Shane Hollander

Shane Hollander
Game Changers character
Shane Hollander as portrayed by Hudson Williams (2025)
First appearanceHeated Rivalry (2019)
Created byRachel Reid
Adapted byJacob Tierney
Portrayed byHudson Williams
In-universe information
Full nameShane Hollander
AliasJane
Occupation
  • Ice hockey player
  • mental health activist
Affiliation
  • In the novels:
  • Montreal Voyageurs (2009–2021)
  • Ottawa Centaurs (since 2021)
  • In the series:
  • Montreal Metros (since 2009)
Family
  • Yuna Hollander (mother)
  • David Hollander (father)
Spouse
  • In the novels:
  • ​
    (m. 2021)​
Significant other
  • Rose Landry (2016–2017)
  • In the series:
  • Ilya Rozanov (since 2017)
OriginOttawa, Ontario, Canada
NationalityCanadian

Shane Hollander is a fictional character from Rachel Reid's sports romance novel series Game Changers (2018–2022) and its television adaptation Heated Rivalry (2025–present). He appears in five of the six published novels, serving as a main character in Heated Rivalry (2019) and The Long Game (2022), the second and sixth installments of the series. In the novels, Shane is portrayed as a Canadian professional ice hockey player and the captain of a fictional National Hockey League team, whose private life is marked by his struggle to reconcile his homosexuality with his public career, including a secret relationship with his league rival Ilya Rozanov.

In 2025, the novel series was adapted for television, with Jacob Tierney serving as director, writer, and executive producer for Crave. In the adaptation, Shane is portrayed by Canadian actor Hudson Williams and is reimagined as the captain of a fictional Montreal-based team in a fictional professional hockey league.[1] Williams received critical acclaim for his performance.

Development and conception

Reid drew inspiration from the real-life rivalry between Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin for Heated Rivalry.[2]: 13:00  In the novel's afterword, she credited HBO's reality television series 24/7, which had followed the 2011 NHL Winter Classic between Ovechkin's Washington Capitals and Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins.[3] She further cited Wayne Gretzky, Paul Kariya and John Tavares for the character of Shane.[2]: 13:43  However, she noted: "I never directly base my characters on any real people ... I was also inspired by other sports rivalries, by other fictional stories, and by my love of the enemies-to-lovers and forbidden romance tropes."[4]

Furthermore, the rivalry between the fictional NHL teams of Ilya Rozanov and Shane, the Boston Bears and the Montreal Voyageurs, respectively,[5] is inspired by the real-life Bruins–Canadiens rivalry between the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins.[6] Reid herself is a lifelong Canadiens fan,[7] while her father is a Bruins fan.[2]: 50:04 

Appearances

Novels

Heated Rivalry

Shane Hollander is first introduced in Heated Rivalry (2019), where he serves as a co-protagonist alongside Ilya. The two first meet in December 2008 during the 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Regina, Saskatchewan, where Shane's Team Canada is defeated by Ilya's Team Russia in the final.[8] At the 2009 NHL entry draft, Shane is selected second overall by the Montreal Voyageurs, immediately after Ilya is drafted first overall by the Boston Bears, and becomes aware of his attraction to Ilya during a post-draft workout.[9] The following year, they again compete at the World Junior Championships.[10] In July 2010, after filming a commercial for CCM, they begin a recurring secret sexual arrangement, marking Shane's first sexual experience with another man.[11]

During their early NHL careers, Shane competes directly with Ilya amid intense media attention surrounding their rivalry.[12] At the 2011 NHL All-Star Game, the league promotes their rivalry, and the two continue their clandestine encounters while concealing their involvement from others.[13][14] After winning the Rookie of the Year award over Ilya, Shane is kissed by him shortly before Ilya's return to Russia for the off-season.[15]

Two years later, Shane continues meeting Ilya privately while attempting to discuss the future of their involvement, which Ilya avoids.[16] At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, conversations about Russia's anti-LGBTQ laws heighten Shane's concern for Ilya, who rebuffs his attempts to speak with him.[17] After Ilya wins the 2014 Stanley Cup and later the MVP award, the two reunite at the NHL Awards; afterward, Shane realizes he regrets not kissing Ilya, prompting him to acknowledge that his feelings for him are deepening despite his attempts to deny them.[18]

