Hockey romance has been having a moment on streaming, and Netflix is now looking to get its own team on the ice. The streamer has begun assembling the ensemble for Icebreaker, its upcoming adaptation of Hannah Grace’s bestselling romance novel, just days after announcing the two actors who will lead the series.
The project arrives at a time when hockey-centric romance has found a strong audience on streaming, following the popularity of titles such as Heated Rivalry. However, Icebreaker takes a slightly different route, placing a competitive figure skater and a hockey player at the centre of its love story.
Netflix has now added six actors to the cast: Gabriel Tierney, Auliʻi Cravalho, Peter Berry, Chaneil Kular, Devin Craig and Aidan Shaw. They join Daisy Jelley and Connor Simos, who were recently announced as the leads Anastasia “Stassie” Allen and Nate Hawkins.
Tierney, known for Rivals and Enola Holmes 2, will play Aaron, while Cravalho, who voiced the titular character in Moana, has been cast as Lola. Professional athlete Peter Berry joins as Robbie, with Sex Education actor Chaneil Kular playing JJ. Devin Craig, known for The Sex Lives of College Girls, will portray Henry, while Aidan Shaw, who appeared in Heated Rivalry, has joined as Russ.
At the centre of the story are Stassie and Nate. Stassie is a transfer student and competitive figure skater with her sights set on Olympic gold, while Nate is a college hockey player determined to make it to the NHL. An accident forces their teams to share the same rink, bringing the two ambitious athletes together and complicating their carefully planned futures.
The series is based on Grace’s Icebreaker, the first book in her Maple Hills series. The novel became a major BookTok title and spent 70 consecutive weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, with Netflix stating that the book has sold nearly five million copies worldwide and been translated into 24 languages.
Jelley, known for Geek Girl, Poser and How to Have Sex, will play Stassie, while Simos takes on Nate. Their casting was announced earlier this week, with Netflix subsequently unveiling the rest of the principal ensemble. Amanda Lasher serves as showrunner and writer, while Jade Halley Bartlett is the creator and an executive producer. Hannah Grace is also an executive producer, alongside Alex Cooper, Matt Kaplan and Mina Lefevre for Unwell Productions. Netflix has yet to announce a release date for Icebreaker.
