Shane blinked for a second. It actually meant a lot that the newer generation of players were looking up to him and Ilya. "That means a lot. I mean we try our best I guess." he said before realizing he spoke for Ilya too. Fuck. "I meant.. I. But I guess Rozanov is the same." he quickly corrected himself hoping it didn't seem too out of the ordinary he said that.

Shane took a second to think. He was actually right. If he had gotten the spot he surely deserved it. Of course they still had yet to face each other out on the ice, but Shane wasn't dumb. He was just petty.. "I shouldn't have made assumptions. I apologize." he said apologetically. "It's a good quality I think." he said before clarifying. "To believe in yourself. And be confident. You're gonna need it." he said opening up slightly more. He was truly hoping this kid was being genuine and he wasn't playing an act to take advantage of Shane's good will. Ilya would probably hate him for it, because how can he be nice to the damn rookie that took his spot with barely any prior experience in the league? But Shane decided to give him a chance. To at least be open to get to know him.

Shane's eyes widened. Fuck. He didn't want to make a scene. I guess there was only so much of his emotions he could hide. He truly sucked at lying too. He took in a deep breath before speaking once more. "I.. I'm sorry." he was a bit speechless and didn't know how to explain his feelings without explaining... everything. Barely anyone knew so there was no way in hell he would come out within the first 5 minutes of them ever meeting. "It's a long story.. And it's been.. a rough couple months." Shane admitted truthfully while deliberately staying vague.