For years, Luke Prokop has been carrying around a label that refuses to stay on the back of his jersey. He’s a promising defenseman chasing an NHL dream, but ask most people who he is and you’ll probably hear the same introduction: the gay hockey player. It’s accurate. It’s historic. It’s also only part of the story.
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That’s exactly what The Hockey Player sets out to unpack. The documentary follows Prokop’s life on and off the ice, showing not just the milestones that made headlines but the quieter moments that never do. There are practices, promotions, family conversations, career detours, and plenty of soul-searching. Turns out making history doesn’t make the everyday grind of professional hockey disappear.
Luke Prokop has made peace with being hockey’s gay trailblazer
Prokop knows exactly how the world sees him.
“I’m not known as Luke Prokop the hockey player, I’m Luke Prokop the gay hockey player.”
Five years ago, that distinction felt heavier than empowering.
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“It was associated with me everywhere I went, and I almost viewed it as a negative because I am a pretty private person, I didn’t want extra attention or my teammates to be awkward,” Prokop tells PinkNews. “But I’ve grown to be really proud, and I take it very seriously now.”
That’s one of the documentary’s biggest achievements. It doesn’t pretend coming out instantly turned him into an unshakable activist wrapped in rainbow tape. Instead, it captures someone slowly figuring out how to live with visibility when all he originally wanted was to play hockey. His journey hasn’t exactly been a Hollywood sports montage either.
After being selected by the Nashville Predators in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Prokop still had to grind through the ECHL before earning time in the AHL. That’s the reality of professional hockey: getting drafted is exciting, but it’s more “to be continued” than “happily ever after.”
Heated Rivalry gave hockey a fresh wave of attention
Let’s address the giant, handsome elephant skating around the rink. Heated Rivalry has done something few hockey dramas manage: convince plenty of people who’d never watched a faceoff to suddenly care about defensemen. The series has introduced a whole new audience to the sport, and he thinks that’s ultimately a good thing.
“I don’t view it as pressure anymore, it’s more of a responsibility.”
That responsibility became one of the reasons he wanted The Hockey Player to exist.
“With the success of Heated Rivalry, there’s probably a lot of queer players that don’t feel comfortable coming out. If I can be visible for them, all that I’ve done with coming out and making this movie, it makes it all worthwhile.”
The conversation around the documentary also inevitably circles back to the NHL’s controversial Pride policies. Soon after he came out publicly, the league banned Pride jerseys, Pride tape and other cause-based warm-up equipment before later allowing players to voluntarily use rainbow-colored stick tape while continuing to prohibit Pride jerseys. Prokop criticised those decisions at the time, though he admits speaking up requires careful navigation.
Speaking up without getting sent to the penalty box
Being one of hockey’s few openly gay players means every sentence can feel like it’s under video review.
“I have to teeter the line of what I can say without harming myself and my career, but I also have to be able to speak up for my community and try to do that the best way I can,” he explains. “This movie is that fine line of talking about things but not going completely overboard and bashing what has happened in the past.”
It’s a balancing act many LGBTQ athletes understand. You become the person everyone looks to for representation, even on days when you’d rather people were discussing your plus-minus rating instead.
Luke Prokop wasn’t expecting to relate to Heated Rivalry quite so much
Like plenty of hockey fans, Prokop eventually tuned into Heated Rivalry. His first reaction wasn’t exactly excitement.
“I didn’t want the sex story to be associated with me, I don’t want people to perceive me that way,” he says.
Then he realized the series wasn’t really about sex at all.
“The hiding, having a different name in your phone, and being afraid to be out in public are things I really resonated with.”
The relationship between Scott (François Arnaud) and his boyfriend Kip (Robbie GK) struck a particularly familiar chord. Beneath all the longing glances and locker-room tension was something many LGBTQ people recognize immediately: the exhausting logistics of hiding your life from everyone else. Prokop also appreciates what the series has done for the sport.
“It brought a lot of new fans into the game and now it’s up to hockey, the players and teams to provide an environment that is open for everyone.”
And if Hollywood ever comes calling?
“Apparently, in the books, there’s a big, tall ginger hockey player,” he recalls with a grin.
Fans of Rachel Reid’s Tough Guy have spent years pointing out the similarities between Prokop and Ryan Price, another tall, ginger, gay Canadian defenseman.
“It would be cool to do that, something different!”
Safe to say fans wouldn’t complain if that casting happened.
A fresh start and another chapter
The documentary also brings in familiar voices from the hockey world, including Brock McGillis, Brian Burke and Heated Rivalry creator Jacob Tierney. Still, the emotional heartbeat comes from Prokop’s family, especially his father. At one point, his dad wonders whether coming out when he did may have limited future opportunities.
He has asked himself the same question.
“Every time I had a conversation with the team, it was always very positive. But they also didn’t really get an option; I was already signed. If I had come out before the draft, maybe I would have gone to a different team,” Prokop says.
There were moments that left him questioning everything.
“I look back on my time with the team that drafted me, and I was put in some pretty unique situations,” he continues. “I’d wonder why, and at the time, the main thing in my mind was: ‘Is it because I’m gay?’”
Today, he no longer believes that was the reason. Still, signing with the Bakersfield Condors ahead of the 2025–26 season gave him exactly what every athlete hopes for: a clean slate. It also turned into the strongest AHL season of his career.
As The Hockey Player arrives, Prokop hopes audiences see more than the history books already do.
“I’ll play in random away arenas, and people will know who I am just by my last name,” he says.
That recognition didn’t come from lifting the Stanley Cup or becoming an overnight superstar. It came from helping more people see themselves in hockey. He’s still chasing the NHL, but he’s already changed the sport in a way that isn’t measured by goals or assists. If even one young player watches The Hockey Player and feels a little less alone walking into the locker room, that’s a legacy that reaches well beyond the final buzzer.