TORONTO -- It took until he stepped onto the ice at Copps Coliseum in
Hamilton at the 1986 world junior championship for Joe Nieuwendyk to
appreciate what it meant to wear a Team Canada jersey.
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"I didnt really understand the magnitude of what it meant until that
moment: skating out there in front of 19-20,000 people, flags flying
everywhere," Nieuwendyk said. "It was a special feeling."
On Tuesday morning, he got to pass that feeling on to about a dozen
teenage players chosen to model Hockey Canadas 2014 Olympic jerseys at
the official unveiling at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. Hockey Canada
told them theyd be doing some promotional things, but the players didnt
learn exactly why they were at the arena until just before the event.
"Their mouths dropped, a little awestruck," Nieuwendyk said. "They didnt
realize what they were here for. When they saw the jersey for the first
time, it hit them like it hits any NHL guy thats going to don that
jersey."
For many hockey fans it wasnt the first glimpse of the red, white and
alternate black jerseys that the mens, womens and sledge hockey teams
will wear at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi. Pictures of the
uniforms have leaked out over the last month.
But that didnt damper the enthusiasm for the teenagers who stepped onto
the ice amid club music and laser lights and skated around to show off
the uniforms.
"First to ever try on the Team Canada Olympic Jersey and unveil it to
everyone. Speechless," Paul Coffeys son, Blake, wrote on Twitter
afterward. "Honoured to get the opportunity to unveil the 2014 Team
Canada Olympic Jersey Launch."
Hockey Canadas reveal was another opportunity for fans to give their
opinions about the jerseys. Some said it looked like Petro-Canadas logo,
while others wanted to go back to the jerseys used when Canada won gold
in Vancouver in 2010.
"People talking about how they feel about a jersey thats close to their
heart and represents their country is a great thing," Nike creative
director Ken Black said.
The red and white jerseys feature a Maple Leaf logo with a stripe across
the chest, while the black jersey has "CANADA" written across it in
white letters on a gold stripe. All three include 12 gold maple leaves
inside the collar to commemorate the eight mens, three womens and one
sledge hockey gold medal the country has won at the Olympics.
Black said the jerseys were inspired by the 1920 team that won gold at
the Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium, with touches from the 1972
national team uniform.
"The best resource that we have in our country are our players and our
people," Hockey Canada president and CEO Bob Nicholson said. "This
really respects where it all started back in 1920."
Back then there were fewer avenues for fans to express their feelings
about jerseys. This time around criticism began in early September when a
photo of Jonathan Toews wearing Canadas red jersey surfaced online.
"Thats the great thing about the game of hockey: Everyones passionate,"
Nicholson said. "The key is the players will be proud to put it on, and
know when the players are on the ice, whether its our womens team, our
mens team or our sledge team, Canadian fans will support the jersey and
the team."
Montreals Caroline Ouellette, a forward on the womens team and a
three-time Olympian, offered a very positive review.
"I think theyre lighter and they seem very comfortable," she said. "I
think every time change happens, theres some people that resist it. I
know weve heard some negative comments on it so far, but for me the
jersey becomes the memories we make with that jersey."
International Olympic Committee regulations prohibit sports federations
from putting their logo on uniforms.
Canada is the only team that will have a third jersey in Sochi.
Nicholson said he wasnt sure how many times it would be worn at the
Olympics but mentioned it was added because fans and players like black.
Of course, Nicholson said, Canadas "real colours" are red and white.
Thats why those jerseys got praise from Nieuwendyk for their simplicity.
"The most important thing is the Maple Leaf," he said. "You follow a
little bit of Canadian hockey history, this follows some of the history
and captures that. Its just such a clean look: red, white and a Maple
Leaf."
The process of getting to the final products was far from simple. Phil
Pritchard from the Hockey Hall of Fame took some historic Team Canada
jerseys to Nike, where designers got to see and feel what former players
wore.
The jerseys are 15 per cent lighter than anything previously worn by
Team Canada. The uniform fabric contains material from recycled water
bottles.
"Even this design is much lighter than what we wore in Nagano or Salt
Lake," Nieuwendyk said. "Its getting lighter. They look faster. But the
athletes are getting bigger and faster too."
Tuesdays event at the Mattamy Athletic Complex, located on the former
site of Maple Leaf Gardens, didnt have much to do with the construction
of the Olympic teams. But Nicholson said that "seeing the jersey is a
key stepping point for all three teams."
"We are launching a symbol that truly serves to unify our great nation,"
Canadian Olympic Committee president Marcel Aubut said. "In Canada the
concept of (a) jersey is an integral part of our DNA."
The next step is for the teams to be named.
"Theres a lot of work going on behind the scenes," Nicholson said.
"(General manager) Steve Yzerman and his whole crew are out now every
night watching NHL games to select the mens side."
The provisional mens roster of 22 skaters and three goalies must be
submitted to the International Ice Hockey Federation no later than Dec.
31. The womens team has until later in January to submit a roster to the
Canadian Olympic Committee.
The Games will be held Feb. 7-23, and the Paralympic Games are set for
March 7-16.
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