Work Text:
Queer Hockey News
@queer.hockey_foreveryone
Check out our official list of LGBTQ+ hockey players competing in the Olympics this year!
5:42 PM Feb 2, 2026
shane hollander my love @lara.cents985 Feb 5, 2026 replying to @annamarina882
Time to celebrate that these lists finally have some gender equality, the lesbians have been carrying queer hockey on their shoulders alone for far too long.
anna’s here @annamarina882 Feb 5, 2026 replying to @queer.hockey_foreveryone
Since when are there so many gay hockey players in the NHL? I used to watch hockey games with my dad and fantasised about these guys kissing whenever a fight broke out and no one thought to tell me they actually do this now?? #gayrights I guesshollanov4ever @roz_no1hockeyplayer Feb 5, 2026 replying to @annamarina882
Girl it gets better, they're even marrying each other!!
Ottawa Centaurs
@ottawa.centaurs
In honour of four of our boys going to the Olympics next week, we asked the team who their favourite Olympians are! Check it out on our instagram!
8:50 AM Feb 8, 2026
shane hollander marry me @caroline_sh24 Feb 8, 2026 replying to @ottawa.centaurs
Ilya and Shane both wanting to name each other is SENDING me, please give us more admin!!!!
Hannah Holts @hannahloveshockey435 Feb 8, 2026 replying to @ottawa.centaurs
Shane amending his answer to being Marie-Philip Poulin truly fills me with so much joy!! Canadian Olympic captains represent!
hollanov4ever @roz_no1hockeyplayer Feb 8, 2026 replying to @ottawa.centaurs
ilya “we are married so i have to say shane” rozanov and shane “ilya is the correct answer though” hollander we love you so much
Isabelle @iwilldoaquadaxel Feb 8, 2026 replying to @ottawa.centaurs
no clue how i ended up here but that blonde guy is immediately my favourite!! kaori sakamoto is THE olympian and we all better put some respect to her name
rozanov for life @rozmarrymeplease Feb 8, 2026 replying to @ottawa.centaurs
ilya rooting for kaori to get that gold medal?? his type really is just hot people with japanese roots who dominate their sport and who can blame him
luca haas is our king @lucahaas_bestplayerever Feb 8, 2026 replying to @ottawa.centaurs
half the team saying ilya PLEASE i can’t take it they love their captain so much
r/ottawacentaurs ∙ 1 week ago
Blueberry Thief
Hollanov spotting at the Olympics!
Hi everyone! Do we have a compiled list of Olympic events Shane and Ilya have been seen at?? I know there’s a general list being made on r/hockey but I don’t care about most of those guys haha, just want to see our boys!
↑ 26 ↓ ∙ 5 comments
marinas notebook 2 day ago
I almost screamed when I saw Hollanov + some of the other players on the Canada/USA teams in the official broadcast of the team figure skating competition.↑ 8 ↓
Blueberry Thief 1 day ago
This makes so much sense with Ilya saying Kaori Sakamoto is his favourite Olympian (other than Shane of course!). I hope he enjoyed seeing her perform!↑ 4 ↓
marinas notebook 1 day ago
I bawled my eyes out while she was on the ice, more than jealous that they all get to see her genius live!!↑ 18 ↓
cerena 4 days ago
I know there’s pictures of both of them watching the Canadian women’s hockey team at their first game!! Love seeing them support our Canadian girls : )↑ 5 ↓
SimonAllStar 2 days ago
Here’s a post with some screen grabs from the team figure skating with Ilya watching Ilia Malinin in his short program, got a good laugh out of me! Shane’s also been to see the women’s speed skating with some of the hockey team, not sure if Ilya was there too!↑ 7 ↓
minigoesforgold
@mirandaforpresident
the olympics are a big thing for annoying people (read: me) cause what do you mean i just got to explain hollanov lore to my grandma
10:22 AM Feb 10, 2026
HOCKEYISMYLIFE
@josh_voyageursthegoats
Never wanted to watch Olympic hockey less, why the fuck are they all gay now?? At this rate they’ll end up kissing when they win what a disgrace
11:44 PM Feb 10, 2026
Hannah Holts @hannahloveshockey435 Feb 11, 2026 replying to @josh_voyageursthegoats
The Montreal fans are at it again, everybody hide!
hayden pike’s left ear @sunchaser_4488 Feb 11, 2026 replying to @josh_voyageursthegoats
they better kiss when they win!!!!!!!
danny @montrealvoyageursforthewin Feb 11, 2026 replying to @josh_voyageursthegoats
dude delete this or i'll call your mom it’s so embarrassing for you
Hockey News
@hockey_news_canada
Olympic news: Ilya Rozanov, forward on the Canadian men’s hockey team, has spoken out against the disqualification of skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych following his plan to wear a helmet depicting Ukrainian athletes killed in war with Russia.
