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Le Chandail de Hockey
In the days of Roch’s childhood, winters in the village of Ste. Justine were long. Life centered around school, church, and the hockey rink, and every boy’s hero was Montreal Canadiens hockey legend Maurice Richard. Everyone wore Richard’s number 9. They laced their skates like Richard. They even wore their hair like Richard. When Roch outgrows his cherished Canadiens sweater, his mother writes away for a new one. Much to Roch’s horror, he is sent the blue and white sweater of the rival Toronto Maple Leafs, dreaded and hated foes to his beloved team. How can Roch face the other kids at the rink?
24 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1979
11 people are currently reading
778 people want to read
About the author
Roch Carrier
87 books13 followersRoch Carrier, OC is a Canadian novelist, playwright and author of "contes" (a very brief form of the short story). He is among the best known Quebec writers in English Canada.
From 1994 to 1997, he served as head of the Canada Council. In 1998, he ran as an electoral candidate for the Quebec Liberal Party under Jean Charest, in the riding of Crémazie. He was defeated by 309 votes.
In 1991, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. From 1999 to 2004, Carrier was National Librarian of Canada.
A quote from "Le chandail de hockey" ("The Hockey Sweater"), one of Carrier's contes, is reprinted on the back of the Canadian five-dollar bill.
From 1994 to 1997, he served as head of the Canada Council. In 1998, he ran as an electoral candidate for the Quebec Liberal Party under Jean Charest, in the riding of Crémazie. He was defeated by 309 votes.
In 1991, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. From 1999 to 2004, Carrier was National Librarian of Canada.
A quote from "Le chandail de hockey" ("The Hockey Sweater"), one of Carrier's contes, is reprinted on the back of the Canadian five-dollar bill.
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May 3, 2025
This book was so ME in SO many ways back in 1955! But in my case - it was true symbolically only, as an Autistic role-reversal in myself, since I was the instigator of a long-standing internecine sibling rivalry - of which more to follow In a few secs...
Hockey ruled our wintry land back then.
In 1955, Montreal erupted in bloody riots. The pride of the quebecois, Rocket Richard, had been suspended from the Stanley Cup playoffs for "ungentlemanly behaviour!" We two siblings jeered, though my ever-self-possessed Dad and Mom reserved comment.
You see, that year we had bought our first TV!
By 1955 we had two bilingual channels in Canada under the same nationalized corporation. (The Liberals had made socialist inroads even back then!) Its name?
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the CBC. We were suddenly all glued to great movies and hockey. My sis, who had joined the family months earlier, a toddler, was happily bemused by our enthusiasm for a mere flashing box.
My bro, at the crux of my review, was a preemie with a yell that could shatter glass; and I, radically spoiled at three, wished to be alone with my toys and resented his interruption of my parent's undivided love for me.
I slapped him in his cradle.
Yes, I did that - little Autistically vindictive Bump on a Log - ME!
With a brutally warmed posterior that night, I knew my Paradise was Lost now. That was, I see now, God’s revenge. And the resultant vicious circle of a spoiled Aspie's Inferno has plagued me ever since. Thank God for my meds.
(So by 1955, my bro and I had taken sides! I, Toronto, and my bro, Montreal!)
And, of course, next Christmas I got my Maple Leafs jersey: and my bro, his Canadiens!
And our hockey buddy Ricky made his mileage outta our feud.
But my colicky brother, of course, found it hard to forgive my rage at the start of it. Or my volte-face from the winningest team in the Original Six!
***
It's a long, tough road to Heaven for the Best of Us.
But when you're made least in life by having to pay your full debts to God in advance -
Trust me.
It's INFINITELY Tougher.
Mea maxima culpa, David!
My Asperger's is now a Cross of Pain.
But not always...
***
We may have our differences! But the love our parents started is STILL there.
We've never !ost touch with each other. And this year, we’re ALL septuagenarians except Dad - he’s 100 years young!
I wrote this for them, on Family Day here in Ontario: I miss them all.
And though I was born neurodiverse, no one noticed till doctors did.
Neurodiversity doesn't have to be a Label, and that's why I support the great work of the team behind International Neurodiversity Week 2024, with festivities all this week!
https://youtu.be/7_LIC-9rEi0?si=UeGnt...
https://youtu.be/GLGLLylcDvM?si=Hc_DY...
For we can have our FUN too. We’re all different.
Hockey ruled our wintry land back then.
In 1955, Montreal erupted in bloody riots. The pride of the quebecois, Rocket Richard, had been suspended from the Stanley Cup playoffs for "ungentlemanly behaviour!" We two siblings jeered, though my ever-self-possessed Dad and Mom reserved comment.
You see, that year we had bought our first TV!
By 1955 we had two bilingual channels in Canada under the same nationalized corporation. (The Liberals had made socialist inroads even back then!) Its name?
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the CBC. We were suddenly all glued to great movies and hockey. My sis, who had joined the family months earlier, a toddler, was happily bemused by our enthusiasm for a mere flashing box.
My bro, at the crux of my review, was a preemie with a yell that could shatter glass; and I, radically spoiled at three, wished to be alone with my toys and resented his interruption of my parent's undivided love for me.
I slapped him in his cradle.
