Netflix is getting into the Heated Rivalry conversation, but this time it is bringing a different kind of rink-side romance to the screen with Icebreaker. The streamer is developing Hannah Grace’s bestselling novel as another page-to-screen addition to its increasingly adaptation-heavy slate. With figure skating, college hockey and enemies-to-lovers chemistry in the mix, the ice is already looking crowded.

That is where the newly announced cast comes in. Netflix has now put faces to the two characters at the center of Grace’s Maple Hills universe, giving fans their first look at who will carry the adaptation when it eventually reaches the streamer.

Netflix has found its leads for Icebreaker, with Daisy Jelley and Connor Simos taking on the roles of Anastasia “Stassie” Allen and Nate Hawkins, respectively. The casting was first reported by Variety, while Netflix posted the announcement on X, confirming the pair as the central duo for its college hockey romance.

Daisy Jelley as Anastasia “Stassie” Allen: Jelley plays the fiercely competitive figure skater chasing her Olympic ambitions. She is already familiar to Netflix audiences through Geek Girl, while her recent credits include How to Have Sex and the upcoming Poser.

Connor Simos as Nate Hawkins: Simos takes on the campus hockey star, as per Netflix and team captain whose sights are set on an NHL career. Icebreaker marks his first credited television role, with his upcoming film work including the thriller Subversion, starring Chris Hemsworth and Lily James.

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The rest of the cast has not been announced yet, leaving plenty of Maple Hills characters still waiting for their screen counterparts. Jade Bartlett is creating the series alongside showrunner Amanda Lasher, with Alex Cooper, Matt Kaplan, Mina Lefevre and Grace among the executive producers through Unwell Productions.

The series adapts Hannah Grace’s first Maple Hills novel, where a facility mix-up forces the college figure skating and hockey teams to share a rink. An accident brings Stassie and Nate into closer orbit, turning their competitive friction into something considerably more complicated.

The book has serious BookTok-to-screen credentials behind it. Icebreaker spent 70 consecutive weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and has sold nearly 5 million copies worldwide, while the wider three-book Maple Hills series has surpassed 7.5 million global sales.

The adaptation also fits neatly into Netflix’s continuing appetite for literary properties, joining projects such as I Will Find You, Little House on the Prairie and His & Hers. The streamer also has East of Eden, Pride and Prejudice, The Corrections and Lonesome Dove among its upcoming book adaptations.

For now, Jelley and Simos are the only confirmed faces on the Icebreaker roster. As Netflix fills out the rest of Maple Hills, fans can expect plenty more casting news before this particular rivalry reaches the rink. 

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What do you think of the first two casting choices? Share your thoughts in the comments.