Canada's New Look?

It should be no secret that Hockey Canada has changed their jersey designs repeatedly over the last number of years. Hockey Canada essentially has made their market when it comes to hockey jerseys because there seems to be a new design every couple of years based on emerging fashion trends and shrinking jersey sales. The jerseys to left, which cannot be worn in the Olympics due to Hockey Canada's logo, were fairly iconic for most of the IIHF tournaments, but Canada has changed that design that was last seen in 2022 a few times since it was worn. Not surprisingly, they've designed and are looking to trademark another iteration for future use on the ice.

Before we look at the new design, I just want to reiterate that the black Canada jersey seen above and any black colouring on any other jersey is completely unnecessary. I get that black is part of Hockey Canada's colour palette, but Canada is red and white in terms of national colours. I hate when Canada wears black at tournaments, and those black jerseys in the past and any future jerseys that are black should be scrubbed from Hockey Canada's design options.

That being said, here's Canada's new "eleven point maple leaf" jersey.

You may be wondering about that "eleven point maple leaf" name, and it seems that it comes from the Hockey Canada logo itself which has eleven distinct points and the three small maple leaves in gold on the rear neckline. The design itself leaves a lot of wanting for additional colours splashes despite four colours - red, white, black, and gold - being shown on the above jersey. According to the trademark filing, there's a "middle arm band pattern on each sleeve that consists of maple leaves and stylized maple leaf designs with a hockey player with the word Canada underneath is in white."

If I'm being honest, the design shown above has 2018 vibes all over again as seen with Finland. The shoulder yokes are sublimated into some design while the rest of the jersey is the base colour, allowing the logo to be the main focal point. Hockey Canada's logo shouldn't necessarily be the main focal point, though, as the players are representing their country, not Hockey Canada exclusively. In theory, there's nothing wrong with this design, but seeing how it looks on the ice and in graphics leaves Canada looking a little barren. A hem stripe would add that spalsh of colour and adding one more stripe of colour below that middle arm band pattern would be ideal.

I'm still puzzled by the three gold maple leaves on the rear neckline. If it's to represent the men's, women's, and parahockey programs overseen by Hockey Canada, I can live with that, but that designation seems to ignore the Canadian women's parahockey team that participated at the first Women's World Championship last season. The national women's parahockey team doesn't fall under Hockey Canada's umbrella at this time, but they have approached Hockey Canada about future funding and support. I'm hoping that happens.

Because of the Hockey Canada logo, though, this jersey can't be worn at the Olympics nor the Paralympics, so having the three stars representing the men's, women's, and parahockey programs doesn't make a lot of sense. While the jerseys can be worn annually at each program's World Championship, the Olympics are the big tournament where everyone wants to play. Why would Hockey Canada create a jersey that they can't wear at the most-watched tournaments on the planet? That seems short-sighted from a merchandise standpoint.

It's becoming harder and harder to understand the decisions being made at the Hockey Canada offices. Combined with their idiotic decision to not participate in the Spengler Cup this season, this is the second complete and total miss they've had in the last two weeks. I'm not saying that anyone needs to be fired over this new jersey design, but it should have never been submitted for a trademark application.

2026 is proving to be a rough year for Hockey Canada as the World Junior team was eliminated in the quarterfinals, they brought home three silver medals from Milano-Cortina, they got dropped from the Spengler Cup, and now they've proposed a terrible jersey trademark. I can't remember the last time that Hockey Canada piled up this many losses in one year, but 2026 is fast becoming forgettable.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!