Yes, I did that - little Autistically vindictive Bump on a Log - ME!
With a brutally warmed posterior that night, I knew my Paradise was Lost now. That was, I see now, God’s revenge. And the resultant vicious circle of a spoiled Aspie's Inferno has plagued me ever since. Thank God for my meds.
(So by 1955, my bro and I had taken sides! I, Toronto, and my bro, Montreal!)
And, of course, next Christmas I got my Maple Leafs jersey: and my bro, his Canadiens!
And our hockey buddy Ricky made his mileage outta our feud.
But my colicky brother, of course, found it hard to forgive my rage at the start of it. Or my volte-face from the winningest team in the Original Six!
***
It's a long, tough road to Heaven for the Best of Us.
But when you're made least in life by having to pay your full debts to God in advance -
Trust me.
It's INFINITELY Tougher.
Mea maxima culpa, David!
My Asperger's is now a Cross of Pain.
But not always...
***
We may have our differences! But the love our parents started is STILL there.
We've never !ost touch with each other. And this year, we’re ALL septuagenarians except Dad - he’s 100 years young!
I wrote this for them, on Family Day here in Ontario: I miss them all.
And though I was born neurodiverse, no one noticed till doctors did.
Neurodiversity doesn't have to be a Label, and that's why I support the great work of the team behind International Neurodiversity Week 2024, with festivities all this week!
https://youtu.be/7_LIC-9rEi0?si=UeGnt...
https://youtu.be/GLGLLylcDvM?si=Hc_DY...
For we can have our FUN too. We’re all different.
June 24, 2025
A hockey sweater, in Canada, is a serious thing. If you don’t believe me, try wearing a Flames sweater in an Edmonton sports bar, or an Oilers sweater at a sports pub in Calgary, and see what kind of reception you get. The hockey sweater serves a practical function – to keep one warm during a shift on the ice – but it can also serve as a badge of one’s regional and cultural identity within a country that is the world’s second-largest by land area. And all those elements of what a hockey sweater can mean within Canadian life come to the forefront in Roch Carrier’s 1979 story The Hockey Sweater.
Roch Carrier, a native of Sainte-Justine, Québec, studied at the Université de Montréal, and later earned a doctorate from the Sorbonne in Paris. He distinguished himself as an author of contes, a genre that can be described as a highly compressed version of the short story. His writing is characterized by a straightforward literary style that conceals depths of psychological insight, and by twist endings that may remind some readers of the work of Guy de Maupassant. An Order of Canada honouree, Carrier is an important exemplar of the literature and culture of Québec, and of Canada.
The Hockey Sweater, which is probably the best-known example of the contes for which Carrier is so well-known, takes place in Sainte-Justine in 1946, and is based on a real-life incident from Carrier’s childhood. The narrator begins by stating that “The winters of my childhood were long, long seasons. We lived in three places – the school, the church, and the skating rink – but our real life was on the skating rink.”
The importance of hockey in the life of the narrator and all his schoolfellows quickly becomes apparent when the narrator states that “We all wore the same uniform as Maurice Richard, the red, white, and blue uniform of the Montreal Canadiens, the best hockey team in the world.” The boys all style their hair like “Rocket” Richard, lace their skates and tape their sticks like “Le Rocket.” As the story’s narrator puts it, “We all wore the famous number 9 on our backs. How could we forget that!”
The illustrations for these opening pages of The Hockey Sweater reinforce well what the narrator is telling us. The wall of the makeshift locker room where the boys dress for hockey is covered with Richard memorabilia: posters, photographs, and a schematic showing Richard’s statistics: born in Montreal on 4 August 1921; “ailier droit, lance a la gauche [right wing, shoots from the left]”. Richard’s eyes glare out at the viewer from the poster, just as they did in real life. His intensity is unmistakable, and so is the hold that he has over these Québécois boys for whom he is the heroic figure.
Complications begin when the narrator’s Habs sweater grows too small for him and becomes torn in several places. The narrator’s mother, a proper Québécois woman who prides herself on administering a tidy, prosperous, and dignified home life, insists that “If you wear that old sweater, people are going to think we are poor!” and straightaway writes to Eaton’s, enclosing 3 dollars, to request a new Canadiens sweater. But, as the accompanying illustration by Sheldon Cohen shows she is writing the letter, “in her fine schoolteacher’s hand”, in French! She doesn’t like to use the forms in the Eaton’s catalogue, because they are all in English. And Eaton’s is an English Canadian company, headquartered in Toronto! The reader infers at once that complications are likely to ensue.
A two-page illustration shows the boy running excitedly out of the Poste Royale (post office), his package from Eaton’s in hand, his mother waiting for him on a snowy sidewalk pulling a sled, while next door, a couple of diners are talking with the chef at La Chaudronniêre Casse-Croûte. The illustrations’ detailed rendering of mid-20th-century life in Québec are among the most delightful features of the book.
