Can 'Off Campus' capture the hockey romance audience after 'Heated Rivalry'?

Thanks to “Heated Rivalry,” hockey hunks — and their love stories — are having a moment. Prime Video’s “Off Campus” is the next show hoping to score with viewers.

This series, which started streaming Wednesday and is based on a collection of romance books written by Elle Kennedy, follows the steamy love lives of members of a college hockey team. Like a different romance series, Netflix's “Bridgerton,” each season will focus on a different couple’s story.

We begin “Off Campus” with the story of team captain Garrett Graham and Hannah Wells, played by Belmont Cameli and Ella Bright. After an embarrassing encounter — Wells, working as a janitor, stumbles upon Graham naked in the locker room — the two make an arrangement. They will pretend to date, to make the guy Wells is really interested in jealous, and in turn she will tutor Graham in a class he's having trouble with. Their deal soon leads to something more.

“Off Campus” began production about a year ago, before “Heated Rivalry” — the phenomenon about gay pro hockey players, adapted from Rachel Reid's books — made its HBO debut. There will inevitably be comparisons between the two shows. But the actors in “Off Campus” say there is room for more than one hockey series.

“There’s new shows and movies about American football all the time. Nobody’s like, Oh great, here comes another ‘Remember the Titans,’” Cameli said. “‘Heated Rivalry’ had a ton of success and it deserved it and those guys are great. I’m thrilled for them.”

“Off Campus” creator and showrunner Louisa Levy is impressed that “Heated Rivalry” is breaking barriers with its storytelling.

“Not only is it another hockey show, it’s a queer hockey show, which is amazing. And it’s also very different from our show,” Levy said. “Our show is in college. Our show follows a group of friends. It’s a different kind of romance.”

The success of the Canadian-made “Heated Rivalry” is also a source of pride for another “Off Campus” actor, Stephen Kalyn.

“Seeing another Canadian creator make such a very popular and hit show, it’s really inspiring, honestly,” said Kalyn, who plays Dean Di Laurentis. “I’m just proud. I’m a proud Canadian.”

“Off Campus” mostly follows its hockey players' lives off the ice. Still, they wanted to make the action look realistic.

“We did ask all the guys to put themselves on tape skating to make sure that they could at least stand on ice before we shot, because it is important. We want it to feel organic,” Levy said. “There are certain things that you can cut around and certain things that are a little bit harder.”

Before filming, the actors were put through a two-week hockey boot camp to get comfortable on skates and the ice. A former hockey pro, Dave Tomlinson, was brought in to help them learn the basics.

“We did a lot of the close-ups as we’re skating,” said Jalen Thomas Brooks, who plays John Tucker. “There’s no like, pretending to skate. We’re all on skates moving, actually striding. But when it comes to the big, big sequences, those are sometimes stunt doubles.”

Kalyn has actual hockey experience and could perform more of his own moves on camera.

“I grew up playing hockey my whole life, so it’s such a treat to be able to play hockey and act — the two things that I love,” Kalyn said.

Season 2 of “Off Campus” begins filming very soon, and will star Cipriano. A video of him surprising India Fowler with the news that she got the part of his love interest, Grace Ivers, was recently released online.

While Cipriano is “excited for Logan to meet Grace at some point,” he's focused on celebrating the release of Season 1.

“We don’t need to think about the future right now,” he said.

Cameli is looking forward to his co-stars getting their own major storylines.

“They’re all really prepared for whenever their turn is up next,” Cameli said. “I love these guys. I mean, they’re are all like so talented and skilled and sweet, and they are just really great people. You know, do they ask me for advice all the time about everything? Yes. Am I giving them brilliant nuggets constantly? Absolutely.”

Unlike “Bridgerton,” where the couple du jour only pops up here and there on the show after their season has played out, Cameli and Bright say they're sticking around.

“We're not going anywhere,” promised Bright. “I’m just excited to see Hannah and Garrett in their relationship and what challenges that they might overcome being together.”

Actor Belmont Cameli poses for a portrait to promote the series "Off Campus" on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in West Hollywood, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Actor Ella Bright poses for a portrait to promote the series "Off Campus" on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in West Hollywood, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Cast members, from left, Jalen Thomas Brooks, Stephen Kalyn, Belmont Cameli and Antonio Cipriano pose for a portrait to promote the series "Off Campus" on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in West Hollywood, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Actors Ella Bright, left, and Belmont Cameli pose for a portrait to promote the series "Off Campus" on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in West Hollywood, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

While John Tortorella has only been coaching the Vegas Golden Knights for a little over six weeks, they are his sixth different NHL team and he is coming up on his 22nd anniversary of hoisting the Stanley Cup.

