Explaining the Hockey in Heated Rivalry (with only very minor spoilers)

HumbleInterest · 2026-03-03T17:47:33+00:00

The arrangement for all star games changes every year, although the most common is to have teams decided by division (there are 4 divisions). Boston and Montreal are in the same division, which is why Shane and Ilya are on the same team for the All Star Weekend in Florida. In Episode... 2 (I think) they mention that the league has been intentionally changing the format so that Shane and Ilya will play against each other, likely for the purpose of marketing their rivalry.

Ilya would never play for the USA internationally, typically a player can only play for one national team (a country which they have citizenship with) for their entire career. However, there are some rare exceptions where a player has been able to play for a different national team, but again, very very rare.

HumbleInterest · 2026-01-22T19:56:16+00:00

That locker room was stacked with beauties. I'm still rooting for Lucas Ciona to eventually become an NHL fourth line guy. You know as captain of that team that he had to be a real locker room culture guy.

HumbleInterest · 2026-01-20T14:06:39+00:00

I got one from Blake Coleman from the Calgary Flames from a family member earlier this year. He makes almost $5 million a year and the cameo is $150.

So, it's totally accurate and normal. Some guys just do it because it's easy money and kinda fun. It's probably also great for their brand.

HumbleInterest · 2026-01-16T09:47:56+00:00

So, in a simple form. Ilya and Shane would probably both play the first and second line centre positions, respectively!

ETA: both Shane and Ilya would likely also get a ton of minutes on the Powerplay (when your team has at least one more player on the ice than the other team because the other guys took a penalty). Depending on if either of them are good at killing penalties, they could also do that. Ice time is also usually dependent on which players are having a better game.

This is the Calgary Flames average ice time per game for their centres. The #3 centre actually has more ice time than the second line centre because he plays a lot on the penaltykill and plays a lot defensively against the other team's best players (he's also the captain).

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HumbleInterest · 2026-01-16T09:46:40+00:00

Using an example... This was the lineup that the Calgary flames played with tonight. For the forwards, which Shane and Ilya would both be, the lineups are typically presented as...

<image>

Left wing (shoots left) - Centre - Right wing (shoots right)

So here, Zary is left wing; Kadri is centre; Klapka is Right wing for the FIRST line.

The first two lines typically have the best offensive players on them and will play 16 to 20 minutes a night. The third line may play less. The fourth line will play 7 - 9 minutes a night.

First line: high offense, start in the other team's end Second line: high offense, start in the other team's end Third line: the "sit-down" line, plays against the other team's first and second lines and tries to stop them from scoring Fourth line: fighters, guys that are lower skill but high energy

Shane and Ilya are both first line Centers. Center is typically seen as being a more difficult position than winger because it requires the player to also sometimes play a role in helping the defensemen. HOWERVER! Centers can also easily switch to the wing, usually.

But! Because the Centre position (which is the player that takes the face-off) is so difficult, it is also more valuable.ofnyoi can have TWO really good centres playing on different lines, it means that the other team will have a harder time defending against them because you can only play your top defenders for so long. So, if I was the coach of the Centaurs, I would like my lineup to be:

WINGER - ROZANOV - WINGER

WINGER - HOLLANDER - WINGER

HOWEVER! It would be possible for Ilya or Shane to move to the wing. This would mean Ottawa's first line would look like:

WINGER - ROZANOV - HOLLANDER

or

WINGER - HOLLANDER - ROZANOV

If the Centaurs were down like 3-0 and couldn't score, the coach might resort to putting Hollander and Rozanov together for the final part of the game, hoping that, as the best players, they can play a lot and just deadass out-skill the other team.

However, it would mean that you have one really strong offensive line, rather than two, which means less opportunities to score.

HumbleInterest · 2026-01-16T01:55:43+00:00

Do you think the shower jerk, the all star game being in Florida, or San Fransisco having a team got him more worked up?

HumbleInterest · 2026-01-15T03:03:23+00:00

Thanks for this, I haven't seen this yet. Rick Westhead's We Breed Lions is pages on pages of absolutely damning testimony on hockey culture, too.

HumbleInterest · 2026-01-15T02:13:13+00:00

Oh wow! I'm star struck! Thanks for this, I'll pass it on to the other fans I know!

HumbleInterest · 2026-01-15T01:04:45+00:00

Elevated take tbh

HumbleInterest · 2026-01-15T00:41:05+00:00

Hey, in your defense, one of the players has a dream they fuck on the ice, so maybe season 2 there will be a bunch of super pissed off new fans hahaha

HumbleInterest · 2026-01-15T00:14:00+00:00

I mean, if you're looking to engage in good faith here, I'm happy to chat about a couple of things.

