Heated Rivalry Season 2 Cast: Every Returning Actor

"Heated Rivalry" returns to Crave and HBO Max for Season 2 in Spring 2027, introducing several intriguing new characters, while also bringing back many of your Season 1 favorites.

As previously reported, quite a few important characters from Rachel Reid's "Game Changers" novels will be making their on-screen debut in "Heated Rivalry" Season 2. Justice Smith ("Generation") and Charlie Gillespie ("Julie and the Phantoms") will play social media manager Harris Drover and hockey bad boy Troy Barrett, whose relationship is the focus of Reid's "Role Model." 

Other new additions include Daniel Diemer ("Percy Jackson and the Olympians") as hockey player Ryan Price, and Shaheen Jafargholi ("EastEnders") as musician Fabian Salah, whose love story is told in Reid's "Tough Guy"; Emily Hampshire ("Schitt's Creek") as Vanessa, Fabian's lesbian bestie; Edvin Ryding ("Young Royals") as Luca, a younger player with a possible crush on Ilya; Robert Naylor ("Alice in Borderland") as Wyatt, a hockey player and LGBTQ+ ally; Sabrina Jalees ("Mating Season") as sports agent Farah Jalali, and "Drag Race Canada" winner Priyanka as Farah's friend Tarek.

Now that we've gotten those newbies out of the way, let's talk about the characters with whom we already fell in love in Season 1. Read on for a breakdown of the cast members returning for "Heated Rivalry" Season 2.

Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams will, of course, return as the show's central couple, Russian renegade Ilya Rozanov and Canadian cutie Shane Hollander. Despite not being introduced until the second book in Rachel Reid's "Game Changers" series, Ilya and Shane's relationship was chosen as the heart of the TV adaptation. The next book to heavily focus on Ilya and Shane is the sixth installment, "The Long Game," which will heavily factor into the show's second season.

Rivals on the ice but lovers behind closed doors, Ilya and Shane carried on a secret relationship for the entirety of Season 1, ultimately getting caught (oops!) by Shane's parents in the finale. The couple also revealed a plan to continue their relationship while maintaining their privacy: in addition to starting a charity together, Ilya would transfer from Boston to Ottawa to be closer to Shane.

While Ilya and Shane may get more screen time, plenty of "Heated Rivalry" viewers are more interested in following the love story of hockey legend Scott Hunter and smoothie extraordinaire Kip Grady. Those people will be thrilled to know that Francois Arnaud and Robbie G.K. will return to the show in Season 2, revealing what came next for the couple after going public towards the end of Season 1.

What began as innocent flirtation during Scott's post-workout visits to Kip's smoothie shop eventually blossomed into a complicated, mature romance, culminating in one of the best moments of Season 1 — Scott kissing Kip on the middle of the ice for all the world to see.

Behind every great gay coming-out story, there's a supportive bestie helping their friend along the way — and Ilya and Shane have some pretty great ones. Season 2 of "Heated Rivalry" will welcome back Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova as Svetlana Vetrova, Ilya's childhood best friend (occasionally with benefits); and Sophie Nélisse as Rose Landry, the famous actress who supported Shane through his Season 1 journey by being his celebrity beard.

If you're grateful for the existence of Shane Hollander, feel free to send your thanks to these two. Christina Chang and Dylan Walsh will both return for "Heated Rivalry" Season 2, reprising their roles as Shane's parents, Yuna and David Hollander. Though Shane occasionally struggled with his mother in Season 1 — largely because of her all-business-all-the-time mentality — they grew immeasurably closer in the finale. After learning about Shane's relationship with Ilya, she told her son, "I'm sorry I made you feel like you couldn't tell me." Hugs and tears ensued.

Several other familiar faces from Shane's orbit will also return for "Heated Rivalry" Season 2: Callan Potter will be back as Hayden Pike, Shane's close friend and teammate; Benjamin Roy will once again play Jean-Jacques "JJ" Dagenais, another of Shane and Hayden's teammates; and Kamilla Kowal will return as Hayden's wife Jackie. 

Which returning characters(s) are you most excited to see in "Heated Rivalry" Season 2? Drop a comment with your pick(s) below.