Shane:I'm standing in the hallway like an idiot. Scott Hunter is right next door.
Ilya: (laughing quietly)
Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander, Heated Rivalry season 1 episode 1: Rookies
This scene always makes me laugh because not only was Shane quickly knocking on Ilya's hotel room door, he rushed in as soon as Ilya opened the door. No wonder Ilya asked Shane "Is someone chasing you?", because he was acting as if someone was. But I understand, Shane was nervous and didn't want anyone to know that they were hooking up. And not to mention fellow hockey player Scott Hunter had a room right next to Ilya. And he would have easily realized what they were up to if he had seen Shane waiting outside Ilya's door. And at this point, Shane definitely wasn't ready for anyone to know him and Ilya were hooking up. But nervous or not, that didn't stop him from wanting to be with Ilya.
Ilya:What kind of a bird makes a noise like that?!
Shane:A LOON. A fucking wolf?!
Ilya:A stupid Canadian wolf bird!
Shane does a loon call
Ilya:Oh, so now you speak bird, too.
Shane:Fluent.
Ilya:I hate you.
Shane:No you don’t.
~ Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander, Heated Rivalry season 1 episode 6: The Cottage
I just thought this scene was so funny. Because Ilya, who is usually so confident and tough immediately became scared when he heard that loon call. Shane told him it was a bird but Ilya was looking around just in case a "wolf" suddenly appeared. I just love how Shane had a good-naturedly chuckle about it. He was probably just as surprised to see how scared Ilya was over a bird call.
Happy Saturday! I had some fandom thoughts on my mind and wanted to share them. And here they are:
- What is going on with the writing on 9-1-1? Why does Henrietta "Hen" Wilson have to be written out of character to try to make this terrible storyline of her being sick and hiding it work? Which by the way, it didn't. It's definitely one way of ruining her character. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever that Hen would have done any of the stuff the writers had her doing. And at this point, it truly feels like character assassination especially with her blaming others and lashing out at her best friend and now 118 Fire Captain Howard "Chimney" Han. I'm starting to wonder if the writers are using AI (which I hope not and it's just bad writing) to write this ninth season because so far this has been a very lackluster season with boring storylines and characters being out of character. I guess since they couldn't have any more repetitive storylines of Hen and her wife Dr. Karen Wilson either not being able to have a second child or have something dealing with their children. So, now it's a ridiculous storyline about Hen's out of character response to having a health issue.
Something I have no interest in is the writers most likely planning on giving Edmundo "Eddie" Diaz yet another random love interest this season. The same most likely for Evan "Buck" Buckley. I never understood why they just don't want to put Buck and Eddie together. It's kind of hilarious that this show has one of the most popular ships (albeit non-canon) and instead of seeing what the fans and viewers are seeing and enjoying. The Showrunner and writers would rather baits fans and viewers instead of actually putting them together. I guess it's more fun for them to bait fans but it's not fun for fans. Anyway, it looks like one if not both of them will probably be getting new random love interests. I would love to be proved wrong with the Showrunner and writers no longer baiting fans and they stop writing the same storylines over and over again and finally put Buck and Eddie together. But I'm not holding my breath for that.
- Something I hope that Heated Rivalry will showcase more of in the second season is Canada. This is a Canadian show and I want to see more of Canada especially since I've never been there. I know this show has a low budget and it doesn't look like it's changing, so maybe they can get creative with how they showcase Canada. Since Shane Hollander lives in Montréal and plays for the Montréal Metros, I want to see more of the city. And with Ilya Rozanov thinking of leaving the Boston Raiders to play for the Ottawa Centaurs, it would be cool to see more of the city of Ottawa. And with Ilya moving they will both be in Canada and it would be nice to see them going out and showing viewers more sites in both cities. I don't know, it's just when I think about Sex and the City, it truly made New York City a focus and almost like another character on the show. I just hope Heated Rivalry could add a little more essence of Canada to the show.
I know I haven't read the other six books in the Game Changers series (but I will) which I recently bought but that doesn't stop me from wanting to pre-order this book, Unrivaled by Rachel Reid. I've never pre-ordered a book this far in advance, Unrivaled which is the seventh book in the series is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, September 29th, 2026.
Although, I'm new to the Game Changers fandom, prior to this new book being announced, I had read that the author had written the final book in the series, The Long Game. So, it's pleasantly surprising that Rachel Reid secretly wrote a new book that I'm sure old and new fans will be happy to read. I can't believe that Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov are getting a new and third book, that's pretty cool.
Book:Unrivaled (Game Changers book #7) by Rachel Reid
Publication:September 29, 2026 June 1, 2027
Description:
A line has been drawn—and the hockey world is divided.
For the first time in their professional hockey careers, Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander have nothing to hide. For more than a decade, they kept their love a secret, but now they're out, married, and even playing on the same team. The support is incredible.