And then – horreurs! It turns out that Eaton’s has sent the Carrier family not the Montreal sweater that the narrator had wanted, but rather a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater! The narrator calls the event “one of the great disappointments of my life!” He points out that “Never had anyone in my village worn the Toronto sweater. Besides, the Toronto team was always being beaten by the Canadiens.” And, to emphasize the point, the narrator’s father is reading an article about the Canadiens beating the Maple Leafs 6-0, with the sub-headline “Maurice Richard à compté 3 buts [scored 3 goals]”. The narrator has fallen back to the floor in his rocking chair, his arm over his mouth in horror, and he is still gripping his tattered Canadiens sweater. Members of his family look on, trying (not too hard) to conceal their amusement at the boy’s plight.
The narrator insists that “You’ll never put it in my head to wear a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater”, but his ever-practical mother responds that “it’s not what you put on your back that matters, it’s what you put inside your head.” Besides, the sweater fits him perfectly, and if she writes back to Monsieur Eaton (a Torontonian and a Maple Leafs fan), he will be insulted; and by the time he sends the correct sweater, winter and hockey season will be over.
In fact, as a couple of commenters have pointed out, Eaton’s prided itself on its satisfaction-guaranteed policies; and the company, whatever Monsieur Eaton’s hockey affiliations might have been, would have been only too happy to rectify some clerk’s error and provide the narrator with the Habs sweater he so desires. But the mother’s pragmatic, common-sense outlook constitutes a barrier as solid as the stone walls that defended the city of Québec during the Seven Years War.
There is nothing for it but for the narrator to go to the skating rink in his Maple Leafs sweater. The illustration shows his isolation: he is outside the skating rink, looking morose and miserable in his Toronto sweater, while eleven boys on the ice, in their matching #9 Montreal sweaters, point at him with angry looks. Usually a first-liner, he is told that he will be playing on the second line; and then, when he takes the ice with the second line, he is told that he’ll be needed later, to play defence. In the third period, when he finally takes the ice and is immediately assessed a penalty, he is outraged, and shouts, “This is persecution! It’s just because of my blue sweater!”
What follows is the crisis of the story, after which the school’s young Catholic curate tells the narrator to go into the church and ask God to forgive him for losing his temper. The prayer that the boy does offer provides a humorous denouement for the story.
In an afterword, Carrier writes that “I wish to dedicate this story to all girls and boys because all of them are champions.” Stylistically, I found that The Hockey Sweater reminded me of the work of the American humorist Jean Shepherd, whose winter-holiday tales of his Indiana boyhood were adapted into the film A Christmas Story (1983). There is the same use of humour and exaggeration to dramatize how incidents of childhood that might seem trivial to an adult loom large in the life of a boy or girl, increasing and exacerbating feelings of being alone and misunderstood. The stories have sentiment but not sentimentality, and it is for that reason that Carrier’s work, like Shepherd’s, holds lasting value.
It was interesting for me to place The Hockey Sweater in its historical context: the story was published at a time when Québec premier René Lévesque was seeking to secure the province’s political independence from the rest of Canada. One can look at The Hockey Sweater and see in it an expression of the way in which tension between francophone and anglophone Canadians has often received indirect expression through the Canadiens-Maple Leafs rivalry.
But why bother? This is a great, human story for any parent in any country to read to their child. One need not know the difference between a breakaway and a game misconduct to love this story. Roch Carrier, a master of the art of the short story, truly outdid himself with The Hockey Sweater, a true classic of Canadian literature. He shoots, he scores!
Roch Carrier, a native of Sainte-Justine, Québec, studied at the Université de Montréal, and later earned a doctorate from the Sorbonne in Paris. He distinguished himself as an author of contes, a genre that can be described as a highly compressed version of the short story. His writing is characterized by a straightforward literary style that conceals depths of psychological insight, and by twist endings that may remind some readers of the work of Guy de Maupassant. An Order of Canada honouree, Carrier is an important exemplar of the literature and culture of Québec, and of Canada.
The Hockey Sweater, which is probably the best-known example of the contes for which Carrier is so well-known, takes place in Sainte-Justine in 1946, and is based on a real-life incident from Carrier’s childhood. The narrator begins by stating that “The winters of my childhood were long, long seasons. We lived in three places – the school, the church, and the skating rink – but our real life was on the skating rink.”
The importance of hockey in the life of the narrator and all his schoolfellows quickly becomes apparent when the narrator states that “We all wore the same uniform as Maurice Richard, the red, white, and blue uniform of the Montreal Canadiens, the best hockey team in the world.” The boys all style their hair like “Rocket” Richard, lace their skates and tape their sticks like “Le Rocket.” As the story’s narrator puts it, “We all wore the famous number 9 on our backs. How could we forget that!”
The illustrations for these opening pages of The Hockey Sweater reinforce well what the narrator is telling us. The wall of the makeshift locker room where the boys dress for hockey is covered with Richard memorabilia: posters, photographs, and a schematic showing Richard’s statistics: born in Montreal on 4 August 1921; “ailier droit, lance a la gauche [right wing, shoots from the left]”. Richard’s eyes glare out at the viewer from the poster, just as they did in real life. His intensity is unmistakable, and so is the hold that he has over these Québécois boys for whom he is the heroic figure.