2:38 PM Feb 12, 2026
mary @ottawacentaursfan4life Feb 12, 2026 replying to @hockey_news_canada
But have you all seen the actual quote??? “Sports are always political and the Olympics are not an exception. We all know Ukrainian civilians are being killed by Russia, this is why the Olympics has placed sanctions on Russian athletes. Honouring those who were unjustly killed and can’t compete with us anymore should be celebrated, not lead to disqualification.”
rozanov for life @rozmarrymeplease Feb 12, 2026 replying to @hockey_news_canada
king shit
dove <3 @bostonlegend81 Feb 12, 2026 replying to @hockey_news_canada
shane hollander can you fight?? if your man keeps this up i might come snatch him away from youshane hollander marry me @caroline_sh24 Feb 12, 2026 replying to @bostonlegend81
tragically he CAN fight so none of us have a chance
Shane Hollander Updates Daily
@dailyhollanderupdates2424
Hollander in a new interview after the Olympic quarter final: “Being married at the Olympics is really fun but you all have the same three questions after every game. We’re not the only married couple here, go ask someone else how playing with their partner feels.”
Find the whole clip on my YouTube channel!
2:57 PM Feb 18, 2026
Ilya Rozanov Updates Daily @dailyrozanovupdates8181 Feb 18, 2026 replying to @dailyhollanderupdates2424
Rozanov’s add-on to this answer: “Go congratulate Hilary Knight on her engagement, you don’t even need to change sports.”
IR81 gives me life @ilyarozanovstan818181 Feb 18, 2026 replying to @dailyhollanderupdates2424
every day i thank the universe that we get to see them together at the olympics but people really need to start asking them about the games it’s getting ridiculous
The Olympics have never been this queer - and we have never needed queer athletes more
by Jasmine Nam
Feburary 20, 2026
With how the world has been looking, between wars and natural disasters caused by climate change and the ever-present threat of fascism at our door, some distraction comes as a breath of fresh air. I tune into the Olympics every two years, as many of us do, but I have always had a particular love for the winter games. The daring sports, the art you can find in almost all of them (after all, what does it matter if someone lands a quadruple jump on the ice or sails through the air down a mountain, we call all of it flying). My real Olympic love, predictably, has always been ice hockey. Fortunately I get to write a hockey column for a living so I get to tell everyone all about it!
Every time the Olympics come around, I am once again challenged to accept what I an many marginalised hockey fans know to be true all year around: that elite sports are some of the most controlling spaces there are and that queerness often has little space in them. There are big exceptions to this, of course, sports where queerness is a staple and not a feature. Women's hockey has always been an especially queer sport in particular, but the same could not be said about its male counterpart until more recently. And yet, every Olympic cycle I learn about more athletes who struggled with combining their sexuality or gender identity with the sport they love. Despite, or maybe because of this, the Milano Cortina Games extra special.
Now the likes of Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, Emily Clark and Erin Ambrose (to name only a few of our own queer Canadian hockey stars) are joined by a sizable chunk of our men's hockey team. After all, the ice should be for everyone and the Olympics should allow all our best athletes to compete, no matter who they are or who they love. Between Shane Hollander, Ilya Rozanov and Troy Barrett, Team Canada has added another three out queer players to their roster.
While Canada's hockey teams have become more queer than all of their closest competitors combined, many countries still compete in the Olympics without a single out queer athlete. Ilya Rozanov, who is originally from Russia but has now officially become one of our very own, celebrated his Canadian citizenship in a social media post last year. The message came just in time for him to join the Canadian Olympic team. Russian athletes are only allowed to compete under a neutral flag in these Olympic games, but as Rozanov has said himself: following his coming out and marriage to fellow Ottawa Centaurs player Shane Hollander, he would not have been allowed to compete for Russia in any capacity regardless of these sanctions. The stark reality is that one of the best hockey players in the world would have been barred from the Olympics by his home country simply because he is openly bisexual and married to a man.
This sentiment rings true for many sports and many countries. While not all equally restrictive, many queer athletes have spoken out about the pressures of hiding their queerness to fit more neatly into the mold made for them. One recent example of this is Amber Glenn, three-time U.S. figure skating champion and 2026 Olympian, who spoke candidly about how liberating her coming out was for her. Canada's Shane Hollander, when asked about how this Olympic experience may be different than Sochi in 2014, said he was “excited to finally compete for Canada without any secrets”.
While their queer identity, in the face of the athletic achievements that brought them here, is by far not the most interesting thing about these athletes, it does matter. Representation, as always, matters. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) maintains that the Olympic Games are a non-political affair. When being queer is still a crime in multiple competing countries and athletes keep sharing stories about feeling that their identity had to be hidden, it is hard to see how the Olympics can be a non-political affair for queer athletes and spectators everywhere. Queer athletes, whether or not they have elected to come out, deserve the space to be seen and celebrated. Queerness exists all around us, even in the sports that try to push it down until it disappears. In the trying times we are faced with, celebrating the queer athletes competing for the honour of an Olympic medal is an act of radical joy that we should all seek to pursue!
Jasmine Nam lives in Montreal and writes a weekly column on the intersection of ice hockey and sociopolitical issues for Sports Illustrated. Find her on Instagram @jasmine.nam for further discussions on how sports impact our world!
