Race absolutely matters. Racism absolutely exists. But different racial groups are stereotyped in different ways, and those stereotypes can produce completely different social expectations.

For example, I’ve seen people criticize Rachel and Jacob for joking about Hudson being unintelligent because he’s a person of color. If Hudson were Black, I would understand that criticism more, because there is a long history of anti-Black stereotypes portraying Black people as unintelligent. But Hudson is Asian. Asian men are stereotyped in almost the opposite way. They’re often assumed to be intelligent, studious, and academically successful. The stereotype is still racist, but it’s a different stereotype. It doesn’t suddenly become an anti-Asian stereotype just because we’ve replaced “Asian” with the broader category of “POC.”

The same thing happens constantly in fanfiction with Shane.

A lot of writers portray Shane as being afraid to fight because he knows he’ll be judged more harshly than white players. I understand where that idea is coming from, but as a black person I’ve never found it particularly convincing.

If Shane were black, that analysis would make more sense to me. Black men are often stereotyped as aggressive, which means behavior that is considered acceptable from white athletes is often interpreted differently when black ones do it.

But asian men occupy a very different place in the racial imagination. They’re frequently stereotyped as passive, non-threatening, weak, nerdy, emasculated, etc. If racial stereotypes were influencing Shane’s approach to hockey, I could just as easily imagine the opposite dynamic: feeling pressure to prove he’s aggressive enough to belong. Maybe he’s fighting TOO much.

But that doesn’t make sense for Shane. He’s the league’s golden boy. He’s polite, media-friendly, and heavily inspired by Sidney Crosby. He’s a superstar. Fighting is often delegated to players lower on the depth chart whose role is specifically to provide physicality. Star players generally aren’t expected to be enforcers. Teams usually want their elite talent scoring goals, not sitting in the penalty box after dropping the gloves.

So Shane not fighting much doesn’t strike me as evidence of racial pressure. It strikes me as evidence that he’s Shane Hollander.

Crosby is a useful comparison here. For years, people mocked him for not being physical enough (and for talking to the refs too much). They questioned his toughness and masculinity. They called him “Crybaby Crosby” or “Cindy Crosby.” Fans edited photos of him in dresses or makeup. The criticism wasn’t really about hockey. The joke was that he wasn’t a “real man.”

And that’s a white player.

Imagine how much worse those conversations could become if the player in question were Asian.

That’s the kind of racial dynamic I could actually see affecting Shane, not him worrying about people thinking he’s too aggressive, but people questioning whether aggressive ENOUGH.

There’s a good chance that if Shane fought exactly like many white players, he probably still wouldn’t be viewed as tough enough. Meanwhile, if a Black player fought exactly like those same white players, he might be interpreted as more aggressive.

People often criticize Rachel for not doing much racial analysis in the books. But sometimes fandom fills that gap with racial analysis that feels disconnected from both hockey culture and the specific stereotypes that affect different racial groups.

Not every POC experience is interchangeable.

A stereotype that affects Black athletes is not automatically a stereotype that affects Asian athletes. A stereotype that affects Latino athletes is not automatically a stereotype that affects Indigenous athletes.

If we’re going to talk about race- and we should- we have to talk about the actual racial dynamics at play, not just substitute “person of color” for a more specific analysis.

The only times he is ever rude, short, or anything that could be described as him being an asshole, are with his parents and Ilya. With his parents he's comfortable being an "asshole" but they also respond to him like he's being an asshole, even though in reality, he's not even when he's justifiably irritated, upset or pissed.

Only with Ilya can Shane fully drop his model minority facade and just be an "asshole." Most the time, the extent of this is "Fuck you," but the point is he can do it. Ilya always takes it in stride. He is the one person Shane doesn't have to be perfect with. Shane isn't an asshole, but he isn't the Golden Boy he's expected to be either and Ilya is the only one who prefers him that way.

And that's one reason that Shane doesn't want someone "nice." Being with someone "nice" would be another thing he's doing as a model minority. It would be another thing that makes him the NHL Golden Boy. And it would be another thing that compensates for some aspect of who he is. If Shane was out in the MLH, having a "nice" boyfriend would be compensation for being gay. Like, yes, I'm a queer, but at least I'm a respectable queer dating a nice man from Montreal. Shane doesn't want that. Even if Shane didn't get with a "nice" man for that reason, he would still see how having a "nice" boyfriend ends up being used to further his image as a model minority or to compensate for him being gay.

‘Cause like, our boy is autistic, which makes him more sensitive to a lot of stuff, but also on a very real note, he doesn’t emotionally process most of his life. I say this as someone who is both medicated and therapized, but I still cannot emotionally process things unless I work through it out loud (AuDHD, baby!). Therefore, Shane internalizes EVERYTHING. He won’t sob or act out or be dramatic, he’ll just go quiet (and then MAYBE he’ll cry if he’s alone, maybe).

Shane hires people to manage things for him, yes, but when it comes to himself, he will Handle That Shit. Yep, it’s not healthy or wise most of the time (his ED, obsessive training, etc), but that’s how Shane regulates his feelings and emotional wellbeing. Again, he doesn’t do regulation well, but rigid routines and rules make him stable enough to present as a functional human (me too, Shane).