Complications begin when the narrator’s Habs sweater grows too small for him and becomes torn in several places. The narrator’s mother, a proper Québécois woman who prides herself on administering a tidy, prosperous, and dignified home life, insists that “If you wear that old sweater, people are going to think we are poor!” and straightaway writes to Eaton’s, enclosing 3 dollars, to request a new Canadiens sweater. But, as the accompanying illustration by Sheldon Cohen shows she is writing the letter, “in her fine schoolteacher’s hand”, in French! She doesn’t like to use the forms in the Eaton’s catalogue, because they are all in English. And Eaton’s is an English Canadian company, headquartered in Toronto! The reader infers at once that complications are likely to ensue.
A two-page illustration shows the boy running excitedly out of the Poste Royale (post office), his package from Eaton’s in hand, his mother waiting for him on a snowy sidewalk pulling a sled, while next door, a couple of diners are talking with the chef at La Chaudronniêre Casse-Croûte. The illustrations’ detailed rendering of mid-20th-century life in Québec are among the most delightful features of the book.
And then – horreurs! It turns out that Eaton’s has sent the Carrier family not the Montreal sweater that the narrator had wanted, but rather a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater! The narrator calls the event “one of the great disappointments of my life!” He points out that “Never had anyone in my village worn the Toronto sweater. Besides, the Toronto team was always being beaten by the Canadiens.” And, to emphasize the point, the narrator’s father is reading an article about the Canadiens beating the Maple Leafs 6-0, with the sub-headline “Maurice Richard à compté 3 buts [scored 3 goals]”. The narrator has fallen back to the floor in his rocking chair, his arm over his mouth in horror, and he is still gripping his tattered Canadiens sweater. Members of his family look on, trying (not too hard) to conceal their amusement at the boy’s plight.
The narrator insists that “You’ll never put it in my head to wear a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater”, but his ever-practical mother responds that “it’s not what you put on your back that matters, it’s what you put inside your head.” Besides, the sweater fits him perfectly, and if she writes back to Monsieur Eaton (a Torontonian and a Maple Leafs fan), he will be insulted; and by the time he sends the correct sweater, winter and hockey season will be over.
In fact, as a couple of commenters have pointed out, Eaton’s prided itself on its satisfaction-guaranteed policies; and the company, whatever Monsieur Eaton’s hockey affiliations might have been, would have been only too happy to rectify some clerk’s error and provide the narrator with the Habs sweater he so desires. But the mother’s pragmatic, common-sense outlook constitutes a barrier as solid as the stone walls that defended the city of Québec during the Seven Years War.
There is nothing for it but for the narrator to go to the skating rink in his Maple Leafs sweater. The illustration shows his isolation: he is outside the skating rink, looking morose and miserable in his Toronto sweater, while eleven boys on the ice, in their matching #9 Montreal sweaters, point at him with angry looks. Usually a first-liner, he is told that he will be playing on the second line; and then, when he takes the ice with the second line, he is told that he’ll be needed later, to play defence. In the third period, when he finally takes the ice and is immediately assessed a penalty, he is outraged, and shouts, “This is persecution! It’s just because of my blue sweater!”
What follows is the crisis of the story, after which the school’s young Catholic curate tells the narrator to go into the church and ask God to forgive him for losing his temper. The prayer that the boy does offer provides a humorous denouement for the story.
In an afterword, Carrier writes that “I wish to dedicate this story to all girls and boys because all of them are champions.” Stylistically, I found that The Hockey Sweater reminded me of the work of the American humorist Jean Shepherd, whose winter-holiday tales of his Indiana boyhood were adapted into the film A Christmas Story (1983). There is the same use of humour and exaggeration to dramatize how incidents of childhood that might seem trivial to an adult loom large in the life of a boy or girl, increasing and exacerbating feelings of being alone and misunderstood. The stories have sentiment but not sentimentality, and it is for that reason that Carrier’s work, like Shepherd’s, holds lasting value.
It was interesting for me to place The Hockey Sweater in its historical context: the story was published at a time when Québec premier René Lévesque was seeking to secure the province’s political independence from the rest of Canada. One can look at The Hockey Sweater and see in it an expression of the way in which tension between francophone and anglophone Canadians has often received indirect expression through the Canadiens-Maple Leafs rivalry.
But why bother? This is a great, human story for any parent in any country to read to their child. One need not know the difference between a breakaway and a game misconduct to love this story. Roch Carrier, a master of the art of the short story, truly outdid himself with The Hockey Sweater, a true classic of Canadian literature. He shoots, he scores!
January 20, 2018
Perhaps one of the most controversial (to me) pieces of Canadian children’s literature, where a young Roch grows up idolsing Maurice Richard. That love of Richard helps further fuel his passion for the Montreal Canadiens. When Roch’s hockey jersey becomes too small for him and is filled with holes, his mother writes to the famed Eaton’s department store, asking for a new Canadiens sweater. Waiting for as long as he can, Roch is excited to see a package arrive from Eaton’s. However, his glee turns to horror when the package reveals.. a new Toronto Maple Leafs jersey. Scorned by his friends and everyone else around him, Roch must seek God’s forgiveness for his short temper. Neo liked the story, but I think he has yet to grasp the depth of the division between our beloved Maple Leafs and those nasty Canadiens. I will keep fostering an understanding over sports rivals and hope he, too, can learn when to cheer and boo loudly.
