Ice Hockey Gains Popularity Due to TV Shows

Topic: Sport

Saturday, 13 Jun 2026, 8:06 am

New fans are coming to Canberra Brave games because of popular TV shows.

Many women are excitedly waiting outside the AIS Arena for ice hockey games.

Taylor Elfverson said she and her friends were having a girls' night out.

She watched a TV show and decided to see an ice hockey game.

Ice hockey is very popular now.

Books that inspired TV shows like Heated Rivalry and Off Campus are also popular.

Heated Rivalry was a big success when it came out last year.

Off Campus got 36 million viewers in 12 days and broke a record.

Both shows were based on ice hockey romance novels.

Off Campus was a big hit for Amazon Prime.

'Undeniable' impact

The CEO of Canberra Brave said the TV shows have helped the Australian Ice Hockey League.

He thinks it's great for the sport.

Taylor Elfverson and Renee Grant didn't know much about ice hockey until they saw the TV shows.

In the past, most people at ice hockey games were men.

This year, more than 67% of tickets were bought by women.

Player Casey Kubara has seen the sport become more popular.

He said the new attention is great for the sport.

Casey Kubara says the attention from the TV shows is good for ice hockey.

He hasn't watched the TV shows, but he's happy they're helping the sport.

He thinks ice hockey is too aggressive to be romantic.

He gets asked about the TV shows a lot and says they're not like real ice hockey.

The TV shows are bringing new attention to ice hockey in Australia.

New fans have led to more sponsorships for the ice hockey industry.

The Canberra Brave has been selling out every game since moving to a bigger arena.

It's the same for other teams in the league.

The league now has a TV deal with ESPN and teams have a bigger social media presence.

Heated Rivalry was a big success when it came out last year.

'People aren't ashamed'

A romance bookstore in Canberra is one of the sponsors.

The store has a big section for sports romance books.

Ice hockey is the most popular sport in the romance genre.

The romance bookstore owner says her book club has new members.

She thinks the intensity of ice hockey makes it a good fit for romance.

People are no longer ashamed to read romance books and are proud to bring them to games.

The bookstore owner's book club went to an ice hockey game and loved it.

The atmosphere at the game was wonderful and electric.

Saturday, 13 Jun 2026, 8:06 am

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