Get to know Edvin Ryding, from Young Royals to Heated Rivalry season two
Edvin Ryding has been cast in Heated Rivlary season two. (Tim P. Whitby/Getty)
Young Royals star Edvin Ryding is being welcomed into the hockey universe with open arms after the news that he’s joining the second season of Heated Rivalry.
The 23-year-old Swedish actor was part of the second wave of new arrivals to the hit show.
Ryding will star alongside the existing cast, Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, who play hockey rivals-to-lovers Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander.
With Heated Rivalry season two starting production, here’s everything you need to know about new Swedish cast member…
Who is Edvin Ryding in Heated Rivalry season 2?
In Heated Rivalry season two, Ryding will play rookie hockey player Luca Haas.
In Rachel Reid’s Game Changers books, he is from Switzerland, but Ryding is from Sweden. It hasn’t yet been confirmed whether Ryding will be Swiss in the show, or whether the character will be changed to be Swedish.
Lucas is a fan favourite character who notably appears in Reid’s fifth and sixth books, Role Model and The Long Game. He is a young and rather shy player who idolises Ilya, his Ottawa Centaurs captain.
Fans quickly pointed out that show creator Jacob Tierney cited Young Royals as a reference for Storrie and Williams’ chemistry. So, it’s a very full-circle moment that Ryding is now joining the show.
Season two will draw mainly on Role Model (book five) – which charts the relationship between the Centaurs’ social media manager, Harris Drover (Justice Smith), and complicated hockey player Troy Barrett (Charlie Gillespie) – alongside the show’s central adaptation focus, The Long Game (book six).
Reid had originally planned to write a book in the series about Haas, but decided against it. She announced in February 2025 that the Luca Haas book had been scrapped, as he would be the fourth openly queer Ottawa Centaurs player, and he was too young, among other reasons.
Is Edvin Ryding queer?
Ryding has not publicly shared his sexuality.
Though he’s played LGBTQ+ characters in the past, Ryding has been private about how, or if, he labels his own sexuality.
What has Edvin Ryding starred in before?
After the casting news, Ryding posted two images on Instagram to celebrate. One of him on a boat wearing ice hockey skates and the other in a hockey player jersey.
Ryding is best known for Netflix’s Young Royals, in which he played the gay, future heir of Sweden, Prince Wilhelm.
The show debuted in 2021 and quickly garnered a devoted fanbase. Over three seasons, the storyline follows Prince Wilhelm at a prestigious boarding school as he falls for fellow student and choir singer Simon (played by musician Omar Rudberg).
Ryding also starred in 28 Years Later, playing Swedish NATO soldier Erik Sundqvist. Directed by Danny Boyle, the horror film is the third film in the 28 Days Later series.
Alongside Heated Rivalry, Ryding will play Vitus in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. Vitus is a Capitol University student and part of the prep team for District 12 tribute Haymitch Abernathy during the 50th Hunger Games.
Heated Rivalry is streaming now on HBO, Crave and NOW. Season two is confirmed to premiere in spring 2027.
