Booked On Monday Night

If there is one story that all kids should grow up with as hockey fans, it's Roch Carrier's phenomenal story called Le Chandail de Hockey. The story revolves around a young boy named Roch who is enamoured with Les Canadiens and their superstar winger, Maurice "Rocket" Richard. Everyone is a Canadiens fan in town, and the kids lace their skates like Richard, comb their hair like Richard, and play like Richard. When Roch outgrows his beloved Canadiens sweater, his mom writes to Timothy Eaton, owner of the famed Eaton's Department Store, for a new sweater. When the sweater finally arrives, well... the beauty of the National Film Board of Canada is that they have the story online.

The National Film Board has the story of Le Chandail de Hockey online in movie form. Directed and animated by Sheldon Cohen and narrated by author Roch Carrier, The Sweater is the story put to film. Produced in 1980, it is still a classic short that has stood the test of time. Here is, in its entirety of 10:21, the story of The Sweater:

For more information on The Sweater, please check out the National Film Board of Canada's official site. There are some other brilliant films available on the site as well. If you have a few moments to poke through the site, I recommend checking out The Cat Came Back, an Oscar-nominated short by Cordell Barker, or The Log Driver's Waltz, a short vignette directed by John Weldon.

Those three shorts used to be shown on Canadian TV as filler during commercial breaks, and they really take me back to my childhood. I love Le Chandail de Hockey, and the short is just as good.

I'm off to a gathering tonight as a few friends who I haven't seen in a while are getting together for a few frosty beverages and some laughs. Take care, everyone, and I'll have more to post tomorrow.

Until then, keep your sticks on the ice!