With the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics around the corner, countries across the globe have begun to release their national uniforms and swag. In the hockey world we’ve so far seen teams Sweden, Finland, USA, and Team Canada reveal their jerseys.
Team Canada jersey concepts
We’ll let you decide whether or not if you like any of these jerseys, but we felt they were quite lacking from a design standpoint. So we thought why not throw our hat in the rink and try and design our own ideal version of what each country should wear to represent their country in February.
Here’s the full set of three jersey concepts for Team Canada. You can click on every image to see the full size. Complete details on the design are shared below!
Red and white jerseys
Taking heavy inspiration from the jerseys Canada wore in 2010 here are our first two jerseys of the set. The shape of the maple leaf itself is directly taken from the 2010 gold medal earning design.
Where this jersey design primarily sets itself apart is its use of the Canadian Native Flag which was designed by Kwakwaka’wakw artist Curtis Wilson.
We decided to use this version of the maple leaf to bring some respectful indigenous representation into the design of the jersey, as we felt it very important that this better represents Canada than the typical leaf.
The other important aspect of theses designs is our decision to use an orange stroke to outline the maple leaf and numbers of the jersey. Orange being the colour that represent awareness around honouring missing and murdered indigenous women and children as well as reconciliation.
With Canada recognizing National Day for Truth and Reconciliation for the first time on September 30, 2021, this naturally led to a brand new third jersey.
Orange Jersey Day jersey
While Team Canada chose to go with a black jersey for their third, we thought going with an orange jersey carried more meaning and weight to reflect on present day relationships between Indigenous nations and Canada. It serves to show Canadians and the rest of the world that Every Child Matters with an ode to Orange Shirt Day on the international stage, and a reminder that reconciliation can not be ignored. Wearing the jersey—both as skater and as fans—honours the lost children and survivors of residential schools.
With this jersey, we used many of the same elements as the previous red and white jerseys. But also included some extra striping inspired by the sides of the Canadian Native Flag, and the phrase “Every Child Matters” on the neckline of the jersey—similar to the initial Adizero jersey releases—to explicitly send the message with these jerseys.
These orange Team Canada jerseys would raise awareness to the tragic history of Canada and further the efforts toward reparations. Team Canada could even introduce a charitable aspect of all jersey sales to go toward the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.
Time for reflection
Team Canada can show their commitment to truth and reconciliation at the biggest international tournament with hockey’s biggest stars. These jerseys emphatically make a statement and there’s no better time than now. This jersey design hopefully stands as more than just a concept, it’s a reminder for all Canadians across the country—and everyone else watching the Olympics—that there is much work left to do and that one cannot celebrate Canadian sport without facing the truths of Canada’s history.
There’s more to Olympic hockey than just who wins gold. We truly hope these jersey designs resonate.
More concepts to come
Throughout the next few weeks we will be sharing jersey designs for every other 2022 Olympic qualifying hockey team. So stay tuned for what’s next.
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