Hockey Canada celebrates a century of jerseys

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Hockey Canada introduced special new sweaters on June 26 to commemorate their 100th anniversary.

The red and white Nike-designed jerseys are simple enough with black shoulders and CANADA emblazoned diagonally down the chest. They also feature the new 100th anniversary logo.

Hockey Canada and one of its premier marketing partners, Nike, revealed a special 100th anniversary jersey that will be proudly worn by Canada’s men’s, women’s and sledge hockey teams throughout the 2014-15 season.
“The new Hockey Canada jersey is an emblem of Canada’s deep hockey history and passion for the game,” said Scott Smith, chief operating officer with Hockey Canada. “The 100th anniversary of Hockey Canada is a unique moment in Canadian hockey history, and we are proud of the design and innovation in the jersey Nike has provided to Hockey Canada to celebrate the occasion and Canada’s national teams.” 

If you want to buy one, click here.

The organization also published a microsite called A Century of Jerseys that beautifully recounts the various sweaters worn by the Team Canada throughout its first century.

Seriously, it's an incredible site. It's packed with information, photos and the interactive design is brilliant. But before you click, make sure you have some time to spare. You'll need it.

When you get done, drop back by and tell us which Team Canada jersey is your favorite.
jerseys.hockeycanada.ca

jerseys.hockeycanada.ca

Canada's Olympic Jerseys Unveiled

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All photos from Nike

Official photos reveal differences from leaks

Canada's 2014 Olympic jerseys leaked not once but twice this summer. First, Jonathan Toews was caught modeling it in a photo shoot, then another photo popped up showing all three sweaters in a retail setting. So the official unveiling today from Nike was just a formality, right? Not exactly.

What we couldn't tell from those early photos is that the large chest and sleeve stripes don't extend all the way around the jersey. They stop at the player's side. There's a practical reason for this. A completely different (and more breathable) material makes up the side panels of the jerseys.

Another difference seems to be between the retail and game-worn versions of the jersey. In the retail store shot posted two weeks ago, 12 gold maple leaves are visible on the front, toward the bottom. (They represent the combined gold medals won by the Olympic and Paralympic teams, according to Nike.)

On the game version, the gold leaves are on the inside of the collar. Look closely and you'll notice that telltale faux lace-up collar protruding through. Not quite Reebok's "hanger effect" fad, but it does have something in common with the American jerseys now.

Another new detail is the shoulder applique. It's a maple leaf within a maple leaf pointing out of the collar. So far, only the Czech Republic has escaped this feature — what many here would likely call a scourge. Under those bright TV lights, it'll probably be more noticeable than you'd expect. We'll find out in February.

At this point, I'm counting 19 individual maple leaves on this jersey. Maybe going a bit overboard, Nike? In any case, these are the sleeve features. On the left is the Canadian flag — which we've seen before, and on the right are the Olympic rings — which we haven't.

Finally, there's the black jersey. This won't be the first time Canada has worn black, but all the gold makes it a bit odd. According to Nike's press release, it's there to "remind the world of Canada’s goal to win gold medals in Sochi." Everyone needs a reason for existing.

Many of you have probably said your peace on the previous leak posts, but if you have anything else to add, now's the time to do it. Do these slick photos from Nike make you like the new jerseys any better? To those who hadn't made up their mind today, what do you like/dislike most about the new designs?

Canada's Olympic Jersey Set Leaks

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Photo from Reddit user "justacanuck88"

Photo from retail store appears to show all three

Exactly two weeks before the planned unveiling date, a photo of Canada's three new Olympic jerseys has surfaced online. The photo above was posted to Reddit by "justacanuck88" who wrote, "The new Canadian Olympic Jersey's [sic] just came in. What do you think?"

I'm packing for my trip, so I have to post and run. In the meantime, answer the guy's question in the comments. What do you think? I'm saving my commentary for Oct. 8 when the jerseys are officially released.

Canada May Have a Black Third Jersey

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Report: Black sweater would feature gold stripes

Take a good hard look. This jersey or something like it may be an option for Canada during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, according to an anonymous report.

On a tip provided by a secondhand source through 25stanley.com, I asked frequent Icethetics concept contributor Steven Grant to illustrate his interpretation of the tipster's description. While I'm not able to publish the description provided to Icethetics, I can tell you that Steven has done an excellent job bringing it to life.

Whether or not it's accurate remains to be seen. We should find out for sure on Oct. 8. That's when Hockey Canada and Nike are planning to unveil the new 2014 uniforms.

The tip actually came prior to Roberto Luongo spilling the beans publicly on the fact that Canada will have three jerseys — unless it was just misinformation. According to Wyatt Arndt, a blogger for The Province in Vancouver, Luongo said he's seen the jerseys but wouldn't comment further.

Concept artist imagines white version of leaked jersey

As all of Canada surely knows by now, the country's new red jersey was leaked via Getty Images on Thursday. With that in mind, I asked Steven Grant to illustrate that jersey as well as a white version.

From the leaked photo, it's not clear whether the white stripe across the front wraps around to the back. So for the sake of simplicity when it comes to the back numbers, Steven has cut off the stripe along the sides. He's also guessing that the glossy elements on the shoulders are maple leaves.

Steven then created an inverted white version. And to insert some symmetry into an otherwise asymmetrical jersey, Steven's white version has the lone sleeve stripe on the opposite arm. Other than that, the jersey has all the same features with the red swapped for white.

Canadians, what do you think? A black third jersey for the Olympics? How often would you want to see your team sporting it? Among these three designs, do you have a favorite?

Did Canada's Olympic Jersey Leak?

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Photo from Getty Images

Photo seems to show new Canadian team jersey

We may have gotten our first look at Team Canada's 2014 Olympics jersey on Thursday night. The above photo appears to show Jonathan Toews posing for a photo wearing a never-before-seen Canadian sweater. Since the United States and Russia unveiled their jerseys last week, it makes sense that Canada won't be far off.

Screen shot from Getty Images websiteThe photo was first distributed by Getty Images, described in the caption as follows.

NEWARK, NJ - SEPTEMBER 5: Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks poses for a photo shoot at the 2013 NHL Player Media Tour at the Prudential Center on September 5, 2013 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Melynda Pilon/NHLI via Getty Images)

The photo was available for some time on Friday before being taken down by Getty. I grabbed the screen shot to the right before that happened.

This alone is decent evidence we're looking at an unreleased jersey — or something that somebody didn't want the world to see yet.

But there are other indications that it's the Olympic jersey. We can match up some of the details seen previously on the American and Russian sweaters designed by Nike.

First, you have the Nike swoosh near the right shoulder. Take a closer look and you'll notice the faux laces below the collar. That's definitely a new feature of Nike hockey jerseys — and not a welcome one if you've read the many tweets and blog comments.

Add to that all that the glossy shapes around the shoulders which I would assume are maple leaves — not unlike the stars seen on the American jerseys.

I made the case earlier on Twitter that the IOC doesn't allow corporate logos (such as Hockey Canada's) on jerseys anymore and made reference to the type element on the front. Then @Univers47 reminded me that it was featured on the 2010 jerseys as well.

All the evidence — and the timing — tells us that this is probably the Canadian Olympic jersey that will be used in Sochi this winter. It's just not confirmed yet.

Still, I know that won't stop anyone from assuming it is, so feel free to sound off in the comments. What do you think of this Nike-made Canadian jersey? Specifically, how do you feel about the asymmetry of the giant white stripe found only on the left sleeve?