By 2016, Shane has become Montreal's captain and a two-time Stanley Cup champion.[19][20] He reflects on his dissatisfaction with past relationships with women and grows unsettled by increasing emotional intimacy with Ilya.[21] He briefly dates actress Rose Landry but acknowledges having been involved with men, and they end their romantic involvement amicably.[22][23] At the 2017 NHL All-Star Game, Shane comes out to Ilya as gay and confesses his romantic feelings, while Ilya expresses concern that a public partnership would prevent him from returning to Russia.[19][24]

Shane becomes increasingly concerned for Ilya during his father's illness and death.[20] During phone calls while Ilya is in Moscow for the funeral, Shane encourages him to speak in Russian to express his grief and recognizes his own desire for a committed future with him.[25] The two continue communicating frequently and engage in emotionally intimate exchanges while maintaining secrecy.[26] In April 2017, Shane is seriously injured during a game against Boston and is ruled out of the Stanley Cup playoffs. During his recovery, he invites Ilya to visit his cottage again, after doing so previously via phone while Ilya was in Moscow.[27] While recovering, he considers coming out to his parents.[28] After witnessing Scott Hunter celebrate winning the 2017 Stanley Cup by kissing his partner on the ice during a live broadcast, Shane receives a call from Ilya accepting his invitation.[28]

At his cottage in July 2017, Shane and Ilya agree to greater honesty and acknowledge their feelings for one another.[29] Shane learns about Ilya's difficult family history, including his mother's suicide.[30] When Ilya considers moving to a Canadian team, Shane proposes a plan for them to live closer together, establish a charitable initiative, and pursue a shared future after retirement; they confess their love and discuss long-term plans.[31] Shane later comes out to his parents and introduces Ilya to them, and during a panic attack about the rapid changes in his life, he is comforted by Ilya, after which they affirm their commitment to one another.[32][33]

The epilogue takes place sixteen months later, in November 2018. Shane has come out to his teammates at the beginning of the season, while he and Ilya maintain the public appearance of friendship and privately continue their partnership and plans for the Irina Foundation. At a press conference announcing the foundation, Shane supports Ilya after he departs from prepared remarks and publicly states that it is named for his mother, who experienced depression prior to her suicide.[34][35]

Tough Guy

Shane Hollander appears in Tough Guy (2020), the third installment of the series, set during the 2018–19 NHL season. He is described as having an outstanding start to the season.[36]

Later, Hollander appears in a joint press conference with Ilya Rozanov, who had joined the Ottawa Centaurs the previous July, which the Toronto Guardians, including protagonist Ryan Price, watch with surprise due to the pair's public reputation as rivals; Toronto players Dallas Kent and Troy Barrett make homophobic remarks and speculate about Hollander's sexuality.[37] In December 2018, Toronto goaltender Wyatt Hayes joins the Ottawa Centaurs and refers to Hollander's close but unexplained association with Rozanov.[38]

In the epilogue, during the first day of the Irina Foundation summer hockey camps for children, which Rozanov had invited Price to help coach, Price witnesses Hollander and Rozanov kissing and agrees to keep their secret.[39][40]

Common Goal

Shane Hollander appears in Common Goal (2020), the fourth installment of the series, set during the 2019–20 NHL season. In November 2019, he scores a goal against the New York Admirals' goaltender and the novel's protagonist Eric Bennett.[41]

A month later, Bennett and Scott Hunter discuss Hollander when Hunter reveals that Ilya Rozanov had invited him to coach at the Irina Foundation camps, expressing disbelief at the cooperation between the two rivals. During the conversation, Hunter reveals that Hollander is gay, which Bennett had not previously known. Hunter explains that Hollander had come out to his teammates and friends a year earlier and does not seek a major public announcement, and that most of the NHL is aware of his sexuality; Bennett states he wishes to take a similar approach regarding his bisexuality.[42]

In January 2020, at the NHL All-Star Game, Bennett observes Hollander's closeness with Rozanov. After the skills competition, Hollander interrupts Rozanov's conversation with Bennett to say he is going to bed before leaving, after which Rozanov also departs.[43]

Role Model

Shane Hollander appears in Role Model (2021), the fifth installment of the series, set during the 2020–21 NHL season. In November 2020, the novel's protagonist and Ilya Rozanov's Ottawa teammate Troy Barrett reflects on the Irina Foundation and its staff, considers rumours about Hollander's sexuality, and briefly contemplates asking Rozanov for Hollander's number as he finds him attractive.[44]