Shane doesn’t need Ilya to tell him how to think or feel. He does need to be poked at sometimes to actually talk about things, but Shane will not be the kind of person who has explosively emotional breakdowns at the drop of a hat. Between masking his autism and strict media training, he will never be that kind of person.

It’s also important to note that Shane grew up in a safe, loving home. His parents (from what we know) have a very healthy relationship. Yuna, while a little overbearing, is stable and controlled (behaviour that Shane likely mimics) and David is a very calm, relaxed guy that balances out his wife’s intensity. It’s very likely that Shane rarely witnessed any fights and if he did, it’s unlikely they were highly emotional displays.

Between them, Ilya will be the one who’s prone to emotional breakdowns. With the C-PTSD of his childhood finally catching up and his battle with depression, Ilya will struggle to regulate or push it down, especially since he’s in a place where he has a good support system. It’s part-brain chemistry and part learned behaviour bc his father was obviously abusive (explosively, so, from what we can glean about both Ilya & his mother) and he watched his mother struggle with depression. Ilya can put on a face until he explodes because he has no other way of expression.

‘Cause like, our boy is autistic, which makes him more sensitive to a lot of stuff, but also on a very real note, he doesn’t emotionally process most of his life. I say this as someone who is both medicated and therapized, but I still cannot emotionally process things unless I work through it out loud (AuDHD, baby!). Therefore, Shane internalizes EVERYTHING. He won’t sob or act out or be dramatic, he’ll just go quiet (and then MAYBE he’ll cry if he’s alone, maybe).

Shane hires people to manage things for him, yes, but when it comes to himself, he will Handle That Shit. Yep, it’s not healthy or wise most of the time (his ED, obsessive training, etc), but that’s how Shane regulates his feelings and emotional wellbeing. Again, he doesn’t do regulation well, but rigid routines and rules make him stable enough to present as a functional human (me too, Shane).

Shane doesn’t need Ilya to tell him how to think or feel. He does need to be poked at sometimes to actually talk about things, but Shane will not be the kind of person who has explosively emotional breakdowns at the drop of a hat. Between masking his autism and strict media training, he will never be that kind of person.

It’s also important to note that Shane grew up in a safe, loving home. His parents (from what we know) have a very healthy relationship. Yuna, while a little overbearing, is stable and controlled (behaviour that Shane likely mimics) and David is a very calm, relaxed guy that balances out his wife’s intensity. It’s very likely that Shane rarely witnessed any fights and if he did, it’s unlikely they were highly emotional displays.

Between them, Ilya will be the one who’s prone to emotional breakdowns. With the C-PTSD of his childhood finally catching up and his battle with depression, Ilya will struggle to regulate or push it down, especially since he’s in a place where he has a good support system. It’s part-brain chemistry and part learned behaviour bc his father was obviously abusive (explosively, so, from what we can glean about both Ilya & his mother) and he watched his mother struggle with depression. Ilya can put on a face until he explodes because he has no other way of expression.

To Shane the ccm photoshoot was a one time hook up. Then the all stars game happens and Ilya gives him his number. Then ghosts him. Then yells at Shane when he tried to talk after he beats Ilya out for the rookie award, then kisses him. Then Ilya spends two years trying to get back into his bed. Shane lets him. Then Ilya shuts him down at Sochi and ghosts him. AGAIN. Then Vegas happens and Shane doesn’t send that text because it’s humiliating isn’t it? Begging for affection from a man that’s only rejected it time and time again.

Shane knows to rules now. He’s allowed to want sex. Not affection or even friendship. They talk, but if Shane gets even close to a topic that matters, Ilya deflects and Shane backs off. He doesn’t make those mistakes anymore, Shane knows what Ilya wants and more specifically what he doesn’t want from him. And this arrangement works for years.

We as the audience know the circles of hell Ilya is being put through but Shane doesn’t, because Ilya doesn’t tell him. He’s unaware of the depth of feelings Ilya has for him because Ilya doesn’t show it.

Then tuna melt happens, Ilya breaks all the rules. He asks Shane to stay over, they nap together, ilya cooks for him and they are cuddling??!!? Shane is visibly confused the whole time. (“I’m hungry,” “For what?” “Food, you pervert,”)

The whole time Ilya is happily playing out his domesticity scene, Shane is sitting there waiting for the other shoe to drop. Then Ilya says him name like that. And all the feelings Shane has packed away neatly, refusing to acknowledge, comes bubbling up.

Shane maybe suspects at this point that his feelings are not one sided. But what the fuck is he supposed to do with that? It has never mattered before. Each time he lets Ilya draw him in, it ends badly for him.

Shane’s at his best friend’s house checking his phone, waiting Ilya to text him back (he won’t). He’s walking away from a balcony after getting whiplash from all the mixed signals. He’s at a stadium in a foreign country, shot down just for caring, again. He’s in an elevator in a fancy hotel, heart in his stomach, hating how much he wants.

Ilya hasn’t giving him any reason to think that this time it would be any different. But for Shane it hurts worse each time Ilya pushes him away. Shane has gone and fallen in love with his regular (and only) hook up like a fucking idiot.