Through all that, he still wonders something about playoff hockey.

“I’m not sure what’s better: experience or youth, when you have no clue what’s going on?” Tortorella said. “They don’t understand the pressures of it because they don’t know. Or the experience.”

Tortorella's team showed the value of experience, taking a 3-2 series lead over the mostly new-to-this Anaheim Ducks by winning in overtime on Tuesday night. On the flip side, the less-seasoned Buffalo Sabres beat the Canadiens in Montreal to even up their best-of-seven series at 2-2.

Next up are two more chances to test Tortorella's question.

When/Where to Watch: Game 5, Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT (TNT, TruTV)

Series: Tied 2-2

Just when it looked like the Sabres were in trouble, they scored the opening goal less than seven minutes into Game 4 and endured a back-and-forth night full of replay reviews and penalties. Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff wasn't thrilled with some opposing players “going down easy” and wished for more embellishment calls, but he's proud of how his young group handled it.

"We battled through all that," Ruff said Wednesday. “We got to make sure we’re in there but at the same time not taking anything stupid and putting our team at a disadvantage. It’s a fine line right now, but I think there’s a way to juggle around it.”

The Canadiens got a taste of playoff hockey a year ago, losing in five games to Washington in the first round. A few players are left (and Phillip Danault returned) from 2021, when they went on an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final before falling short against Tampa Bay.

Captain Nick Suzuki, one of those players, chalked up the latest defeat to a bad bounce and already seems ready for Game 5.

“We knew we had to go to Buffalo anyway,” Suzuki said. "We’re a good road team. We've shown that all year, so we've go do it again and bring it back home.”

A few Sabres players have been in the NHL postseason, but the organization is here for the first time since 2011 after ending the longest drought in league history. The newcomers have been some of Buffalo's best players, and it seems like they are enjoying the ride.

“As a kid, this is what you dream of, playing playoff hockey,” said Josh Doan, who leads the team in scoring this series with six points. “There’s nothing you trade it in the world for, getting the opportunity to do this.”

When/Where to Watch: Game 6, Thursday, 9:30 p.m. EDT (TNT, TruTV)

Series: Vegas leads 3-2

Tortorella would love for experience to win out because the Golden Knights are “full of it.” And they know it.

“We’re a pretty comfortable group in there, and there’s a lot of players in there who’ve been through it and had a lot of success and won,” Vegas defenseman Rasmus Andersson said. “We’re an older team, and it’s that feeling that no moment is too big.”

Anaheim has plenty of veteran guys to rely on, including Cup winners Alex Killorn and John Carlson and players like Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba who have gone on deep runs. But the Ducks' core is about youth, speed and not getting intimidated by the situation.

“I’m pretty excited to see what we all got," 23-year-old center Mason McTavish said. ”It’s our first time with our backs against the wall. I’m excited for us to kind of show everybody what we got."

Coach Joel Quenneville, who has three Cup rings from his time as head coach in Chicago, has been around long enough that Tuesday night reminded him of a similar Game 5 — 11 years ago ... at Anaheim. That was when he was with the Blackhawks, who erased exactly this deficit on the way to their third championship in six years.

“(We have) a lot of younger guys that they’ve been fine the whole playoffs and nothing seems to change their demeanor or their approach,” Quenneville said. “We’ll come back home and focus on the next game and know we’re right in the thick of things."

As for the notion that a young team needs to learn how to lose before it can win, Quenneville quipped, “I’m not ready for that.”

AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow in Buffalo, New York, AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson in Las Vegas and the Canadian Press contributed.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Buffalo Sabres' Zach Benson (6) reacts to a goal by teammate Tage Thompson against Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) during second period, second round, game 4, NHL playoff hockey game in Montreal on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Buffalo Sabres' Zach Benson (6) reacts after scoring against Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) during third period, second round, Game 4, NHL playoff hockey action in Montreal on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vegas Golden Knights center Tomas Hertl (48) and left wing Brandon Saad (20) celebrate after Hertl's goal against Anaheim Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal (1) during the third period in Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Las Vegas. (Steve Marcus