The initial reactions were … less than enthusiastic.
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Let’s start with the Americans. USA Hockey released three concepts: home navy, away white and a royal blue alternate.
The sleeve design — “inspired by bald eagle feathers,” the release said — received the harshest critique from the social media masses. There’s a patriotic inscription on the back of the neck, inside the collar (which no one will see), that reads “Land of the Free – Home of the Brave.”
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Canada’s sweaters were better received, slightly. There are white and black versions with a red maple leaf crest, and a red version with a silver maple leaf crest. It’s a slight, modernized departure from the more traditional concepts of Olympic past.
That NHL players won’t feature in the 2018 Games makes these jerseys a bit less marketable. And in a tickle-down effect of their absence, neither the U.S. nor Canada opened as gold-medal favorites in eyes of the sports books. That distinction goes to Russia, which touts a superior talent pool thanks to the KHL.
Both the U.S. and Canada, with rosters filled mostly by amateurs and overseas pros, will play in their first organized pre-Olympic tournaments this month. Team USA competes in the Deutschland Cup from Nov. 10-12, 2017 in Germany; Team Canada in the Karjala Cup Nov. 8-12 in Finland.
The Olympics open Feb. 9.
