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A hockey sweater is a piece of clothing worn by ice hockey players to cover the upper part of their bodies.
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Design
Hockey sweaters today are typically made of tough synthetic materials like polyester, to help take away moisture and keep the wearer dry. In accordance with the team's colors and matching the socks, they are usually emblazoned with the team's logo on the front, the player's last name on the upper back (with the first initial in cases of teammates with the same family name, such as Henrik and Daniel Sedin, teammates with the Vancouver Canucks), and a designated number below, from 0 to 99 (in the NHL, 98 is the highest number allowed, after the league retirement of number 99 to honor Wayne Gretzky).
A team captain wears an uppercase "C" above and to the right of the team logo on their sweaters (although a few NHL teams have the uppercase letter above and to the left of the team logo). Two other players, designated alternate captains, wear an uppercase "A" on theirs. Sweaters worn in European leagues and tournaments are adorned with ads, a concept borrowed from football jerseys. NHL teams sell replica sweaters of their famous players at their stadium, as well as through sports memorabilia stores.
Fashion item
The cultural impact of the hockey sweater in Canada is encapsulated by the short story The Hockey Sweater by Roch Carrier. In it, a young hockey fan asks his mother to order a Montreal Canadiens sweater from an Eatons department store catalogue, but instead accidentally receives a sweater for the team's arch-rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs, much to his embarrassment and the derision from his friends. The story was later made into a short animated film of the same name, which was produced by the National Film Board of Canada; a quote from it appears on the Canadian five-dollar bill.