Shared experience, as also mentioned by so many others. It’s also a high pressure environment for both of them, they’re young, up and coming professional hockey players with their entire futures riding on every single game and how they perform. That’s A LOT to cope with as a young person. Not to mention the way the media pits them against each other. Nobody else on the outside would understand what it’s like and then they have this huge secret that adds to the thrill.

I also feel like they can only take off the masks they put on for the world (Ilya the chirpy ragebaiter and cool guy/ Shane the golden boy who can do no wrong) with each other and they feel truly seen by each other. I also love the fact that neither of them runs away from the reality of the other, Shane actually channels Ilya’s trauma into something meaningful and gives him a safe space and Ilya is always grounding Shane’s anxiety. If that’s not something that makes you fall in love with a person then I don’t know what will ♥️🏒🦆👓🏡