'Heated Rivalry' Season 2 Needs To Address These 7 Things (or Else)

Spoiler Alert: This list contains spoilers for Rachel Reid's Game Changer series.After a fantastic six-episode run, the first season of Heated Rivalry has sadly concluded, but it will thankfully be returning for a second season. Because the series is based on Rachel Reid's Game Changers books, the second season will follow the events of The Long Game, the second book about Shane and Ilya, and the final book in the series. It's unclear yet, though, whether the season will follow the whole novel, or whether it will carry over into another season.

Season 1 of Heated Rivalry ended on a hopeful note, with Shane (Hudson Williams) and Ilya (Connor Storrie) essentially driving off into the sunset together. They are committed to each other and have just expressed their love, come up with a future plan, and had a touching heart-to-heart with Shane's parents, Yuna (Christina Chang) and David (Dylan Walsh). The two still have to hide their relationship from everyone else, though, and they have a tough road ahead of them going into Season 2. Based on both the events of The Long Game and what we've seen from Season 1 so far, these are the things that Heated Rivalry needs to address in Season 2.

1 How Ilya Adjusts to His Transfer to Ottawa

At the end of Heated Rivalry's first season, just like in the books, Ilya told Shane that he was open to transferring teams once his contract with Boston was up – and that he could see himself becoming a Canadian citizen. If they were ever going to publicly be together, Ilya would have to have citizenship in a country other than Russia, and he was considering either the U.S. or Canada. Ilya even brought up a possible platonic marriage of convenience to Svetlana (Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova), but Shane came up with a better plan that includes Ilya transferring to Ottawa.

Ilya has no problem choosing Shane over his former team, but this is a massive decision, and it will be important to see how Ilya adjusts to his transfer. Season 2 will probably start with a little time jump like The Long Game, but we need to see how Ilya is handling switching teams and moving all the way to Ottawa. There is also the question of how this affects his career, and what Ilya's relationship with his former team is like now, particularly because he cannot tell them the real reason why he left.

2 The Irina Foundation's Official Announcement

Season 1 of Heated Rivalry ended before the book's epilogue, which jumps a little over a year ahead to Shane and Ilya preparing to go public with the Irina Foundation. Shane's plan for the future starts with Ilya transferring to Ottawa, and then the two of them become friends publicly by starting a charity together: a hockey school whose proceeds go to funding mental health and suicide prevention in honor of Ilya's mother, Irina.

In the epilogue, Shane and Ilya are doing well but still keeping their relationship a secret. They have spent all this time waiting and planning, and now, they're ready to start publicly working together on the foundation. Season 2 will definitely show the reaction to this announcement, how fans respond to this unlikely "friendship," and the good that Shane and Ilya will be doing with the foundation. Yuna also plays a major role at the forefront of the foundation, and this will give Season 2 the opportunity to bring her into the fold even more.

3 'My Dinner with Hayden'

Between the events of Heated Rivalry and The Long Game is a delightfully short story called My Dinner with Hayden. The epilogue reveals that Hayden Pike (Callan Potter) caught onto Shane and Ilya's relationship on his own after figuring out that Shane had replaced his former frequent Boston visits with new regular Ottawa visits – and after Shane had come out to the Metros. The two then set up a formal dinner where Hayden, Jackie (Kamilla Kowal), Shane, and Ilya get together so that Shane's best friend and boyfriend can get to know each other on different terms.

Even if Season 2 starts off with a time jump, My Dinner with Hayden still needs to be shown through flashbacks. The short story is absolutely hilarious, as Ilya and Hayden can't help but butt heads and instigate each other the entire time, while Jackie and Shane try to keep the peace. It also has an emotional scene where Shane expresses his frustration that they can't get along and tells Hayden how difficult it was keeping his relationship with Ilya a secret from him for so long.

4 Scott and Kip's Next Steps

Heated Rivalry is first and foremost Shane and Ilya's story, but the show has already had hints of the other main characters from Rachel Reid's books – most of all Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) and Kip Grady (Robbie G.K.). After falling in love very deeply and quickly, Scott and Kip faced a major obstacle in their relationship when Scott was unable to come out and Kip struggled with being a secret. At the end of Episode 5, Scott publicly kissed Kip after winning the Stanley Cup and changed the game (pun-intended) for everyone else going forward.

The events of Scott and Kip's book, Game Changer, may have come to an end, but Heated Rivalry should still bring them back for Season 2. Hopefully, we will get to see how coming out has affected Scott's career, what Scott and Kip's relationship is like now that they no longer have to hide, and how Scott later comes through to support Shane and Ilya when they need him most. There is also an eventual wedding in store for the two of them, and it would feel very fitting to see that on-screen, even as soon as Season 2.

5 The Complexity of Shane's Character in 'The Long Game'

It is no secret among Heated Rivalry fans that Shane makes some infuriating choices and comments throughout The Long Game, and that his behavior often feels unfair to Ilya. Still, though, it's important to recognize the nuances of Shane's character, and there's no doubt that Heated Rivalry will work hard to make sure that comes through on-screen as well. Shane loves Ilya, but hockey is his great passion, and he has a stronger connection to it than Ilya does (as Rachel Reid has previously shared).

Shane acts in frustrating ways throughout his and Ilya's second book, but he is absolutely not the villain in The Long Game – his and Ilya's impossible circumstances are. Shane and Ilya's conflict throughout the book still needs to make it to the show. Still, though, it is important that, even as Shane acts and reacts in ways that are hurtful to Ilya, it's made clear that he is just doing the best that he's able to with the situation that the two of them are in.

6 Shane and Ilya's Wedding

Without giving too much away to those who haven't read the books, Shane and Ilya have a painful and difficult journey ahead of them going into Season 2. They still find their way through all of this together, though, and they two eventually get married and live out their relationship publicly. There are so many great book moments related to Shane and Ilya's future together, from their proposal to Ilya's sweet conversation with David before the wedding, and we need to see all of these on-screen.

Shane and Ilya have certainly struggled a lot with their secret relationship, the homophobia around them, and their public image as rivals. Their story is a joyful one at its heart, though, and it ends with the two of them happy, in love, and at peace with their relationship and their careers. As such, each of their big milestones needs to make it to the show, most of all their wedding.

7 Potential Future Seasons

Aside from Shane and Ilya and Scott and Kip, the Game Changers books have three other couples who each get a novel for their love story. Tough Guy follows Ilya's former teammate, Ryan Price (who's already been mentioned in the show), and his love interest, Fabian Salah. Common Goal sees Kip's friend, Kyle (Matthew Finlan), falling in love with hockey player Eric Bennett. Role Model follows hockey player Troy Barrett and his romance with Harris Drover. Whether these three couples get their own spin-offs or some development in Heated Rivalry's future seasons, we should have an idea after Season 2 of how their futures will play out.

The most likely scenario is that the events of The Long Game will be split up among two seasons, giving Shane and Ilya's story more room to play out, and leaving open the possibility to develop the other love stories in the way the show did with Scott and Kip. Since Kyle's already been introduced, he could play a bigger role next season, especially if Eric also makes an appearance. Tough Guy and Role Model could both work as spin-off series, and it will be interesting to see if and how these books get adapted.