Markets in everything, hockey romance edition

Before last week, many people may not have known about the existence — or exceptional popularity — of hockey romance novels. But the subgenre captured mainstream attention when an NHL player and his wife called on readers to stop sexually harassing him.

Allow me to explain: A sizable portion of BookTok, a book lovers’ community on TikTok, is devoted to romance. Creators share spicy reading recommendations throughout the genre, including hockey romances. When it comes to posts about this particular category of romance novel, quotes from books will appear on top of video edits of real NHL players, sometimes doing suggestive groin exercises on the ice.

Posters gravitate to players who remind them of their favorite book boyfriends, and one popular choice is Seattle Kraken center Alex Wennberg. His team initially courted BookTok with posts and hashtags in the same style, and flew out a popular creator for a playoff game…

Within the subcategory of sports romance, hockey dominates. Right now, all 10 of the top sports romances on Amazon involve hockey.

Here is the full story.