Hockey holds a special place in the heart of Canadian culture. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Hockey Canada, the team wore special uniforms during the 2014-2015 international competition season. These uniforms paid homage to the rich history of Canadian hockey, drawing inspiration from past designs while incorporating modern elements.
Early Uniforms and the Rise of Team Canada
The story of Canadian hockey uniforms begins long before the official formation of Team Canada. Early amateur teams, such as the Montreal AAA, laid the foundation for what would become a national symbol.
While never claiming to represent anyone but their own club, it might be argued that the Montreal AAA team who competed at the 1886 Burlington Carnival of Winter Sports, was the first side to inherit the mantle of "Team Canada" when they played the Van Ness House Club of Vermont in the world's first ever international ice hockey match.
Perhaps the first hockey team to represent Canada in name (albeit, still unofficially) was not actually from Canada at all. The Oxford Canadians were formed in 1905 by Canadian students at Oxford University after being barred from joining the official school hockey club (apparently being Canadian was considered an unfair advantage).
Starting with the 1920 Olympic Games, the reigning Allan Cup champion played for the country, which led to a rather eclectic assortment of looks.
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There was an early attempt at bringing some sense of "uniformity" to Canada's uniforms between 1924 and 1936.
A uniform (or uniforms) of particular interest in this era is that of the 1959 World Championships. It would seem Canada sported 2 different designs here, one of which was perhaps the first instance of the now standard Red-White-Black colour scheme (likely owing more to the colour scheme of the Belleville McFarlands than anything else).
1964 marked the dawning of a new age with the formation of Father David Bauer's Canadian National Team, and another attempt at uniform standardization.
The 1972 Summit Series and the Iconic Red-White-Black
The '72 Summit Series uniform is arguably Canada's most iconic (though some would also say most garish), and began in earnest the now familiar Red-White-Black colour scheme.
The uniforms are primarily based off the design worn by the Canadian side at the 1974 Summit Series, this fall being the 40th anniversary of the oft-forgotten sequel to the classic in 1972. Mostly because Canada, represented only by WHA players this time, got smoked, losing the series to the Soviets 4-1-3.
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Like 1972 “CANADA” is across the front diagonally, some may call it “Rangers-style”. On the top left chest is the new Hockey Canada 100th anniversary logo while at the collar is the familiar primary “Stickman” logo Team Canada has been using since the mid 1990s. The placement of a team primary logo at the collar is a first for a hockey jersey.
However, despite a continuation of this palette through the fist couple of Canada Cups (along with the addition of some Green and Gold to the downright zany 77-79 World Championship uniforms), the dominant colour scheme through this era was actually Red-White-Blue.
The merging of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association with Hockey Canada in 1994 brings us to the modern age of Canadian uniforms.
Here’s how Hockey Canada described these new uniforms: Hockey Canada’s 100th Anniversary jersey is an emblem of Canada’s passion for the game, rooted deep within our nation’s rich culture surrounding hockey.
"The Hockey Sweater": A Cultural Touchstone
No discussion of Canadian hockey is complete without mentioning "The Hockey Sweater," a short story by Canadian author Roch Carrier. It was originally published in 1979 under the title "Une abominable feuille d'érable sur la glace" ("An abominable maple leaf on the ice").
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The story exemplifies the nation's passion for hockey, and while it is often considered an allegory of the relationship and tensions that exist between francophones and anglophones, the story is popular throughout the entire nation.
The Hockey Sweater is based on a real-life experience Carrier had in 1946 in his hometown of Sainte-Justine, Quebec. The story centres on the obsession he and his friends had with the Montreal Canadiens' organization and their star player, Maurice "The Rocket" Richard.
He writes of how they emulated Richard's style and mannerisms, and on the ice: "we were five Maurice Richards against five other Maurice Richards, throwing themselves on the puck. We were ten players all wearing the uniform of the Montreal Canadiens, all with the same burning enthusiasm.
