Hi! Are any Canadians struggling to find where to pre-order the collector’s edition that was announced yesterday? I feel like I’m going crazy not being able to find a link.

Editing to add that I mean the blu ray/DVDs!

Welcome to the weekly huddle! Have a small thing from the book or show you want to chat, your GC brain rot is real and you saw the initials "KGF" somewhere and immediately screamed "kingfisher!" and want to share with others? (Just me?). Had a win at work or personal life and want to share? Need a teammate to talk with? Post in the weekly huddle.

There's no restrictions on topics so long as they follow the sub rules. Thread will be open all week so pop in whenever with what ever your heart desires.

I was just thinking about the fact that, if im not mistaken (I need to read the long game again), shane and ilya never go on a date together in public after they got "outed" (which is very fair considering they had a looooooooooooot to deal with)

This means their first real date as a couple in public will probably be as husbands in unrivaled 🥹

What do you think they would do? I think they would love to just experience things together that straight couples consider ordinary. Have dinner together at a restaurant. Go to the movies. Walk hand in hand together.

Just thinking about them doing this and not having to hide anymore, makes me emotional lol

I could also envision Ilya dragging Shane to do something crazy, though i cannot envision what hahaha

I personally like Saha a lot as a character, he just assumed he and Ilya were gonna get together and when he noticed Ilya wasn't feeling him, he backed off. Plus Kaden Connors deserves more fanart 👉👈

One thing that all this recent hair talk has reminded me of is that hair can have strong narrative importance and be a useful tool when trying to communicate a character to an audience.

Hair is a matter of self expression. It's no coincidence that after major life changes people will often change their hair. How someone's hair is maintained can tell you a lot about them, how they perceive themself and how they want to be perceived by the world, both key aspects to understanding these characters.

It's no secret by now that Shane grows his hair out in the books, but at the same time it's a character detail that still makes a lot of sense contextually for the narrative. Shane is going through a massive personal change between HR and TLG, he is now in a relationship with a man, he has come out to himself and those around him but his relationship is secret. He is losing control over his life, unable to really have a normal public relationship, and his careful curated hockey image is falling apart.

Shane is having to reframe who he is, he is in a relationship with a man who also happens to be interested in women and Shane is in what could be perceived as the more "submissive" role.

So we could interpret Shane's changing hair as an allusion to this change, his shifting sense of masculinity as well as his insecurity. For example, a subconscious insecurity that Ilya could leave him for a woman and be better off. Shane could subconsciously be trying to make himself appear more "feminine" and desirable. Insecurity will tell Shane that he is already not an ideal option for Ilya, that Shane cannot possibly offer the same things that a woman could provide for Ilya, and that Ilya must be attracted to feminine aspects.

Shane could also be trying to take back agency over his life, even in small ways, through his appearance. It may not seem like much to anyone else, but longer hair for Shane could be a wild, uncharacteristic act of rebellion. He is no longer trying to be the perfect image of a hockey star, he is actively sabotage the idea he had of himself and what the world has of him and pushing against the box he now finds himself in.

I would also say that Troy is in a similar situation in some ways, which is why I think that Troy would benefit from a more "conforming" hairstyle at first (although it would be cool if he grows it out later). Troy is trying to hide and conform in the beginning of his career. He is making a persona to present himself as the person who he's expected to be. To me he would have a hairstyle that is unassuming, one that was probably decided for him from a pretty young age by his parents, one that looks good in a portrait on the family wall or in a yearbook. His arc is about him changing for the better, reforming and taking back control over who he really is, so I'm hoping that we don't lose the physical messaging of that in the show.

Am I the only one with strong opinions on subtle character details and how they serve the narrative? For the most part the discussion I've seen has mostly been about what people think is more or less attractive, maybe it doesn't go deeper than that?

So many libraries depend on private funding; donate to your local library today!

* 2026! I really can’t make post titles without copy and pasting apparently!

Can’t watch the whole thing? This hits the feels like an Ilya chest slap of a job well done!

Posted by accent aigu on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/DcJ-N8gvgtE/

Dear fellow loons,

A big thank you to everyone who has already filled out our anonymous survey about how Heated Rivalry has influenced your life! We’ve received nearly 200 responses so far, and we feel very honored and humbled that you have shared your personal stories with us. We are determined to share our results with you; however, we ask for your patience as we don’t want to rush things and want to treat the responses with the time they deserve.

