Amid fans’ exhilaration of all things “Heated Rivalry,” the television series that follows the romance between two competing hockey players, what can get lost in the conversation is just how Canadian it is. But one of the more surprising viral moments to emerge — a #releasethefleece campaign — has renewed focus on the Great White North.
It started with a moment in the second episode featuring Shane Hollander (played by Hudson Williams) in Sochi, Russia, for the 2014 Olympic Games. It was not a love scene that caught fans’ attention. It was Hollander’s white zip-up fleece, with “Canada” emblazoned in red letters on the back, a maple leaf on the sleeves. When the episode aired on Nov. 28, viewers began feverishly searching online to purchase the jacket, only to discover it wasn’t official Team Canada merchandise; it was made specifically for the character.
Even though other merchandise was available online — including Montreal Metros and Boston Raiders jerseys and T-shirts that say “Daddy I Love Him,” featuring photos of Shane and “heated rival Ilya Rosanov (Connor Storrie) — this specific fleece seemed to have struck a nerve.
Then came the demands. “We literally only want one thing…RELEASE THE FLEECE!!” one commenter wrote in response to a Hockey Canada and Team Canada Instagram post about their forthcoming Olympic team roster announcement. Another fan started a Change.org petition entitled “Make the Heated Rivalry Fleece Official Team Canada Merch,” which received over 6,000 signatures. Some impatient fans even began making their own versions, posting the D.I.Y. process on TikTok.
Finally, after two months, the series creator, Jacob Tierney, and one of the executive producers, Brendan Brady, announced that they were working with the Canadian company Province of Canada to make the fleece a reality — and that a portion of the proceeds would go to an L.G.B.T.Q. charity. (They have not yet announced a specific release date and price.)
The fleece fervor has taken the show’s costume designer, Hanna Puley, by surprise, even though, as she acknowledged in an interview with CBC Radio, “It feels very cozy and wearable and just very Canadian.”
After all, it is a Canadian-made show, filmed mostly in Ontario and produced by Crave, a Canadian streaming service. Mr. Williams not only portrays an Ottawan-born, Montreal-based team hockey player, but he is Canadian himself, with a residence in Vancouver. Mr. Tierney hails from Montreal and created two other popular Canadian shows, “Letterkenny” and “Shoresy.” Rachel Reid, the author of the “Game Changers” book series on which the show is based, is from Nova Scotia.
The company producing the fleece features branded clothes that read, “I was Canadian before it was cool,” and are designed in Canada and manufactured in the nation’s factories.
Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, a “Heated Rivalry” superfan, became the envy of all when Mr. Williams presented him with his original fleece at an event on Thursday evening to promote the Canadian film and television industry. Prime Minister Carney wore it with giddy pride on the red carpet.
Indeed, the fleece strikes many Canadians as an earned moment of pride, according to Becca Rhodes, a self-described “feral film girlie” in Toronto who runs the social media account @thefilmtripper.
“I love that Americans are finally recognizing Canada as having its own distinct cultural identity,” she said. “To have Canada be center stage for such an inclusive and heartwarming story feels right.”
Since Shane wore the fleece during the Olympic Games, the timing for the fleece-release announcement before the real-life 2026 Olympics is perfect. “Canadians are looking for cute, good-quality merch to wear to show that we love our country,” said Laura Nguyen, a Canadian content creator who runs the social media account @torontomillennial.
The Canadianness of the fleece hasn’t deterred American fans from wanting one as well.
“Even though I’m American, Canada is a huge part of the show, which makes me want to wear one,” said Janelle Bouwense, a “Heated Rivalry” devotee from Wilmington, N.C. “It makes me feel more connected to a fandom that has had such a positive influence on me and other members of the L.G.B.T.Q.+ community.”
Holden Smith, who runs a pop culture social media account and lives in Charlotte, N.C., also plans to buy one when it becomes available.
“The world wants to support Connor, Hudson and the show,” he said. “This fleece feels like a kind of ‘if you know, you know’ vibe, which I believe is what attracted so many people to it.”
American fans’ enthusiasm to wear this distinctly Canadian merch strikes Ms. Nguyen as an important moment of unity amid political tensions between Canada and the United States.
“I love the idea of fans in the U.S. wearing a Canadian sweater,” Ms. Nguyen said. “It shows how close our countries are, that we still have American friends.” Perhaps the fleece, and the warm feelings around it, could even defuse the heated rivalry between the two nations.
Shivani Gonzalez is a news assistant at The Times who writes a weekly TV column and contributes to a variety of sections.
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