ride or die for jean moreau & mark bennett

"Happy Birthday, Shane Hollander!", Shane Hollander & Ilya Rozanov [Hudson Williams & Connor Storrie] from Heated Rivalry

May, 2026

A hastily edited and put together image for Shane's birthday! I can't image Shane is too happy about being put on show, even if the audience is only Ilya and Anya (and maybe his parents), but I feel like Ilya definitely enjoyed himself!

I'd argue that it's not inconsistent or shallow writing, but an intentionally written conflict between how others perceive and talk about them vs how they actually are with each other.

When we see the media or the league play up the rivalry there's always a moment to counter it. The CCM commercial shoot tries to pose them in a stare down, but they break out laughing. The league tries pit them against each other at the all-star game and puts them in front of the press, but we get an endearing moment of Shane helping Ilya out with his language barrier. Even when they're competing against each for the first time in 2008, Shane takes the initiative to introduce himself outside the arena away from everyone else, despite the Canada vs Russia commentator starting to create the rivalry narrative.

Their friends and family also reinforce how much they hate each other and, in response, they cover up what they're actually feeling or experiencing. Hayden says "Shane hates Rozanov" just before we see Shane be happy for Rozanov's cup win.

Those around them also miss the fact that when they are competitive with each other, its not out of hate or anger, but joy and love. There is a mutual respect and understanding between them when it comes to winning and competing and they genuinely love playing against each other. It's not until they are on the outs in episode 4, that their performance goes down.