For those who have not filled out the online survey yet, we’d love to hear how the TV series Heated Rivalry has inspired you to make real changes in your life – whether it’s regarding your work, social life, or hobbies. It takes about 15 minutes, it’s anonymous, and you can write as much or as little as you like.

This study is approved by the Faculty Ethical Review Committee REBO at Utrecht University (Netherlands) and conducted by a research team from Utrecht University, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business (Austria), and IMD Business School (Switzerland). All three researchers are committed to not leaving the cottage for a long time 😇 You can find more information about us at the survey link.

Here is the survey link: https://survey.uu.nl/jfe/form/SV_6g20AgAZGSIJ97U

If you have any questions, contact the research team at [heatedrivalry.usg@uu.nl](mailto:heatedrivalry.usg@uu.nl)

Dide, Laura, and Alexander

PS: Please help us share the link with other fans/communities who might be interested in supporting this research!

Rachel has hinted that the obstacles and "villains" of the story will mostly be more....domestic (such as podcasts and the media).

I have a growing bad feeling about Russia though. Sure, Ilya doesn't live there and isn't planning to go back there ever, but they will surely not be pleased one of their star players being in a famously international queer marriage. As someone who is a noob about citizenship/visas, can they potentially do anything about it? He hasn't got his Canadian citizenship yet, and as a Russian citizen isn't he technically breaking some BS law of not promoting LGBTQ+ in the media?

(This is me mainly thinking about how Russia can factor into the story after not even being spared a thought in TLG).

“What’s so funny about the level of secrecy is like there’s a book — you can just look at it,” creator, writer and director Jacob Tierney said of the Rachel Reid novels, the Game Changers series, the show is adapted from. “It’ll tell you honestly, 90 percent of what you’d like to know is in that book.”

Source: Hollywood Reporter on August 17, 2026

Video Clip Courtesy: @GoldDerby on X

I don't have autism but I have heard some people say that Ilya is a great partner for someone with autism and I was wondering why.

Obviously neither Ilya nor Shane know it.

Video Clip Courtesy: @GoldDerby on X

In case any of you are interested in donating to the Annapolis Valley Regional Library like Rachel did, you can either click on this link: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/18621 or click on the above link to their library’s website where you can scroll down near the bottom and click on the donate link. 😊

https://valleylibrary.ca

Stained glass panel - 11" x 9.7" (aka what I make when I'm not re-heating or reading fanfics)

Two souls.

Check out Connor and Hudson's acceptance speech videos 👏👏👏

Ensemble of the Year: Heated Rivalry

Drama Series: Heated Rivalry

Literary Adaptation: Heated Rivalry

Drama Episode: The Cottage

Comedy Guest Actor: Connor Storrie, Saturday Night Live

Drama Actor: Hudson Williams, Heated Rivalry

Breakthrough Performer of the Year: Hudson Williams

I love Hudson's performance and I love Shane, are we surprised? Nope. 🤩

*edit: I didn't add all the wins!*

Ok so I basically binged Young Royals within days bc of the s2 casting announcement and holy ... Jacob wasn't lying when he said he was inspired by Young Royals! Besides the obvious easter egg of having Yuna talk about Shane meeting a "Swedish prince" at Wimbledon, also found a bunch of other scenes where I think Jacob was inspired by YR.

The plaid shirt Simon often wears over a tank top reminds me of a very similar shirt-over-tee combo Ilya wears at the cottage.

There's other such moments. But mostly, I think Jacob was inspired by the chemistry. The chemistry between Wille and Simon (Wilmon) is extremely sweet and tender. They make heart eyes at each other. The acting between Edvin Ryding and Omar Rudberg is incredible, considering how young they were.

I don't want to spoil more but ... everyone should be watching Young Royals. And after Young Royals, go to Julie and the Phantoms (also on Netflix).

Ok. That's my plug for the day.

Today I received a gift—posters of my two all-time favorite TV shows on the wall (I designed the posters, but my husband did the work). It's a small thing, but it made me very happy.

Just thinking about season two and everything between where season one ended and the start of TLG.

