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"Our Rivalry Brought Out The Best In Us" Shane Hollander reveals how his unlikely friendship with Ilya Rozanov came about.
by Alice Cho
Just a week ago, the infamous rivalry between Montreal's Shane Hollander and Ottawa's Ilya Rozanov was on full display after a heated game at Montreal's Bell Centre. Any chance that Rozanov's surprise departure from Montreal's nemesis the Boston Raiders would quench their competition was surely destroyed. It came as a surprise then, when the rivals hosted a joint press conference the next day to announce their friendship and their new initiative- The Irina Foundation.
At the conference Ilya revealed that his own mother took her life after a silent battle with depression and the loss inspired the foundation's mission to raise awareness and funding for mental health charities. The reaction online has been positive, with many praising the hocky stars' efforts, but it has also stunned fans who had no clue about the pair's relationship.
"I think that the rivalry was built before we first met" Shane Hollander reveals. Long before their first meeting in 2008, the two were being talked about as the future of hockey. It was an overwhelming amount of pressure on two seventeen year olds that just wanted to play hockey. "Every conversation gravitated towards Ilya, whether it was just friends or the media, it was like we had to hate the other."
Being in a league of their own didn't help. Hollander has a laser-focus for hocky, and a competitive edge that drives him to be the best. The results have been amazing; Hollander is one of the youngest captains to win a Stanley Cup, an Olympic Medal, and has beaten most of the records in the MLH. His few losses usually come from Rozanov, who led Boston to a Stanley Cup a year before Hollander. At a glance, Ilya Rozanov doesn't share the same methodical approach to hockey and his relaxed attitude can suggest his victories just come from raw talent, but his rival knows better. "Ilya has just as much drive to win as I do, its why he's so good. I always try to stay focused after a loss. you know, just reflect on the game and find a way to do better, but there was always something about Rozanov that left a sting." Hollander said it took him a long time to see him as more than an opponent and that's when their friendship bloomed.
The first sign that the famous feud might cool off came 2 years ago when the captains played their first All-Stars games as teammates. The chemistry was undeniable, they scored a landslide of goals and their teamwork together was described as 'telepathic'. The stars showed no signs of clashing egos and Rozanov even gave his teammate a brief kiss on the cheek! Hollander described the game as one of his favourite All-Star Events and mentioned that it was the first time that the pair had had a deep conversation. "Before then, our conversations had mostly been about hockey or awkward small talk. We opened up to each other and understood how much we have in common."
Their budding friendship further deepened after Rozanov's surprise move to the Ottawa Centaurs, and it was here that they had the idea to create the Irina Foundation. "Its obviously a really important cause, especially for Ilya, and with our camps hopefully we can inspire a change in the culture with the next generation. In hockey, there has always been an expectation to ignore your pain and keep playing. Often that extends to our mental health, and I think that if we can pay more attention to our physical health in hockey, we can do the same for our minds." The foundation is already gaining interest, with MLH Commissioner Crowell praising the initiative as "a brilliant show of the kind of sportsmanship we admire in our players". Hollander was hesitant to reveal who would be joining them as coaches, but did confirm that they've received an outpouring of interest from players.
Before I ended our interview, I asked Hollander the biggest question that his fans had for him- does this mean the rivalry is over? "Absolutely not. Ilya and I are still fierce competitors and we wouldn't have it any other way. We wouldn't be here without it, not just as friends but as players. Our rivalry brought out the best in us, it pushes us to do better and we wouldn't dream of going easy just because we're friends now."
The Irina Foundation will begin hosting hockey camps in August 2019, more details to follow.
"So your really friends with Rozanov now?"
J.J. said the name like a slur.
Shane knew that springing his friendship with Ilya on to the team wouldn't end well, instead he hatched a plan to slowly ease them into the idea that Ilya wasn't the worst. Ilya hadn't made it easy, he'd decided to make his final run with Boston the biggest yet. He eventually lost in the Semi-Final, but he still racked up a record number of goals, points, and penalties. At one point, nearly half of the Raiders and Metros were in the Sin Bin and Ilya feigned innocence that night when Shane threatened to make him sleep on the couch that night.
Regardless, Shane had started defending Ilya to the Metros, suggesting that he wasn't as much of an asshole as he claimed to be. Nobody had stopped hating him, but it did make it easier when Shane told them that Rozanov was interested in the charity Shane had mused about to all of them for the past year and that they were going to work together.
"Yeah, its like I told you, he's still an asshole but I think we can do some good work together."
"I guess so, I just could not understand why he would be interested in this stuff until he mentioned his mom. I mean fuck that must have been hard on him."
"It was, his family are very conservative about that stuff, forced him to say it was an accident. He gets what its like to struggle in silence, that's why he cares."
"Oh," For once, J.J. didn't immediately know what to say. Then he leaned in close, as if trying to avoid being overheard in the now empty locker room. "Does you mean he is also..." J.J. vaguely gestured towards Shane.
Fuck
"I mean he is also... aware, you know that you're gay?"
"Oh" Shane said with too much relief. "Yeah, I told him. He was cool about it."
"Wow." Shane studied J.J.'s face, his friend had always been better at reading people but Shane liked to think he knew J.J. enough to see the cogs turn inside his brain. But any thoughts that he might have had scarpered at the sound of his phone. "Sorry man I've got to go."
"Don't worry about it."
J.J. grabbed the last of equipment and made for the door. At the last moment, he turned back to Shane. "But count me in for the hockey camps, yes? I can't let Rozanov look better than me!"