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Before the first episode of Heated Rivalry had even aired, official merchandise was already being sold for the little Canadian show about two hockey players who fall in love (and, notably, into bed) that’s become a global phenomenon since its debut at the end of November. While the sold-out range included the innuendo-filled jerseys of the teams that its two protagonists, Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) and Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams), play for in the fictional MLH (Major League Hockey), fans fixated on a particular costume piece that was not yet available for sale.
In episode two, Hollander rocks a fluffy white Team Canada fleece during scenes set at the 2014 Sochi Olympics that quickly became the grail piece for fans of the show, so much so that a petition that now boasts over 6,000 signatures was created in hopes of an official version being released.
Crafty fans immediately began creating their own DIY versions of the relatively simple jacket—a white fleece with red maple leaves on the arms and “Canada” in collegiate lettering on the back, which sounds unassuming but in reality is somehow a lot better than some of the country’s official Olympic gear that’s being sold this year. Brands with fortuitously similar jackets made for the upcoming Olympics in Milan and Cortina didn’t waste the opportunity to guide Heated Rivalry aficionados to their product.
But on Wednesday, a concise four-word statement that echoes the most iconic line from the show thus far sent the internet into a fervor.
“We’re releasing the fleece,” reads the joint statement from Canadian apparel brand Province of Canada and Accent Aigu Entertainment, the production company run by the show’s creators, Jacob Tierney and Brendan Brady.
And that’s all it needed to say—fans of the show knew exactly what it meant. (And presumably, they would have heard those words in their heads with the same intonation as Ilya telling Shane, “I’m coming to the cottage.”)
Province of Canada has dubbed it, naturally, The Fleece, and 10 percent of proceeds from the official version of the fleece will be donated to a LGBTQ+ charity “to be announced at a later date,” per a press release. More details are still forthcoming, such as an official release date and price, but an X post shared by Province of Canada earlier this month hinted that the brand was working on what at that point appeared to be just a tribute and not a proper collaboration.
“We noticed the conversation happening online around The Fleece, so we shared a post as a way of raising our hand on the chance the Heated Rivalry team was still looking for a partner,” Province of Canada co-founder Jeremy Watt tells GQ over email. “We had also sent a DM to Hanna [Puley], the show’s costume designer, on Instagram to let her know we were happy to help if needed.”
Per Watt, Puley, who designed the fleece for the show, passed along his information to Brady, who was already familiar with and a fan of the label—one of the few Canadian brands that manufactures all of its products within the country’s borders. A call was quickly arranged.
“It quickly became clear that we were aligned on what this project could be,” says Watt, emphasizing that it was important to the show’s creators to work with a Canadian brand if they were going to bring the famed piece to life.
And while fans will have to wait a little while longer for more concrete information about the jacket’s release, it appears, based on the teaser images on the company’s website, they can rest assured that they’ll get a faithful recreation of the jacket.
In an interview with CBC earlier this month, Puley shared her theory about why the fleece has made such an impact.
“There’s something actually about the simplicity of the design that makes it feel really accessible to pretty much anyone,” she said. “It’s really gender-neutral. It’s not super fashion forward. It feels very cozy and wearable and just very Canadian.”