His old sweater having worn out, Carrier's mother seeks to replace it. She writes a letter to Eaton's in French to order a new sweater from their English-only catalogue, which she could not read. A humiliated Carrier wears the sweater to the rink where his peers stare at him in his blue sweater.
As an illustration of the place hockey holds in the Canadian psyche, the Bank of Canada placed a line from the story on the reverse of the 2001 series five-dollar bill, making Carrier the first author to be quoted on a Canadian banknote.
The line, appearing in both French and English is: « Les hivers de mon enfance étaient des saisons longues, longues. Nous vivions en trois lieux : l’école, l’église et la patinoire; mais la vraie vie était sur la patinoire. » / "The winters of my childhood were long, long seasons. We lived in three places: the school, the church and the skating rink; but real life was on the skating rink."
Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk, as part of a personal tradition of honouring others, brought a copy of the story to space when he travelled to the International Space Station in 2009 and later presented the copy to Carrier.
Of the story, Thirsk said: "It represents part of Canadian literacy, it represents support of reading and I just wanted to say thank you to Mr.
The 100th anniversary patch This uniform replaces what Team Canada wore at the 2014 World Jr. Championships in December (hosted by Canada) and the World Championships in April.
Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull at the 1974 Summit Series
The illustrated book of The Hockey Sweater was among the children's books included as official Canadian gifts presented to the Prince of Wales and his family during an official visit in 1991, for his then nine-year-old son William.
Carrier wrote the story in French, and it first appeared in 1979 under the title "Une abominable feuille d'érable sur la glace" ("An abominable maple leaf on the ice") in a collection of his works called Les Enfants du bonhomme dans la lune (Children of the Man in the Moon).
A year after publication, the National Film Board of Canada adapted the story into a ten-minute animated short film called The Sweater. In 1982 Cohen approached May Cutler, founder of Tundra Books, to create an illustrated children's book of the story.
It was published in 1984 as The Hockey Sweater,[9] and by 2014 had sold over 300,000 copies.[10] Following the success of the book, Cutler asked Carrier to write three more stories of his childhood to be illustrated by Cohen, each covering a different sport in a different season.
During the fall season of 2017, The Segal Centre for Performing Arts in Montreal, staged a musical adaptation of the story.[12] The Hockey Sweater: A Musical world premiered in celebration of Montreal's 375th anniversary. The original cast features an ensemble of mainly children, including Drew Davis, Berkley Silverman and led by Jesse Noah Gruman, among others. The original production was choreographed and directed by Donna Feore, written by Emil Sher and composed by Jonathan Monro.
In introducing the film for his video anthology Leonard Maltin's Animation Favorites from the National Film Board of Canada, American critic Leonard Maltin noted that hockey is "an obsession, a country-wide preoccupation that dominates many lives", particularly those of children.
Montreal's star player from 1942 until 1960, Richard was a prolific goal scorer. In the 1944-45 season - one year before the events of The Hockey Sweater - Richard became the first player in National Hockey League history to score 50 goals in a 50-game season.
Richard attended the 1980 premiere of The Sweater in Montreal, and according to Carrier, was moved to tears by the film. Sheldon Posen, curator of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, noted during the opening of an exhibit dedicated to Richard in 2004 that he had long been an idol in Quebec, but it was Carrier's story that expanded Richard's reputation in English Canada and sealed his place as a pan-Canadian hero.
Jason Blake, a professor of English at the University of Ljubljana, argued the irony of this in his book Canadian Hockey Literature.
The passion Carrier and his friends had for the game of hockey, particularly for the Montreal Canadiens, is the dominant theme of the story. Of particular emphasis was the children's fascination with Maurice Richard.
Here is a table summarizing key milestones in the history of "The Hockey Sweater":
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1979 | Story first published in French as "Une abominable feuille d'érable sur la glace" |
| 1980 | National Film Board of Canada adapts the story into an animated short film |
| 1984 | Illustrated children's book "The Hockey Sweater" is published |
| 2001 | Line from the story is placed on the Canadian five-dollar bill |
| 2009 | Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk brings a copy of the story to space |
| 2017 | Musical adaptation of the story premieres in Montreal |