While Heated Rivalry has become a popular television show, the plot line is playing out in real time in the PWHL this season with several couples on different rosters.
While the NHL has yet to have an openly queer player, the PWHL has no shortage of representation. There are several hockey power couples in the PWHL who are truly living out the Heated Rivalry plotline.
From teammates to opponents, girlfriends to wives, the league is filled with love.
The only place to start is with Montreal Victoire captain and alternate captain Marie Phillip-Poulin and her wife, Laura Stacey. The two lead the Victoire alongside one another, making historic moments like ‘She’s gay, Marcus’.
There are other relationships in which both women are on the same roster including Nina Jobst-Smith and Ashton Bell, and Emma Greco and Michela Cava, who all played for the Vancouver Goldeneyes to start the season. On Sunday, Greco and Cava were traded together to the Ottawa Charge.
In terms of rivalries, similar to that of Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, the Montreal Victoire and Sceptres have a cross-league relationship, with Shiann Darkangelo and Elaine Chuili, who are currently dating.
The two faced off on Sunday, December 7th, with the Victoire winning 3-1; again on December 17, the Victoire won 2-1; and finally on December 27, Darkangelo scored a goal to lead the Victoire to a 2-1 win.
They will play again on January 28 and March 3.
Two Ottawa Charge players are also in rival relationships. Charge forward Emily Clark is currently in a relationship with New York Sirens defender Jaime Bourbonnais, while Ottawa's Ronja Savolainen is currently engaged to Sceptres’ Anna Kjellbin.
Clark and Bourbonnais faced off on November 22, with the Sirens winning 4-0. They will play again on March 8 and April 18.
Savolainen and Kjellbin faced off on December 4th, the Sceptres winning 3-1. The two teams played again on December 23, the Charge winning 4-3. The duo could also face each other again this winter at the 2026 Olympics.
Their PWHL teams won’t play one another again until April 1, April 11, and finally on April 25.
Those are the players/games to watch if you are looking to see Heated Rivalry in real life or just looking to support queer women in ice hockey.
While the National Hockey League doesn’t have a queer representation yet, the PWHL has several relationships, rivals, and players who inspire people every single day.