Netflix’s ‘Icebreaker’ Finds Its Stassie and Nate

Netflix has locked in the two actors at the center of its Icebreaker adaptation. Daisy Jelley will play competitive figure skater Anastasia “Stassie” Allen, while Connor Simos has been cast as college hockey standout Nate Hawkins.

The rink romance now has its leads

The series is based on Hannah Grace’s bestselling novel, the first entry in her Maple Hills books. Its central setup brings Stassie, an Olympic hopeful, into conflict with Nate after an accident leaves their teams sharing the same rink. The forced proximity turns their rivalry into a romance, giving Netflix another sports-driven love story with an established readership behind it.

Jelley already has experience with book adaptations through Netflix’s Geek Girl. Her screen credits also include How to Have Sex, and she is attached to the streamer’s upcoming series Poser. Icebreaker will be Simos’ first credited television role; he is also due to appear in the thriller Subversion.

A bestseller moves toward production

Grace’s novel was first published in 2022 before receiving a wider release the following year. It spent 70 consecutive weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and has sold nearly five million copies worldwide. Across the three Maple Hills books, global sales have passed 7.5 million copies, giving the adaptation a sizable built-in audience.

Jade Halley Bartlett created the series and will executive produce. Amanda Lasher is serving as showrunner, writer and executive producer. Grace is also an executive producer, alongside Alex Cooper, Matt Kaplan and Mina Lefevre through Cooper’s Unwell Productions.

The casting follows Netflix’s June announcement that it was developing the novel for television. No premiere date has been announced yet, but naming Stassie and Nate gives fans their clearest indication so far that the project is moving from development into a more concrete phase.

The show also arrives during a busy period for rink-centered romance on streaming. That trend raises expectations for how faithfully Netflix will translate the book’s mix of college sports, ambition and relationship drama—and places immediate attention on the chemistry between its newly chosen leads.