November 8, 2022
In many ways, Roch Carrier's Le chandail de Hockey (which is a condensed picture book version of a Carrier short story that originally was called Une abominable feuille d'érable sur la glace, An Abominable Maple Leaf on the Ice and has been translated by Sheila Fishman under the English language title of The Hockey Sweater) is not only an account regarding hockey and how much hockey as a sport defines Canada, but The Hockey Sweater is also a bit of a political allegory about the tensions between English and French Canadians (represented by the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens as symbols of this) as well as showing the cultural/political clout and power the Catholic Church used to wield like a pretty heavy duty mallet in Quebec (not anymore, of course, but yes, actually until quite annoyingly recently). And in The Hockey Sweater, Roch Carrier has a young Quebecois boy (basically Carrier himself, since The Hockey Sweater is partially autobiographical) enduring the horrid indignity (at least for a young hockey loving Quebec boy) of having to wear a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey sweater (the clothes of the enemy so to speak, since the rivalry between the Maple Leafs and Les Canadiens is major, is palpable and also represents the all encompassing animosities between English and French Canada).
For when in The Hockey Sweater our young narrator's Montreal Canadiens jersey (with the same number as his idol, as Montreal hockey legend Maurice Richard on the back) becomes too small for him, his mother sends away for a new one from the Eaton's catalogue, but what arrives is not a Montreal Canadiens hockey sweater, but instead a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey. And when the young boy (even though he tries repeatedly to explain to his mother that he simply cannot wear a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater) is still forced to wear that "wrong" jersey during his hockey games, this leads to trouble on the ice (where the poor boy is considered by both his teammates and by the local priest and referee as a symbol of English Canadian power and oppression) and then a visit to church for enforced repentance and prayer. But well, instead of that at the end of The Hockey Sweater the young boy is praying (like is expected of him) for forgiveness regarding his angry outbursts on the ice (and that he learn to control his temper), he instead (and understandably) actually asks God to send swathes of moths to ruin and eat through his Toronto Maple Leaf hockey sweater (a bit of an abrupt ending with some loose strings perhaps, but a conclusion for The Hockey Sweater I personally have found both majorly amusing and in my opinion also spot on regarding how a young mid 20th century Quebec boy upset regarding his hockey sweater being a Toronto Maple Leafs one would likely be reacting).
Set in 1946, The Hockey Sweater is engagingly penned by Rock Carrier and also with much textual humour (but that beneath that sense of hilarity, there exists in The Hockey Sweater also much that is thought-provoking and should make readers/listeners realise that the even in 2022 existing resentments between French and English Canada are not something to consider as insignificant, but something that not so long ago in fact penetrated every single part of Quebecois life, including of course hockey and hockey teams). And yes, this combination of both humour and seriousness in The Hockey, it does not only show itself in Roch Carrier's printed words (and of course also in Sheila Fishman's translation), no, this is also demonstrated by and with Sheldon Cohen's accompanying artwork, which might feel at times a bit gaudy and garish, but absolutely does a totally wonderful job providing not only much visual detail but also showing a superb mirror to and of the featured text, aesthetically demonstrating what Carrier (and Fishman) achieve verbally in The Hockey Sweater.
For when in The Hockey Sweater our young narrator's Montreal Canadiens jersey (with the same number as his idol, as Montreal hockey legend Maurice Richard on the back) becomes too small for him, his mother sends away for a new one from the Eaton's catalogue, but what arrives is not a Montreal Canadiens hockey sweater, but instead a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey. And when the young boy (even though he tries repeatedly to explain to his mother that he simply cannot wear a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater) is still forced to wear that "wrong" jersey during his hockey games, this leads to trouble on the ice (where the poor boy is considered by both his teammates and by the local priest and referee as a symbol of English Canadian power and oppression) and then a visit to church for enforced repentance and prayer. But well, instead of that at the end of The Hockey Sweater the young boy is praying (like is expected of him) for forgiveness regarding his angry outbursts on the ice (and that he learn to control his temper), he instead (and understandably) actually asks God to send swathes of moths to ruin and eat through his Toronto Maple Leaf hockey sweater (a bit of an abrupt ending with some loose strings perhaps, but a conclusion for The Hockey Sweater I personally have found both majorly amusing and in my opinion also spot on regarding how a young mid 20th century Quebec boy upset regarding his hockey sweater being a Toronto Maple Leafs one would likely be reacting).
Set in 1946, The Hockey Sweater is engagingly penned by Rock Carrier and also with much textual humour (but that beneath that sense of hilarity, there exists in The Hockey Sweater also much that is thought-provoking and should make readers/listeners realise that the even in 2022 existing resentments between French and English Canada are not something to consider as insignificant, but something that not so long ago in fact penetrated every single part of Quebecois life, including of course hockey and hockey teams). And yes, this combination of both humour and seriousness in The Hockey, it does not only show itself in Roch Carrier's printed words (and of course also in Sheila Fishman's translation), no, this is also demonstrated by and with Sheldon Cohen's accompanying artwork, which might feel at times a bit gaudy and garish, but absolutely does a totally wonderful job providing not only much visual detail but also showing a superb mirror to and of the featured text, aesthetically demonstrating what Carrier (and Fishman) achieve verbally in The Hockey Sweater.
February 13, 2016
Wow. I just saw this on the recommendations page and it was like a flood of nostalgia hit me in the face.
