Heated Rivalry: 5 Key Differences Between the Book and TV...

5 Changes Heated Rivalry Has Already Made From The Book

Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) and Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) at a press conference in Heated Rivalry.MovieStillsDB

By Shealyn Scott Published 5 minutes ago

Shealyn Scott is a Senior Writer at Screen Rant. She has been writing for the site since 2024, focused on network, reality, streaming, and classic television. A creative writer, journalist, and lover of the written word in all its forms, Shealyn enjoys deconstructing scenes from her favorite shows, using context clues and historical precedent to predict major plot points (which, due to her successful track record, has sparked rumors of clairvoyancy). As an award-winning student journalist, Shealyn spent her college years advocating for the humanities while studying English Literature. Her love of storytelling propelled her to expand her degree with minors in Writing and History, believing life to be a mere collection of stories that can be framed in as many ways as a movie scene. As a Senior member of the TV Team, Shealyn treats the series she covers like books, analyzing every line, camera angle, and lighting choice. Thankfully, her personal mission statement lines up perfectly with Screen Rant: every creative work deserves just as much thought from the viewer as it received from its creator.

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Heated Rivalry is the newest book-to-screen smash hit, but the steamy romance is already drifting from its source material. The Crave original has been lauded for its stellar adaptation, with early audience reactions to Heated Rivalry celebrating the show’s commitment to textual accuracy. The chemistry between Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) and Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) alone has been perfectly translated.

While Heated Rivalry has kept much the same and climbed the ranks to become one of the best new shows on HBO Max, the sports romance has also shown it isn’t afraid to take bold risks and make changes. Nevertheless, it’s clear that the Heated Rivalry show may become just as popular as the bestselling Rachel Reid novel series it’s based on.

The Name Of Ilya’s Brother

The Rozanov Family Will Become Increasingly Important To The Plot

Connor Storrie smiling shirtless as Ilya Rozanov in Heated Rivalry.MovieStillsDB

Ilya Rozanov may be one of the most nuanced characters in the entire Game Changers franchise, but his blood relatives are mainly contained to one book. Though his mother sadly died when he was a child, Ilya still has his ailing father, Grigori (Yaroslav Poverlo), and his money-hungry brother, known as Andrei in the books and Alexei in the show.

Regardless of his name, the role of Ilya’s brother remains the same: at every opportunity, he takes advantage of his younger brother and declines to offer any semblance of support or concern for their father’s declining health. In both the show and novel, Ilya continually tries and fails to talk to his brother about their father’s rapidly progressing Alzheimer’s disease.

Unfortunately, Alexei stands in stark contrast to Ilya. Whereas Ilya cares deeply about the people around him, Alexei adheres to a more toxic masculinity and denies anything is amiss, more focused on when Ilya can send more money for his recreational drugs. As the Rozanov family as a whole will soon learn, however, pride can be a fatal flaw— literally.

Scott Hunter’s Level Of Awareness

The Fellow Hockey Star Has A Big Impact On The Story

Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) talking to Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) in Heated Rivalry.MovieStillsDB

In the acclaimed hockey romance book Heated Rivalry is based on, Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) is a major character who influences many different relationships and interconnected storylines. Yet, Scott has no idea about Ilya and Shane’s secret affair until the couple goes public in The Long Game, meaning the New York Admirals captain was in the dark for 11 years.

Based on the series, however, Scott Hunter is already showing suspicion that Shane and Ilya’s professional relationship runs deeper. In one scene, the camera focuses on Scott’s reaction after Ilya whispers his hotel room number to Shane. Later on, Scott offhandedly refers to Ilya as “[Shane’s] boy” Rozanov, which causes the then-rookie to spiral.

If Heated Rivalry is changing how much Scott knows about Shane and Ilya’s romance, it may change his function in the show entirely. It’s possible that Scott could become more of a direct mentor for Shane rather than a background character whose main role is delegated to another book entirely.

Sasha’s Character

Ilya's Sexuality Is Being Fleshed Out Even More On-Screen

Kaden Connors wearing a black shirt with red roses as Sasha in Heated Rivalry.MovieStillsDB

One of the first things Shane learns about Ilya in both the show and novel is that his first sexual encounter with another man was a fling with his coach’s son in Russia. In the book, the boy remains nameless and faceless, a simple plot device meant to illustrate Ilya’s penchant for dangerous and risky relationships.

In the series, however, the coach’s son is made into a minor character named Sasha (Kaden Connors). Additionally, he reappears in Ilya’s life as an adult during the Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Mutual friend Svetlana Vetrova (Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova) reconnects the pair, but Ilya turns down Sasha’s advances.

The queer love story in Heated Rivalry is handled with care and clearly revered by its cast and crew, but creating Sasha’s character out of a fleeting line in the book was a stroke of genius. Though his role was brief, Sasha was physical proof of how much Ilya had changed and grown by episode 2, mainly thanks to Shane.

Svetlana’s Connection To Hockey

Her Character Has Already Gotten A Noticeable Upgrade

Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova as Svetlana Vetrova in Heated Rivalry.MovieStillsDB

Similar to Sasha, Svetlana was one of Ilya’s casual sexual partners in both the novel and TV adaptation. In the book series, Svetlana inadvertently becomes one of Ilya’s closest friends, but they initially gravitate towards each other thanks to their shared interest: hockey. In the novel, Svetlana’s father was a professional hockey player, directly linking her to the action.

Conversely, Heated Rivalry episode 2 revealed that Svetlana is now the daughter of a Russian minister instead. In the same episode, Svetlana gives Ilya an in-depth analysis of how he can bring his team to victory in the playoffs, proving she’s retained her love of hockey even without her family’s former legacy in the game.

Heated Rivalry has changed Svetlana’s character to be a politician’s daughter, but that subtle shift also completely overhauled her and Ilya’s relationship. In the series, Grigori mentioned the two were childhood friends. This diverges from the book’s canon, but it could make their platonic bond even stronger in Heated Rival’s prospective season 2.

The Central Hockey Organization

Heated Rivalry Was Originally Rooted In Realism

A hockey team cheers as Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) holds a trophy over his head in Heated Rivalry.MovieStillsDB

The biggest change Heated Rivals has made from the books is also the most inconsequential in the long run. Like most books about fictional hockey players, the teams in the Game Changers universe compete in the National Hockey League (NHL), with the protagonists vying for the coveted Stanley Cup each season.

In the show, Shane and Ilya are now competing in “MLH” (ostensibly standing for Major League Hockey). Likewise, Ilya brags about winning a nondescript “cup” in his rookie season. Given that the Game Changers franchise frequently puts toxic hockey culture under a microscope, it makes sense for the show to distance itself from the real-life NHL.

Throughout the rest of its phenomenal pilot season, Heated Rivalry will likely stray further from its source material. Rather than make unnecessary or gratuitous changes, however, it’s abundantly clear that every decision was calculated. Whatever creative liberty writer Jacob Tierney took will surely enrich the show as an adaptation, not just a carbon copy.

10/10

Heated Rivalry

10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed Drama Romance Sports Release Date November 28, 2025 Network Crave Directors Jacob Tierney

Cast

Connor Storrie Ilya Rozanov
Hudson Williams Shane Hollander

Genres Drama, Romance, Sports Creator(s) Jacob Tierney, Rachel Reid Powered by

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Heated Rivalry

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