why are romance readers criticizing it?
Critics see a mismatch between the league’s effort to appeal to romance readers and its record on inclusion. Best-selling hockey-romance novelist Emily Rath said she declined an approach from the NHL. In a Threads post, she wrote, “I cannot begin to describe the depths of my rage that this is actually happening.” WIRED reported that Rath objected to the league using romance authors’ credibility while, in her view, failing to address racism, homophobia and misogyny in hockey.
Author Chelsea Curto, whose work includes the D.C. Stars series, also declined. WIRED says she criticized the campaign’s use of AI graphics and noted that her books can be critical of the league. Lacey Conine, founder of Double Hockey Stix, said she initially thought the announcement was satire. She described the campaign as “mocking you, and pandering to you, and making fun of you,” and said it seemed to her that the league saw “dollar signs.”
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The criticism is not that women or LGBTQ fans should be kept away from hockey, or that romance authors cannot write about the sport. It is that an official campaign can treat those readers as a market to capture without engaging seriously with the concerns they have raised about hockey culture. Some critics also worry that romanticizing named players could intensify sexualized attention or parasocial attachments—one-sided feelings of personal closeness to public figures.
How is official player-focused promotion different from hockey romance?
Hockey romance is a broad genre, and a short league-approved promotion is not the same thing as a reader-centered novel or fan-created story. The key differences are purpose, control and the use of real people.
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| Dimension | “Hot for Hockey” | Independent hockey romance or fan fiction |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Promote NHL games, according to WIRED’s October 2, 2026 report. | Romance storytelling or fan expression; aims and approaches vary by creator. |
| People depicted | Identifiable NHL players appear in league-approved promotional fiction; the audio pieces do not give them romantic partners. | May use invented characters or, in real-person fiction, draw on real public figures. Fan-created work is not the same as league endorsement. |
| Audience relationship | Official marketing intended to attract viewers, including through BookTok creators. | Independent works are made for their readers, not as NHL game promotions. |
| Accountability at issue | Critics ask whether the league’s outreach is matched by credible attention to racism, homophobia, misogyny and abuse concerns. | Creators and works differ; the campaign’s critics are questioning the NHL’s conduct and choices. |
The table describes the distinction at stake in the debate, not every book or fan work. In particular, fan fiction is not inherently a campaign to promote the league, while official use of players’ identities makes a marketing effort different from a story about fictional athletes.
What does “hockey RPF” mean?
RPF stands for “real-person fiction”: stories that use real people, including public figures, as characters. Jess Rauchberg, a lecturer at the University of Leeds, told WIRED that hockey RPF has existed since at least the late 1990s. She argued that the line between fan fiction and official marketing is blurring as teams encourage more personal connections between fans and players.
Rauchberg also described what some fans seek in these stories: imagined worlds where their desires and identities are represented, including hockey cultures that reject rape culture and toxic masculinity. That can make an official, league-controlled version feel especially fraught to readers who see romance and fan work as spaces for imagining something better than the sport’s real-world institutions.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why does the campaign’s history matter?
Hockey romance did not begin with this campaign. The New York Public Library highlighted the genre’s growth in 2019. WIRED connects its more recent mainstream visibility to the success of the romance novel and streaming adaptation Heated Rivalry, followed by Off Campus. The NHL is entering an established conversation among books, screen adaptations and online fandom—not creating it.
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There are also recent reasons some readers scrutinize the league’s outreach. In June 2023, the NHL banned players from wearing specialty-themed uniforms, including Pride sweaters; the league later reversed its decision about themed tape. In another 2023 flashpoint, Seattle Kraken player Alexander Wennberg and his wife, Felicia Wennberg, posted about “predatory and exploiting” comments after the team published BookTok-oriented social content.
Those incidents are context for the present criticism, not proof that every fan responds to a campaign in the same way. They help explain why an attempt to borrow the language and audience of romance can be received as more than a lighthearted promotion.
What has the NHL said, and what remains unanswered?
NHL spokesperson Jon Weinstein described the campaign to WIRED as a “playful nod to something that’s clearly going on in the cultural zeitgeist.” He said the league was proud to work with hockey authors, illustrators and voice actors and grateful that players were willing to participate. WIRED also reported that the NHL said the players approved the content.
That is the league’s defense of the campaign’s tone and production. It does not answer critics’ broader question: whether appealing to romance readers is accompanied by meaningful action on racism, homophobia, misogyny and abuse concerns. The NHL Players’ Association did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment, so the report does not establish the union’s position.
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