Hockey's Makeover Continues With the Tube-Top Look

With typical self-glorifying panache, Nike calls its new hockey jersey the Nike Swift.

Todd Bertuzzi might call it the Sausage Casing. "They couldn't quite get it on me over my stomach," said Bertuzzi, after four team mates helped squeeze him into his new Team Canada uniform. "They would look good with a pair jeans going to a bar maybe."

Nike unveiled the groovy new look of international hockey Wednesday at Team Canada's Olympic orientation camp. Simon Gagne modeled the lighter, tighter pullover with matching socks, then the entire roster tried them on for a Thursday morning practice. The jerseys and socks will be worn by all teams at the 2006 Olympics and World Junior Championship.

The press release spouts the sort of babble we've come to expect from sports apparel companies, which like to sell overpriced sneakers and flimsy shorts as revolutionary advancements in athleticism. The Nike technocrats promise improved "thermoregulation" and a "15.1 percent reduction in aerodynamic drag" and whatnot.

"I didn't really notice," said Dany Heatley of the Atlanta Thrashers. "If they say it's lighter, hopefully they can make it a little bit bigger and fit a little better."

Maybe they can make it a little less ugly too. But we better get used to the form-fitting look. Although Nike does not have a deal with the NHL, several other companies are said to be working on similar shirts. NHL teams could be wearing some version of the tube top within a couple of years.