In December 2020, during a game between Ottawa and Barrett's former team Toronto, Barrett's former friend Dallas Kent makes homophobic remarks about Barrett, Hollander, and Rozanov, prompting Rozanov to assault him. That same month, during a conversation in which Barrett comes out as gay to Rozanov and Rozanov comes out to him as bisexual, Barrett references the rumours about Hollander's sexuality and his closeness with Rozanov, but Rozanov shuts down the discussion.[45]

In January 2021, Hollander and his Montreal teammate Hayden Pike engage in a brawl with Rozanov. Rozanov explains to Barrett that their behaviour is limited to on-ice competition and that they are friends off the ice. After Ottawa defeats Montreal, teammate Wyatt Hayes comments that Rozanov is always in a good mood when he defeats Hollander.[46]

References

  1. ^ "Heated Rivalry show vs book differences explained". The Express Tribune. 9 December 2025. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  2. ^ a b c Reid, Rachel (15 January 2026). "Rachel Reid on the 'Heated Rivalry' craze & new book" (Video). Interviewed by DJ Bean and Pete Blackburn. What Chaos!. Retrieved 11 February 2026 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ Reid 2019a, Acknowledgments.
  4. ^ Messman-Rucker, Ariel (8 December 2025). "Is Heated Rivalry Based on a True Story? Yes ... sort of". Out. Archived from the original on 9 December 2025. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  5. ^ Maskell, Emily (17 January 2026). "Six differences between the Heated Rivalry book and the hit show". PinkNews. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  6. ^ Ortiz, Jenna (23 January 2026). "How accurate 'Heated Rivalry' is compared to real-life hockey". AZCentral. The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  7. ^ Ellis, Maddie (7 December 2025). "'Heated Rivalry' Author Rachel Reid On Why You're Obsessed with the TV Show: EXCLUSIVE". Today. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  8. ^ Reid 2019a, Chapter One.
  9. ^ Reid 2019a, Chapter Two.
  10. ^ Reid 2019a, Chapter Three.
  11. ^ Reid 2019a, Chapter Four.
  12. ^ Reid 2019a, Chapter Five.
  13. ^ Reid 2019a, Chapter Six.
  14. ^ Reid 2019a, Chapter Seven.
  15. ^ Reid 2019a, Chapter Eight.
  16. ^ Reid 2019a, Chapter Nine.
  17. ^ Reid 2019a, Chapter Ten.
  18. ^ Reid 2019a, Chapter Eleven.
  19. ^ a b Reid 2019a, Chapter Sixteen.
  20. ^ a b Reid 2019a, Chapter Eighteen.
  21. ^ Reid 2019a, Chapter Thirteen.
  22. ^ Reid 2019a, Chapter Fourteen.
  23. ^ Reid 2019a, Chapter Fifteen.
  24. ^ Reid 2019a, Chapter Seventeen.
  25. ^ Reid 2019a, Chapter Nineteen.
  26. ^ Reid 2019a, Chapter Twenty.
  27. ^ Reid 2019a, Chapter Twenty-One.
  28. ^ a b Reid 2019a, Chapter Twenty-Two.
  29. ^ Reid 2019a, Chapter Twenty-Three.
  30. ^ Reid 2019a, Chapter Twenty-Four.
  31. ^ Reid 2019a, Chapter Twenty-Five.
  32. ^ Reid 2019a, Chapter Twenty-Six.
  33. ^ Reid 2019a, Chapter Twenty-Seven.
  34. ^ Reid, Rachel (2 October 2019). "My Dinner with Hayden: A Heated Rivalry Short Story". Rachel Reid Writes Romance. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  35. ^ Reid 2019a, Epilogue.
  36. ^ Reid 2020a, Chapter Ten.
  37. ^ Reid 2020a, Chapter Eighteen.
  38. ^ Reid 2020a, Chapter Twenty-Three.
  39. ^ Reid 2020a, Chapter Twenty-Six.
  40. ^ Reid 2020a, Epilogue.
  41. ^ Reid 2020b, Chapter One.
  42. ^ Reid 2020b, Chapter Eleven.
  43. ^ Reid 2020b, Chapter Twenty-One.
  44. ^ Reid 2021, Chapter Five.
  45. ^ Reid 2021, Chapter Eleven.
  46. ^ Reid 2021, Chapter Twenty.

Bibliography

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