Pass or Fail: USA, Canada unveil 2022 Olympic hockey jerseys

It has been quite a week for new hockey jersey designs.

After the New Jersey Devils rocked all of our worlds with their “Jersey” look, USA Hockey and Hockey Canada unveiled their new looks for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, and you might have some opinions on them as well.

Let’s start with U.S., a program that has had some classic, iconic designs over the years and for some reason decided to ignore all of that for something new.

Have a look.

If you were wondering what the inspiration behind these jerseys is, USA Hockey describes them as such:

American pride and ingenuity were the inspiration behind the USA Hockey look. The new USA Hockey jersey pays homage to America’s industrial past, while representing the future of innovation and technology. The USA wordmark across the front chest uses a bold type and precise details to create a beveled metallic aesthetic.

In a nod to America’s symbols, a subtle band of stars is set between red, white and blue stripes that surround the chest and arms on the home and away jerseys. Drawing inspiration from American “muscle cars” and traditionally bold hockey designs, Team USA’s alternate jersey bears a deep blue double stripe running around the chest and arms.

USA Hockey’s traditional shield is outlined in gold and stitched to the shoulder as a badge of honor. The internal back neck message, “Driven By Pride” serves as a reminder to athletes and fans that they are, in part, driven by the pride of competing for their country in the Olympics and Paralympics.

[Olympic men’s roster projections: U.S. / Canada]

Meanwhile, north of the border, Hockey Canada unveiled its look on Tuesday evening and made the bold choice of changing the color of the famed maple leaf on the Canadian flag on two of the three jerseys.

The 🍁 is ready for another iconic moment 🤩

Here are the hockey jerseys that #TeamCanada will be wearing as they compete for Olympic 🥇 at Beijing 2022 ➡️ https://t.co/Job1bxn4v2

📸: Hockey Canada pic.twitter.com/hJO2gB5vGZ

— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) November 24, 2021

The white jersey keeps the traditional red maple leaf, but uses a black leaf on the red and black jerseys.

[Full 2022 men’s and women’s Olympic schedules]

The inspiration here? The weather, naturally.

We all know that Team Canada is a force of nature. So, it’s fitting that the design was inspired by norther storms, which are fast-moving cold fronts that originate from the north and send strong winds south, causing temperatures to plummet rapidly. Graphic lines on the maple leaf crest gives dimension to the design, but are also representative of how snow and Arctic winds are shown on weather maps. Those weather map-type lines also appear on the shoulder yoke of the black jersey, creating a subtle maple leaf pattern.

We do not yet know all of the players that will be wearing them, but we at least know how they will look on the ice.

Now that you have seen them, a very simple question: Pass or Fail?

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at [e-mail] or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.