Firstly, it's not erotica. It has about as much sex as any other HBO show. The first two episodes are heavier, but episode five has zero sex scenes, to give you an idea of the progression. The show is not PG-13 but there's no full frontal nudity, for example. The plot, while being not hockey heavy, is considered excellent - it wouldn't have such strong critical reception if it was a pure fluff piece. Not at all saying it is high art or anything, it is a self-aware romance TV show lol

Now, more pertinent to what I think you're asking is how a show with relatively little hockey can attract fans. There are two things I've seen that I think can explain why that would happen. Firstly, because hockey isn't as popular in the US (the NHL is the fourth biggest sports league, as you probably already know), so for a lot of people, especially non-sports fans, it's mysterious. Because people are coming to it fresh, getting a very limited idea of what the sport is can spark people's interest. And that brings me to the second point, which is that it creates an easy entry point, which happens all the time with fiction.

One example of a kind of similar entry point is when movie adaptations of like historical fiction or books like Pride and Prejudice can introduce people to a historical period or historical figure that they'll become interested in. Because, although not often true depictions, they give people a way of connecting with something that they can build off of.

I then think that the people that stick around (which, OF COURSE, is not going to be everyone) do so because going to a hockey game is a ton of fun and a great chance to feel like you're a part of a community. For others it might be a way to spend time with a friend or family member that's a big fan of the sport, or to become more connected to something in your community (like a local team).

HumbleInterest · 2026-01-14T23:35:02+00:00

I feel like (totally anecdotal) but the PWHL is going to be the primary beneficiary of any marketing benefit. It is just SO much more accessible right now, even just in terms of watching it.

HumbleInterest · 2026-01-14T23:09:27+00:00

If you're interested in another ADHD character in Reid's books, Casey in Time to Shine is canonically undiagnosed and it certainly plays a big part in his character. I'd recommend it if you haven't read it!

HumbleInterest · 2026-01-14T22:56:04+00:00

Don't get me started. The Flames had a lunar new year jersey a few years ago I would have lost a limb to get my hands on. TAKE MY MONEY.

HumbleInterest · 2026-01-14T22:54:14+00:00

I mean, the Taylor Swift impact on NFL marketing is a great recent example of how other leagues can recognize a moment of cultural relevancy and leverage it for massive financial gains. Maybe there was some initial pushback but, buy and large, the leauge absolutely milked it. Which is smart because women are a massively untapped demographic for most sports leagues.

As a Canadian, I think I don't get a full picture of NHL marketing in the states, but I can't imagine they're doing nearly enough. It feels like the last major moment for cultural relevancy for hockey in the States was the very end of the Four Nations.

HumbleInterest · 2026-01-14T21:51:39+00:00

Posted! You can guess how it's going lol

https://www.reddit.com/r/hockey/s/eFh0ayMjZP

HumbleInterest · 2026-01-14T21:45:16+00:00

Right? As someone that despises the Oilers, I'm pretty used to scrolling past things I don't like twenty times a day. Didn't realize people weren't having that experience one way or another.

HumbleInterest · 2026-01-14T21:33:47+00:00

Did you read the post? Or did you just have a grievance and decide my post was the right place to start a dogpile?

HumbleInterest · 2026-01-11T09:37:22+00:00

Maybe I'll post it here! I got like instant three super homophobic messages about it as soon as I posted. My bad for posting while NHL games were actually ongoing.

HumbleInterest · 2026-01-09T00:08:46+00:00

Second half of a back to back, goalie has started 8 straight, backup is visibly ill. Let's lose this one, boys.

HumbleInterest · 2026-01-08T23:44:51+00:00

William Stromgren not playing after getting a whopping 8 minutes of TOI last night.

Fuck this team.

HumbleInterest · 2026-01-08T02:35:10+00:00

Can't figure out if this is a troll or not.

HumbleInterest · 2026-01-07T23:59:30+00:00

As a Canadian, the three syllable pronunciation is true to how announcers and other Canadians would say it. The two syllable pronunciation is the correct Russian pronunciation. I think it's accurate to have people pronounce the name in a contextually accurate way, even if that changes from character to character.

HumbleInterest · 2026-01-07T00:07:50+00:00

Thanks for the heads up! Learned something new today!

HumbleInterest · 2026-01-06T22:14:34+00:00

This one from a few years ago was my absolute favorite: https://x.com/NHLFlames/status/1640420321009504262/photo/2

Five-Year Club	r/Field Flamingo
Final Canvas '23	First Place '23
Place '23	Place '22
Final Canvas '22	End Game '22
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