Ranking Canada's best and worst Olympic hockey jerseys
On Wednesday, Hockey Canada released the sweaters the Canadians will wear at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
One Leaf. One Team. One Goal. 🍁
Excited to officially unveil the 2022 Team Canada Olympic hockey jersey!
Get yours and be ready when the celebration begins ➡️ https://t.co/4behNn4sXd#Beijing2022 #OurGameIsBack pic.twitter.com/PAUBe7EDNE— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) November 24, 2021
Canada will have three unis, with white, red, and black serving as the primary colours for each sweater.
I'll be honest, these jerseys are certainly not my favourite from the long line of Canadian sweaters worn at the Olympics, with the weirdly-designed maple leaf logos being my main issue with these fits. Looking at these did get me pondering about some of the classic looks Canada has donned at the Games before, however.
Here are my definitive rankings of Canada's Olympic hockey uniforms.
14. Albertville 1992
These are by far the worst uniforms Canada has worn at the Olympics. To this day, I still don't understand why someone wanted them to wear all that blue. Also, those arms are way too busy. I wasn't alive when this tournament happened, so can someone please tell me, what the heck is on both Canada and France's sleeves?
Canada won silver at the 1992 Games, losing gold to the Unified Team which consisted of Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Uzbekistan, and Armenia.
13. Lake Placid 1932
The Winnipeg Hockey Club represented Canada at the 1932 Olympics and won gold.
The only thing I could find from those Games was this drawn photo, and if I'm not mistaken, Canada's showing a little skin with those low-cut socks and thigh-cut pants?
If not, let's pretend they are!
12. Antwerp 1920
Again, I'm strongly against sweaters that primarily incorporate colours that are not included in the country's flag (with the exception of black). The Winnipeg Falcons wore these at the 1920 Games and won gold, although Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, Iceland Prime Minister Halldor Asgrimsson, and Manitoba Premier Gary Doer are the ones pictured above in 2005 wearing the retro uni.
Yellow on a Canadian jersey doesn't make sense to me.
11. Lillehammer 1994
Team Canada presented by Reebok should've been the name Canada entered this tournament with. How can you look anywhere other than the massive Reebok logo featured on the shoulder?
Once you get past it, the rest of the look isn't that bad. I like the red leaf and lines inside the white maple leaf, and the red pants and red socks go well.
Canada took home silver in Albertville.
10. St. Moritz 1948
Ok, so this look is nice, but I have to stay true to my grading system and criticize the 1948 Olympic design for heavily incorporating the colour blue. I know it's hard to tell because the photo is in black and white, but this entire jersey was blue except for the red maple leaf in the middle, the white circle around it, and a few red stripes.
The Ottawa RCAF Flyers, who represented Canada at the event, won gold.
9. Beijing 2022
The 🍁 is ready for another iconic moment 🤩
Here are the hockey jerseys that #TeamCanada will be wearing as they compete for Olympic 🥇 at Beijing 2022 ➡️ https://t.co/Job1bxn4v2
📸: Hockey Canada pic.twitter.com/hJO2gB5vGZ— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) November 24, 2021
Let's be honest, these sweaters will be pretty forgettable when the 2022 Games are all said and done.
The striping on the shoulders and sleeves are fine, but the robo maple leaf emblem is horrible. Maybe it'll grow on me a bit, but as of right now, it doesn't sit well with me.
8. PyeongChang 2018
I don't like the dimples inside the red maple leaf. There's something about the simplicity of the maple leaf on its own that just looks so good, and this look really gets away from it.
The arms also look clunky to me, as there's tiger stripes on the bottom of the sleeve and then that red Michelin-man looking design at the top.
The men's team won bronze while the women took home silver at the 2018 Games.
7. Chamonix 1924
I did say I like simple, but these are maybe a little too simple? I can work with the crest, and I like that guy on the right's hat, but having nothing on the shoulders or sleeves is a little too basic for me.
The Toronto Granites, who represented Canada at the 1924 Games, won gold.
6. Turin 2006
I like having the Hockey Canada logo on the Canadian uniforms and I think these are a sharp look from the jerseys to the pants to the socks. The only criticism I do have about the 2006 sweaters is the stripes on the arm and underarm, which is enough to knock it down a couple of spots in the rankings.
The Canadian women won gold in Turin while the Canadian men finished seventh — which remains the worst performance by a Canadian hockey team at the Winter Games.
5. Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956
These are cool in the sense that I'd actually wear these on a pretty regular basis. They are genuinely a sweater, which I think is such a nice vintage look. I'm fine with the stemmed maple leaf and the Olympic Games emblem inside of it. I'd wear this out no questions asked if I had one in my closet.
The Canadians took home bronze at the 1956 Games.
4. Sochi 2014
This is another great jersey. I like the sideways Canadian flag design, and the gold trim around the maple leaf is a subtle reminder to all that Canada is a gold-medal factory at the Games.
The maple leafs around the collar are nice as well, and it's just an all-around clean look.
The Canadian women and men both left the Sochi Games with gold medals.
3. Nagano 1998
After the atrocities Canada dawned through the early portion of the 1990s, it's nice to see the country cleaned itself up as the millennium neared its close. These jerseys were a crisp look and even though there's a decent amount of silver, I actually don't hate it when used sparingly like this.
Despite having a veteran Wayne Gretzky on the squad, Canada's men couldn't capture a medal at the Nagano Games, but the women earned silver.
2. Salt Lake City 2002
Call me old fashioned, but these things are absolutely gorgeous. There's not much to them, but that's just fine with me. The stripes on the bottom of the torso and sleeves are excellent and, as stated above, I really like that Hockey Canada emblem.
Sometimes less is more, and with Canada hockey jerseys, I think that's the case.
Both the men and women triumphantly won gold on American soil in 2002.
1. 2010 Vancouver
There are just too many good emotions attached to these sweaters that I can't rank them anywhere else other than No. 1.
Mainly red and white with the exception of a little bit of gold trim, these sweaters were the perfect design for the 2010 Games which were played on Canadian ice. The maple leaf features a West Coast First Nations design on the inside, which was excellent in making sure the whole country was being represented during the Games.
Both the Canadian men's and women's team skated away with gold medals in Vancouver.
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