This book was a huge part of my childhood. Being a kid growing up in Canada, it's almost impossible not to become a fan of hockey and the NHL. Growing up in Toronto, I was raised a true and loyal Toronto Maple Leafs fan, no matter how terrible of a team they have been recently. Being raised a Leafs fan, you are also usually raised to hate the Montreal Canadiens. To be presented with a book that revolves around a young fan of the Canadiens, you can't help but wonder why in the hell anyone would expect you to read it, but alas, it was about hockey so I did.
This book was so relatable to me, but maybe from a reversed perspective. Within the Hockey Sweater, there is a young boy who is a huge fan of the Montreal Canadiens and all he wants as a Christmas gift is his own Montreal Canadians jersey/sweater. Turns out his family doesn't know him at all as they get him a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey instead, the enemy team.
It's hilarious because his reaction would be the exact same as mine if anyone dared give me any memorabilia of the team I hate the most, The Montreal Canadiens.
This book is a classic for every Canadian and I recommend it to all the little hockey fans regardless of who their favourite team is!
This book was a huge part of my childhood. Being a kid growing up in Canada, it's almost impossible not to become a fan of hockey and the NHL. Growing up in Toronto, I was raised a true and loyal Toronto Maple Leafs fan, no matter how terrible of a team they have been recently. Being raised a Leafs fan, you are also usually raised to hate the Montreal Canadiens. To be presented with a book that revolves around a young fan of the Canadiens, you can't help but wonder why in the hell anyone would expect you to read it, but alas, it was about hockey so I did.
This book was so relatable to me, but maybe from a reversed perspective. Within the Hockey Sweater, there is a young boy who is a huge fan of the Montreal Canadiens and all he wants as a Christmas gift is his own Montreal Canadians jersey/sweater. Turns out his family doesn't know him at all as they get him a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey instead, the enemy team.
It's hilarious because his reaction would be the exact same as mine if anyone dared give me any memorabilia of the team I hate the most, The Montreal Canadiens.
This book is a classic for every Canadian and I recommend it to all the little hockey fans regardless of who their favourite team is!
March 18, 2017
This is the quintessential Canadian children's book about hockey.
Doesn't matter if you are from Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, or Calgary...everyone I know (my age) has read this book as a kid. You definitely can't put a price on nostalgia ❤️️
Doesn't matter if you are from Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, or Calgary...everyone I know (my age) has read this book as a kid. You definitely can't put a price on nostalgia ❤️️
April 17, 2011
This book is, at once, both completely universal and uniquely Canadian.
It is excellent in any of its forms - short story, short animated film (called The Sweater), or my favorite, illustrated as a children's book. Based on an incident from author Roch Carrier's childhood, it is the story of a young French Canadian boy whose hockey sweater wears out. His mother sends away through a catalogue to get him a new one, and instead of a replacement for his beloved Montreal Canadiens sweater, a dreaded Toronto Maple Leafs sweater arrives.
Anyone can identify with the disappointment and ostracism this simple mistake leads to. Don't be caught rooting for, or even appearing to root for, the wrong team (wearing the wrong thing, listening to the wrong music, having the wrong friends, etc.) or you will no longer be accepted.
But for Canadians...oh this story speaks to us on a whole different level. The hockey rivalry between the Habs and the Leafs is grounded in history, language, culture, and even religion. If any non-Canadian wants to understand Canada, this story is an excellent place to start. Sure, you could look into the history of the English/French divide. You could read about the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, distinct society versus sovereignty, separatist politics with the Parti Quebecois (provincial) and the Bloc Quebecois (federal). Or you could read Roch Carrier's charming, funny story and get it on a gut level.
It also has one of the best closing lines ever (at least the animated movie version does, it's been a while since I read the book).
For anyone interested, here is a link to the animated version...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJlilw...
And, for further Canadian cultural understanding (although not about the French/English divide) the classic Molson "I Am Canadian" beer commercial. An oldie but a goodie. And yes, while busting cliches throughout, it is entirely cliche that Canada has been summed up so well in a beer commercial.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRI-A3...
P.S. Go Leafs! You haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1967 and frequently don't even make the playoffs, but I will always cheer for you... even as you break my heart.
It is excellent in any of its forms - short story, short animated film (called The Sweater), or my favorite, illustrated as a children's book. Based on an incident from author Roch Carrier's childhood, it is the story of a young French Canadian boy whose hockey sweater wears out. His mother sends away through a catalogue to get him a new one, and instead of a replacement for his beloved Montreal Canadiens sweater, a dreaded Toronto Maple Leafs sweater arrives.
Anyone can identify with the disappointment and ostracism this simple mistake leads to. Don't be caught rooting for, or even appearing to root for, the wrong team (wearing the wrong thing, listening to the wrong music, having the wrong friends, etc.) or you will no longer be accepted.
But for Canadians...oh this story speaks to us on a whole different level. The hockey rivalry between the Habs and the Leafs is grounded in history, language, culture, and even religion. If any non-Canadian wants to understand Canada, this story is an excellent place to start. Sure, you could look into the history of the English/French divide. You could read about the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, distinct society versus sovereignty, separatist politics with the Parti Quebecois (provincial) and the Bloc Quebecois (federal). Or you could read Roch Carrier's charming, funny story and get it on a gut level.
