Team Canada’s Olympic hockey jerseys yesterday "were met with much criticism and little praise following" an official unveiling at Maple Leaf Gardens, according to Brendan Kennedy of the TORONTO STAR. Nike Senior Category Creative Dir Ken Black said that the design "aims to be a modern take on two jerseys from Canada’s Olympic history: the Winnipeg Falcons’ sweater worn by Canada’s first gold medal-winning team in 1920, and the iconic half-maple-leaf jerseys worn by Paul Henderson and company" in the '72 Summit Series. All three jerseys "include an arm band on the left, but not the right arm, as well as a 'flywire' collar, which simulates traditional laces but ensures a lighter weight, and textured maple leaves on the shoulders." Yesterday's formal unveiling "came a month after leaked photos of the new look had already made the rounds online, drawing mostly bad reviews." Critics were "no less sympathetic after seeing the jerseys officially launched." In an informal poll of about 1,300 people, 54% of voters "didn’t like any one of them" (TORONTO STAR, 10/9). The GLOBE & MAIL's Roy MacGregor writes what "differentiates this uniform from that worn by previous editions of Team Canada is the absence of the stylized logo featuring the outline of a hockey player inside a maple leaf." Hockey Canada "was forced" by the IOC to "tone down any such non-Olympic symbol for the 2010 Vancouver Games, and in Sochi it will have vanished entirely" (GLOBE & MAIL, 10/9). The CP's Stephen Whyno noted Canada is the "only team that will have a third jersey in Sochi." Hockey Canada President & CEO Bob Nicholson said that he "wasn't sure how many times it would be worn at the Olympics but mentioned it was added because fans and players like black" (CP, 10/8).
TOSS UP: USA TODAY's Chris Chase writes the reaction in Canada has "been lukewarm," with many fans tweeting that the logo "looked too much like that of Petro Canada." The "faux laces are an abomination" and the "hockey equivalent of basketball's short sleeves." The laces and the "shiny graphics on the shoulder, make these sweaters look like T-shirt jerseys designed by Ed Hardy." Chase: "At least Nike used a Canadian symbol -- the maple leaf -- as the dominant image on its two main jerseys. It looks great and is immediately identifiable." Chase wrote, "Contrast that with the U.S. jerseys, featuring a logo that looks similar to that of K-Swiss" (USA TODAY, 10/9). THE HOCKEY NEWS' Rory Boylen wrote, "I like the attempt at a traditional look on the red and white jerseys. ... Still, those fake draw strings that are on every Olympic jersey are awful and should never have seen the light of day. I think once you get past that, though, these aren’t half bad" (THEHOCKEYNEWS.com, 10/8). SPORTSNET.ca's Luke Fox wrote criticism of the sweaters "varied from mild to wicked." Some fans "compared them to soccer jerseys or practice sweaters," while others "pointed out that the black alternate version with the single red armband looked very, uh, German" (SPORTSNET.ca, 10/8). In Vancouver, Ian Austin writes critics are asking "why Hockey Canada officials chose to ignore the Nazi comparisons when they were pointed out weeks ago." Though the black and red colors and red armband "recall the German uniform, the jersey also has a broad red band across the chest, trimmed in gold, with giant white letters reading out ‘CANADA'” (Vancouver PROVINCE, 10/9).