Most of the time.
They've gotten a lot of love from fans who are thrilled for them. But some people in the hockey world are still reeling from their relationship reveal, and the backlash—led by popular hockey podcast Top Shelf and the #TakeBackHockey movement—is getting louder.
Ilya and Shane are finally able to stand together in the light, the way they'd always wanted. And now they might be facing their biggest challenge yet.
Shane:I was excited about last night. I'm mostly mad at Marleau for fucking that up.
Ilya:He feels really bad.
Shane:You know, I had a whole plan to ask you something.
Ilya:Maybe it's better if you just rest now.
Shane:I was gonna ask you...
Ilya:Hollander...
Shane:Will you come to my cottage this summer? Don't go to Russia. Come to my house. We'll have so much fun. It's so private. No one will know.
Ilya:Hollander, you know I can't do that.
Shane:We could have a week or even two. We'd be completely alone. Together.
Ilya:Maybe. Maybe.
~ Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander, Heated Rivalry season 1 episode 5: I'll Believe in Anything
Ilya must have been so worried about Shane. Because after Shane had gotten knocked out during the game, he couldn't be by his side. He had to stand by and let the medical staff take care of Shane and take him to the hospital. And since they are in a secret relationship, Ilya couldn't leave the game and go to the hospital with Shane. Which means he had to continue the game while during all that time being worried about Shane. And then by the time the game was over, so was most likely visiting hours at the hospital. So, he had to wait until morning just to finally see Shane and find out how he was.
Meanwhile, Shane was all drugged out on whatever medicine or painkillers his doctor had him on. And despite the concussion and a fractured collarbone, he probably didn't have a care in the world. Well that is except for wanting to ask Ilya to come to his cottage for the summer. All in all, he was just so happy to see Ilya. He was just so cute and adorable and loopy throughout this scene meanwhile Ilya was all worried and concerned. What I found so interesting is that the love they have for each other was very present not just in this moment but throughout the entire scene. But it's also very funny with how loopy and slightly loud Shane was which had Ilya trying to quiet him down. I really like this scene.
(Heated Rivalry season 1 episode 5: I'll Believe in Anything)
I finally watched the first two episodes of Heated Rivalry, and they were really good. It inspired me to go to the bookstore today thinking I would buy a few books from the Game Changers series by Rachel Reid. And the only book (and I mean the only book) on the shelf (and in the store) was the first book in the series Game Changers. One of the employees said that they are not sure when the store will get a new shipment in to restock the series. Seeing as there is a huge demand for these books, she put my name down on a contact list when the books finally arrive.
Something else, I really think is good is all the promotion for the show. I feel like all the marketing is really working in the shows favor which I hope leads to a second season. Anyway, I wanted to post this video of actors Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie talking about the rooftop scene from the first episode Rookies makes me wish more current shows would be released on DVD because something like this would have made a really cool extra. Anyway, I just wanted to post this because the actors were giving a bit of insight into their characters and the scene.
Since hockey romances aren't my usual genre of books, I had no idea about Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid let alone that it was adapted into a TV series. Funny enough I used to be a big hockey fan but for some reason I must have lost interest in it. I certainly don't know the names of any of the players on my local national hockey team that's for sure. I don't remember the last time I watched. But I'm sure if I wanted to, I could probably go back to watching it. Anyway, back to this new show, Heated Rivalry, I'm not sure if this is a TV series or a miniseries, either way, the first season has six episodes. And the first two episodes premiered yesterday (Friday, Nov. 28th) and the other four episodes will be released on Fridays (December: 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th).
The show seems interesting because despite progress in the LGBTQ+ community, there is still unfortunately plenty of hate and homophobia in the world directed at that community. And with Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov being professional athletes, them being open about their sexuality is probably not going to get the positive reception that it should. Which is probably why they are keeping what they're doing a secret. Since I never read the book (maybe I will), I don't know how this will turn out. Will they get the chance to be themselves and have both their careers and love/relationship? Or will they have to continue to keep everything a secret as not to lose everything?
I'm trying to see when I'll start watching this because do I want to read the book first then watch the show or just watch the show and read the book later? I also still need to watch the first part of Stranger Things' fifth season. I didn't get a chance to watch it when it premiered on Wednesday and I have been avoiding spoilers ever since. Anyway, since I want to watch both shows, I just need to figure out which one to watch first.
Heated Rivalry (HBO Max in the United States and Crave in Canada)
Starring: Hudson Williams, Connor Storrie, Callan Potter, Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova, François Arnaud, Dylan Walsh and more
Creator: Jacob Tierney
Based on: The book Heated Rivalry (Game Changers book #2) by Rachel Reid
Description:
Two rival hockey stars, Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, are at the top of their game, face an unexpected challenge when they develop feelings for each other, complicating their careers and the sport's expectations.
