Netflix is jumping on the hockey romance bandwagon once again with a fresh adaptation of a “masterpiece” romance series. The streamer has confirmed an adaptation of Hannah Grace’s wildly popular Maple Hills series, which began with 2022’s Icebreaker, is officially in the works.
Its official X account shared this week: “Sharpen your skates! ICEBREAKER, a new series based on the New York Times best-selling novel by Hannah Grace, is coming to Netflix. A competitive figure skater and a college hockey captain develop an unexpected partnership when a facilities mishap forces them to share the same rink…”
This steamy series follows figure skater Anastasia Allen, whose quest for Olympic gold is sabotaged by hockey player Nate Hawkins. But will their close proximity ruin their chance to go pro or lead to an ice-melting romance?
Hockey Romances Are Having a Moment
Amanda Lasher, best known for her work on Gossip Girl, is leading the series as showrunner with casting yet to be announced. Lasher told Tudum: “I have been a fan of steamy YA since the seventh grade, reading Judy Blume stealthily hidden behind a textbook. I love this genre, and it’s been a joy working with Jade, the team at Unwell, and Netflix to bring Hannah Grace’s beloved Icebreaker novel to the screen.”
The novels have received rave reviews from readers, including this Goodreads user who gushed: “The writing was IMMACULATE. I can go on and on about how beautifully written this masterpiece was. The diversity in this book was amazing to see! There was not a SINGLE dry page. Not one. I drank every damn page like it was my only source of water.”
However, despite the positive responses to the source material, some have expressed concerns that the series is simply riding the coattails of other hit hockey romance adaptations, including Prime Video’s Off Campus, Canadian drama Heated Rivalry and even Netflix’s own series Finding Her Edge.
Fan Backlash on Social Media
One X user questioned: “So this is going to be another Heated Rivalry doppelgänger?” “Trying so hard to copy heated rivalry’s flow but it’s not working,” another shared. Someone else quipped: “Tell me youre insecure from offcampus success without telling me youre insecure from offcampus success.”
Elsewhere, a Redditor fumed: “After Heated Rivalry got its flowers, every greedy exec now want a piece of the bouquet, but without actually wanting to explore what made it good.” And another added: “This is 100% because both Heated Rivalry and Off Campus were huge successes and Netflix wants in on the action. I will be watching because I did have so much fun with these books.”
Will Icebreaker be making your streaming watchlist or is this one hockey romance too many? Netflix’s Icebreaker does not yet have a release date.
