Bruins Star Praises Inclusion Amid Success of Heated Rivalry

The Boston Bruins defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in a tight, 4-3 game. The contest was another step in the right direction for the Bruins as they push up the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference standings, but the win felt a bit more meaningful for the entire team.

The Bruins were celebrating their Hockey Is For Everyone night, and many players wore rainbow-colored tape on their sticks or shin pads during warmups. The gesture was the team's latest gesture of acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community, especially as hockey is quickly growing a new fanbase.

That explosion happened overnight with the television series Heated Rivalry. The LGBT romance novel-turned-hit show has captured international attention and opened the NHL to a group of people who have predominantly been pushed out and not accepted in hockey. The sentiment from the locker room in Boston and star defender Charlie McAvoy is that pieces of media like Heated Rivalry are helping to change things, slowly. As he described it, it's an awesome step the NHL is taking.

"From what I've heard of that show, it's been growing the game a lot and in support of that community, so that stuff's all awesome," he said in a video shared by broadcaster Bridgette Proulx. "It's awesome for hockey. It's awesome for just for everybody. So, I'm happy that tonight, that we won on this night. And hopefully a lot of people feel the support of the Bruins."