TORONTO – Team Canada unveiled its highly anticipated 2014 Olympic hockey jerseys Tuesday morning in Toronto.
The jerseys, designed by Nike, come in three colours – red, white and black. They will be worn exclusively by Canada’s women’s, men’s and sledge hockey teams.
Inside the collar of each jersey are 12 gold maple leaves. These represent Hockey Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic gold medals: eight in men’s hockey, three in women’s, and one in sledge.
Nike’s senior creative director Ken Black said the jerseys were designed with the athlete’s performance as top priority.
“We believe that lighter is always faster, so the first thing we did was incorporate Nike flywire technology. It’s a lightweight technology that allows us to provide great strength with really thin layers,” he said at the press conference. “Things like range in motion, thermoregulation…whatever we can do to push the edge from an innovation standpoint.”
Black cited Canada’s past hockey sweaters as inspiration—notably from the 1920s and the 1972 jersey with the signature leaf on the front—with the modern twist of being made from recycled water bottles.
Canada will be the only team at the Sochi Games with a third jersey, which Black said was 15 per cent lighter than the 2010 design.
“Canadians have been undeniably captivated by the Canadian hockey jersey for generations,” said Marcel Aubut, Canadian Olympic Committee president in a release.
“For many, the red and white are not mere colours, and the maple leaf is not just another symbol; rather, it has become a part of our very own identity.”
WATCH: Hockey Canada made a big splash when they showed off the new Olympic jerseys, but was it enough to make hockey fans buy in? Mike Drolet looks beyond the hype.
How did Canadians feel about the jerseys?
Initial reactions were largely negative:
One retired hockey blogger also suggested Nike stay away from designing other team jerseys, retweeting a photo of the Czech Republic uniform:
https://twitter.com/JesGolbez/status/387258528886304769
Hockey Canada unveiled the jerseys at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, and Global News reporters Rob Leth and Mike Drolet were there. Check out their updates below:
Last month, a photo of Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews wearing a red jersey with a large red Maple Leaf crest on top of a white stripe was leaked to the public:
A few weeks later, another photo of three Team Canada jerseys was also posted online.
The 2014 Winter Olympics will be held in Sochi, Russia.
Comments