The Olympics
@olympicsgames
We congratulate the Canadian men's hockey team for their outstanding performance in last night's gold medal game against Sweden! A well-earned gold medal!
10:24 AM Feb 22, 2026
Timmy @timtimothyyyy201 Feb 22, 2026 replying to @olympicgames
Didn't think I'd ever cry watching hockey but here we are I guess
sally at the boy aquarium @sallyslittlewo4ld3456 Feb 22, 2026 replying to @olympicgames
Ilya Rozanov, on behalf of all of Canada, I thank you for marrying one of us and getting citizenship. We could not have done this without you!!
Claire @hazyhayes01294 Feb 22, 2026 replying to @olympic games
A Hollanov kiss on the ice??? The Olympics truly are a gift that keeps on giving
Ollie in Ottawa @centaursfan4everever Feb 22, 2026 replying to @olympicgames
shane hollander better become our alternate captain next season, the olympics have reminded me how much i miss watching him lead a team
sammy @somebody.sedate.meeee Feb 22, 2026 replying to @olympicgames
how did we go from having no out queer male hockey players to MARRIED players kissing on the ice to celebrate winning olympic gold?? i'm so proud of our boys!!
youtube.com/olympics/mensicehockeypressconference/teamcanda
Men’s Ice Hockey Press Conference | Team Canada
Video description: The Canadian men’s ice hockey team sits at a press table. Shane Hollander sits in the middle with Ilya Rozanov and Wyatt Hayes next to him, the rest of the team spread out to either side. The team is smiling, the press conference has been relaxed and celebratory so far.
AW: Amelie Walsh from TSN. Ilya, in the lead up to this game you have spoken about the decision to play for Canada in these Olympic games and how it was not an easy decision to make. What does it mean to you to win for Canada now?
Rozanov leans forward towards the mic and thinks for a moment before answering.
IR: It's true, this was not the easiest decision. I didn’t grow up expecting it to happen. When I thought about winning Olympic medal, I thought it would be for Russia. But Russia doesn’t want me to play for them anymore and I don’t want to represent them here either. It’s sad because for most of my life I would have loved to win for my home country. Is more sad because that country has so deeply disappointed me. I got to win Olympic gold today with my husband, with a great team and all for the country that welcomed me with open arms. Maybe not everything is easy but Canada has been good to me and I am happy to give back to them. In some ways, winning for Canada now is more impactful than winning for Russia ever could have been.”
Rozanov is more serious now than he has been since the press conference started.
AW: If I may ask one follow up question, Ilya. What exactly makes this so meaningful to you?
Rozanov reaches up to touch the Orthodox Cross pendant on his necklace. The gesture seems more subconscious than anything else. Hollander reaches for Rozanov's hand on the table between them as Rozanov begins to speak.
IR: When I was a child, my mother and I used to dream about me winning an Olympic medal. I know she would have loved to see me play and win here. It's her birthday soon and I can't give her any physical gifts anymore but I hope she will see this as my gift to her. She never got to see Canada or the life I made there and I wish every day that she could have seen how much love there is in this life. But I hope she got to see us win today. The whole team, of course, but also me and Shane. I hope she can be as happy as I am today.”
Rozanov looks to the side and smiles at Hollander next to him. Hollander smiles back at him.
r/hockey ∙ 5 hours ago
Chamomile&Chameleons
Ilya Rozanov’s post-win interview and the Russian diaspora
I know this subreddit isn't always happy to talk about Rozanov but I still hope that this is a good place to share my thoughts!
I'm not from Russia, but I am from the Balkans and have been living abroad for over ten years now. I'm not a professional athlete or anything but I know how it feels to achieve things you always thought you'd experience at home somewhere else entirely. Rozanov speaking about how hard it's been to play and win for Canada, even if he is happy about it too, has been hitting me really hard.
While my country hasn't declared war and invaded anyone, a lot of the political and social changes happening in Russia are happening where I am from as well. It's immensely upsetting to see your home become more of a political hellscape every day and some days I don't know how I'll ever be able to reconcile my love for where I grew up with the state of the country today. My heart goes out to Rozanov for being unable to go back to Russia for making his relationship public and I commend him for being so vocal about his criticism of Russia now! It's not easy but it's definitely worth it. I know I would have done a lot to have someone so famous from my country speak up about all the messed up shit that was happening right before my eyes as I was growing up.
I also don't see how I could return home right now and I desperately wish my family could see how happy I am with this life I've built. It made me so happy to see Rozanov dedicate this win to his late mother and as he said: I hope she got to see him win and be as happy as he was.
I'm not originally a Centaurs fan but I might become one now out of principle!
↑ 294 ↓ ∙ 156 comments
instagram.com/ilya.rozanov81
ilya.rozanov81 ∙ 1 day ago
[Image description: two Olympic gold medals hang centred on a white wall among shelves filled with hockey trophies. Sunlight is hitting the medals and making them sparkle slightly.]
♡ 612k
Comments
@shanehollanderofficial Я так горжусь нами. Я люблю тебя.[ 1 ]
1d 12k likes