It also has one of the best closing lines ever (at least the animated movie version does, it's been a while since I read the book).
For anyone interested, here is a link to the animated version...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJlilw...
And, for further Canadian cultural understanding (although not about the French/English divide) the classic Molson "I Am Canadian" beer commercial. An oldie but a goodie. And yes, while busting cliches throughout, it is entirely cliche that Canada has been summed up so well in a beer commercial.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRI-A3...
P.S. Go Leafs! You haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1967 and frequently don't even make the playoffs, but I will always cheer for you... even as you break my heart.
January 4, 2022
A young Montreal boy must endure the indignity of wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey sweater in this modern classic of Canadian children's literature. When his red, white and blue sweater - the uniform of the Montreal Canadiens, worn by his idol, Maurice Richard - becomes too small for him, the narrator's mother sends away for a new one from the Eaton's catalogue. When the wrong sweater arrives, the boy insists he will not wear it: all of his peers wear the Canadiens sweater, and so will he! His mother has other ideas however, and he finds himself wearing it after all. This leads to trouble at his first game thereafter, and a visit to church...
Originally published in French as "Une abominable feuille d'érable sur la glace" (literally: "An abominable maple leaf on the ice"), The Hockey Sweater was first translated into English in 1979 as part of the collection, The Hockey Sweater and Other Stories . It was made into a short film in 1980 ("The Sweater"), and presented in this picture-book form in 1984, with artwork by Sheldon Cohen, who also illustrated Carrier's The Flying Canoe . Set in 1946, the story is immensely engaging, and absolutely hilarious. I chuckled aloud on more than one occasion, while reading it. Carrier captures the centrality of ice hockey to the narrator's life (apparently the story is partially autobiographical) and to Canadian culture, and his narrative feels like it is told from an authentic boy's perspective. Cohen's artwork is colorful and entertaining, capturing the humor of the tale quite nicely. I enjoyed this so much that I think I will track down the larger collection of Carrier's stories, mentioned above. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories featuring ice hockey and/or a French-Canadian cultural setting.
Originally published in French as "Une abominable feuille d'érable sur la glace" (literally: "An abominable maple leaf on the ice"), The Hockey Sweater was first translated into English in 1979 as part of the collection, The Hockey Sweater and Other Stories . It was made into a short film in 1980 ("The Sweater"), and presented in this picture-book form in 1984, with artwork by Sheldon Cohen, who also illustrated Carrier's The Flying Canoe . Set in 1946, the story is immensely engaging, and absolutely hilarious. I chuckled aloud on more than one occasion, while reading it. Carrier captures the centrality of ice hockey to the narrator's life (apparently the story is partially autobiographical) and to Canadian culture, and his narrative feels like it is told from an authentic boy's perspective. Cohen's artwork is colorful and entertaining, capturing the humor of the tale quite nicely. I enjoyed this so much that I think I will track down the larger collection of Carrier's stories, mentioned above. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories featuring ice hockey and/or a French-Canadian cultural setting.
March 19, 2021
Incroyable!
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January 29, 2020стыдно, конечно, записывать себе в актив детскую книжку из 24 страниц, но челлендж сам себя не начитает
February 24, 2020
Sectarian discrimination complicates a boy's life in post-war Quebec.
February 25, 2025
Such a beautifully and clearly written insight into life in pre quiet revolution/post WW2 Quebec. So much charm imbued into such a short story!
January 22, 2019
You know, as a Canadian, I never realized that I hadn't read this book. So I sat down and read it and loved it. It was a great time, very funny and very (french) Canadian. As a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, this gave me a big smile.
I'm not sure I would read this to any crowd in story time though. There are a lot of words on each page, which may bore some kids. There are also many references to God, so if your community isn't all that religious, or in the Judeo-Christian faith, it may not resonate with your audience. I would only use this book if it works with the theme and you're only reading one other book aside from this one.
I'm not sure I would read this to any crowd in story time though. There are a lot of words on each page, which may bore some kids. There are also many references to God, so if your community isn't all that religious, or in the Judeo-Christian faith, it may not resonate with your audience. I would only use this book if it works with the theme and you're only reading one other book aside from this one.
May 30, 2017
I'm sure I must have read this as a child but I honestly don't remember. Was fun to read to the baby and he definitely recognized the little hockey players. Big thank you to my brother for picking it up for my son's first Christmas!
January 24, 2023
Read it as part of an English Reading Circle Class, very well received by participants
January 29, 2023
A wonderful Canadian Classic Short Story for a wintery day! 🇨🇦❄️🏒 Also filled with beautiful illustrations!
This story was first published in 1979 in French and then shortly after in English. It's so iconic that we studied the short story in Grade school.
It's based on the author's real-life experience while he grew up deep in the heartland of Quebec in 1946. He and his friends were staunch supporters of the NHL hockey team The Montreal Canadiens. He and all his friends would always wear the team's jersey while playing hockey. His jersey is old and battered and his mother decides he needs a new one. Back in the day the thing to do in the small towns was order from a catalogue from the ever-famed department store in Toronto called, Eatons. To the boys surprise and his up most horror he mistakingly receives his teams rival, The Toronto Maple Leafs jersey! He exclaims he can never wear it in front of his friends!