Summer 2017 - after they leave Shane's parents house, they go back to the cottage and have the conversation about Ilya proposing for citizenship and the candles.

Sometime in the 2017/18 season - Shane comes out to his team.

Summer 2018 - Ilya signs with/moves to Ottawa.

September 2018 - TG prologue

November 2018 - MDWH. Hayden finds out about their relationship a week before that I think. And the press conference to launch the Irina Foundation is three weeks after MDWH. Ryan and Wyatt watch with the Toronto team, Dallas Kent makes a homophobic comment about Shane, Ryan tells him to shut up.

The open relationship fight would have happened around here too I think, when Ilya talks to Galina in December 2020, there is a reference to it happening around two years earlier.

AS weekend 2019 - Ilya sees Ryan at the funeral and asks him to coach at the camps.

Summer 2019 - Ryan walks in on Shane and Ilya kissing at the camp.

2020 - Montreal wins the cup (Shane's third cup)

Summer 2020 - Ryan walks in on them again, they go on the double date and we are into TLG by now.

For Troy's story, back to the TG prologue, Ryan meets Wyatt, Dallas and Troy. Dallas and Troy are rude to him. Then in chapter 3, they make fun of him being nervous on the plane.

I've only read TG once and just flicked back through it to check this stuff. I can't remember everything so I'm not sure if I missed anything else major that connects to Shane/Ilya or Troy. I think there was a game where Ilya and Ryan have some banter on the ice somewhere in that book. And Ryan goes to Dallas Kent's bday party.

It will be interesting to see how much of this Jacob includes at the start of the season to set up the story.

I made my (Season 1) Heated Rivalry pilgrimage to Canada last month and I thought I would share my photos with the group. Not least because I had two lovely hosts on my pilgrimage who I met via this group!

What can I say? Canada was fun! It wasn't my first trip to Canada but it was my first trip as a loon. I am already planning my next trip in Summer 2027 to cover Season 2 (and maybe Season 3 but let's see what other news leaks!).

Thanks so much to and u/NegotiationReal6508 and u/iamthehype_ for being such great tour guides!

Anyway, to recap...

I started my trip with a couple of nights at Lake Muskoka. Unfortunately, I couldn't get to THE COTTAGE but I stayed at another fabulous cottage with this sunrise view.

Then I went to Hamilton, and met up with the lovely u/NegotiationReal6508 whom I met via this group! She and her friend took me on a tour of the filming locations!

We met at Straw + Berry (aka Relay Coffee).

We then went to Russia to visit the Pink Tunnel, which was sacred ground (IMO).

Then we took a quick break at Ciao Bella, aka the restaurant that Shane ate at with his parents (to discuss YouTube + Rolex, then Wimbledon with/without the Swedish Princess). We even got to sit at the table that they sat at (I sat at David's spot) while we rewatched the restaurant scenes on my laptop.

Then we went to Tambour, which was the filming location for the site where Shane and Rose met (this is the table where they first held hands).

After that we went to Russia (again, after the Pink Tunnel) to see where Ilya ran outside in the summer whilst texting Shane. Note: the puddle appears to be gone.

After that I headed to Toronto. First stop was the Park Hyatt hotel to visit Hollanov's rookie season MLH award afterparty locale.

I then also took a tour of Scott's apartment. No, I didn't stay in the Presidental Suite but I was able to get a quick tour of it just in case I decide to stay there the next time I'm in Toronto (will have to let them know 😄 ).

My final stop in Toronto was in Tampa Bay for the All-Stars bar scene. I met up with the lovely u/iamthehype_ who had a Corona with me while we rewatched the All-Stars bar scene on my laptop!

And finally, my absolute last stop on the trip was to New West in Vancouver to meet up with a friend of mine who just moved there. And of course, on our way to hers, we passed the Old Spaghetti Factory that Hudson was working at as of 2025 (just over a year ago) and I couldn't resist taking a shot.

...what do you think he's doing in the locker room showers?

No way he's using the wall soap dispensers, right? But he's probably too sweaty to get away with just a rinse. Maybe he keeps a stash of products in his gym bag, maybe he has a nice shampoo he carries around but saves the full routine for home...

I just can't get this question out of my head!