“That was me being uninformed,” Dan Powers said on the “Empty Netters” podcast. “I hadn’t watched the show yet.”

Hockey podcaster responds to Heated Rivalry fan backlash over leaked texts calling the show ‘trash’

"That was me being uninformed," Dan Powers said on the "Empty Netters" podcast. "I hadn't watched the show yet."

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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January 23, 2026 9:08 p.m. ET

Dan Powers of the 'Empty Netters' podcast; Hudson Williams on 'Heated Rivalry'. Credit:

Empty Netters/Instagram; Sabrina Lantos

- Dan Powers of the *Empty Netters* podcast addressed a report that he secretly disliked *Heated Rivalry*.

- The podcaster admitted that he called the show "trash" in a private text message before watching the show.

- However, he insisted that the texts were "totally taken out of context" and that his enthusiasm for the gay hockey romance series is genuine.

A hockey podcaster who went viral for his praise for *Heated Rivalry* is responding to claims that he secretly disliked the show.

Dan Powers, one of the hosts of the *Empty Netters* podcast, addressed an Outsports report that he called the gay hockey romance series "trash" in private while capitalizing on the show's popularity in public.

"I know that a ton of people are shocked by this, confused by this, and frustrated by this, and I take that very, very seriously," Powers said in a video posted Thursday. "And I want to say that this has caught me completely off guard and, frankly, is super-disappointing."

Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie on 'Heated Rivalry'.

Sabrina Lantos/HBO Max

The most popular videos on the *Empty Netters *YouTube channel are all reviews of *Heated Rivalry*, which stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie as rival hockey stars who share a private, passionate romance off the ice.

Powers said the text messages that appeared in the report were real, but noted that they were sent before he had actually seen the majority of *Heated Rivalry*.

"The timeline implied in this article is completely false and inaccurate and it suggests that we were watching this show, sending messages like this, while at the same time reviewing it and speaking poorly about it, which is completely inaccurate," he said. "These messages were sent over a week before we had ever watched the show and before we had ever posted a review."

Powers went on to share screenshots of the texts that he had shared with someone he "considered a good friend," noting that it was "crushing that this person would try to execute an attack" on his show.

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"So here's my lame reasoning," the host said in a text. "As a writer/And someone who works in the entertainment industry/This show ENRAGES me."

Powers continued, "I think these losers who made this show are cowards. They're Canadian for crying out loud - and in a space that has hockey fans DYING for a good, quality, well written, and AUTHENTIC hockey show…this is the trash they make because it panders, it's provocative, and it checks inclusivity boxes."

The podcaster insisted that the texts were taken out of context in the original report. "I prefaced all of them by saying 'My lame writer take' — implying and telling my friend, 'This is my jealous hyperbolic ridiculous take' because anyone who knows me, or anyone who watches this podcast, knows that I use absurd hyperbolic language to drive home a point," Powers explained. "It doesn't mean I mean those things."

Powers also said that his own experience trying to write a hockey series drove his initial criticism of the show, of which he said he had only seen 10 minutes at the time that he sent the texts. "I was using that language because as a writer in Hollywood who has tried and failed to make a hockey show, an authentic hockey drama, I then said privately that just another hockey smut romance show was being made instead of being authentic," he said. "That was me being uninformed. I hadn't watched the show yet."

Powers also said the controversy saddened him because it cast doubt on *Empty Netters*' enthusiasm for *Heated Rivalry*. "Now the people that we enjoyed this wonderful situation and this wonderful moment with are made to feel like they can't trust what they saw," he said. "You've now potentially made these people feel like they can't trust the authenticity and the lovely nature of those moments, and that breaks my heart."

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The podcaster reiterated that he genuinely loves *Heated Rivalry* and its creators. "What I was saying was not directed at the amazing people who made this show. It was totally taken out of context," he said. "For the people who are upset or angry still, or confused, I totally understand, but I'd like to just say, give us a chance. Give me a chance."

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Source: “EW Podcasts”