As a Toronto Maple Leafs fan myself this story always makes me chuckle a bit and it's always great fun to read!
I chose to re-read this story as there is a new children's book soon to be published called, The Hockey Jersey, in which ideas from this short story are incorporated to help make hockey more diverse for children from all backgrounds.
This story was first published in 1979 in French and then shortly after in English. It's so iconic that we studied the short story in Grade school.
It's based on the author's real-life experience while he grew up deep in the heartland of Quebec in 1946. He and his friends were staunch supporters of the NHL hockey team The Montreal Canadiens. He and all his friends would always wear the team's jersey while playing hockey. His jersey is old and battered and his mother decides he needs a new one. Back in the day the thing to do in the small towns was order from a catalogue from the ever-famed department store in Toronto called, Eatons. To the boys surprise and his up most horror he mistakingly receives his teams rival, The Toronto Maple Leafs jersey! He exclaims he can never wear it in front of his friends!
As a Toronto Maple Leafs fan myself this story always makes me chuckle a bit and it's always great fun to read!
I chose to re-read this story as there is a new children's book soon to be published called, The Hockey Jersey, in which ideas from this short story are incorporated to help make hockey more diverse for children from all backgrounds.
September 10, 2023
I think the story really highlights the ‘placebo effect’. The boy really believes that because he wears a different sweater, he’ll play worse. He even blames the fact that he’s not allowed to play on his sweater. This story, to me, was about how something you make up in your head can influence the way you act. It could also be about the way racism is perceived in society, since our protagonist and the other characters respond pretty strongly to the other colour sweater.
: I like how the main characters try to be like Maurice Richard with their sense of style and the things they do, this sentence: ‘If you make up your mind about things before you try, my boy, you won’t go very far in this life.’, and this sentence: ‘Anyway, it isn’t what’s on your back that counts, it’s what you’ve got inside your head.’
(had to read this for school)
: I like how the main characters try to be like Maurice Richard with their sense of style and the things they do, this sentence: ‘If you make up your mind about things before you try, my boy, you won’t go very far in this life.’, and this sentence: ‘Anyway, it isn’t what’s on your back that counts, it’s what you’ve got inside your head.’
(had to read this for school)
June 10, 2019
I bought this for my infant son, a dual citizen, many years ago. He internalized the story through repeated tellings. When "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" presented its short satire "The Lockout Sweater," he was thrilled. When we visited the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau it had a Hockey special exhibit. Naturally a good deal of the exhibit honoured Maurice Richard, and my child's imprinted familiarity of The Hockey Sweater enhanced his enjoyment and understanding of the exhibits, and impressed upon him how long and pronounced the rivalries and cultural differences have been between Canada's two largest cities, two of NHL's Original Six, east and west of the Ottawa River.
January 17, 2019
I first read this years ago.I was in the library yesterday and this was on the shelf saying "read me again John."It was even funnier than I remembered.My uncle played with the Rocket on the Canadiens and had some good stories about him.There is also a video on youtube read by the author with his rural french Haccent(that's how the Quebecois pronounce accent)that's worth checking out.
September 10, 2017
I am a terrible Canadian and had somehow never read The Hockey Sweater. It's bloody adorable! And so very very French-Canadian circa several decades ago. Definitely a cute picture book to have around for kiddies :)
July 15, 2020
What a great children's story. I had a hearty chuckle at the end..
February 3, 2022
A classic from my childhood! I always thought that kid was a little bratty, but hey, I might react like that as well if something like that happened to me!
(That’s a little teaser so you’d want to read it!)
(That’s a little teaser so you’d want to read it!)
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August 21, 2023Fuck the leafs
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 6, 2021
Poignant and timeless Canadian-Quebecois tale. Now if only one of the jerseys could have been the Jets...
September 21, 2022
Read this in french and imm tryna get some clout off of it😁
February 5, 2023
As a Leafs fan this book made me cry.
March 20, 2007
This is my current favorite children's book. I love to read it before bed. Translated from the French original, it is just such a refreshingly honest tale about a boy who wants to belong and through no fault of his own, is set apart. I was expecting some lesson to be taught by this situation, some moral revelation that would make the situation better, But what is great about this book is the surprise at the end, which always makes me smile. Read it yourself - it's a Canadian classic.
Some critics have said this book is really about the "two solitudes" of Quebec and English-Canada, but I think that's really taking it too far.
Some critics have said this book is really about the "two solitudes" of Quebec and English-Canada, but I think that's really taking it too far.
January 25, 2019
"It doesn't matter what you put on your back, what matters is what you put inside your brain."
Category: a children's classic I've never read
Setting: Canada 🍁
I learned so much in four pages - how much the Canadians love hockey and the tension between Francophones and Anglophones. I was so amused by the little boy narrator's petulance.
Category: a children's classic I've never read
Setting: Canada 🍁
I learned so much in four pages - how much the Canadians love hockey and the tension between Francophones and Anglophones. I was so amused by the little boy narrator's petulance.
March 1, 2014
im just super proud if this being Canadian
March 25, 2016
My last picture book for class. Guess I can't put off reading the novels any longer...
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