 The cover of The Hockey Sweater | |
| Author | Roch Carrier |
|---|---|
| Original title | Le chandail de hockey |
| Translator | Sheila Fischman |
| Illustrator | Sheldon Cohen |
| Language | French |
| Publisher | Tundra Books |
Publication date | 1979 |
| Publication place | Canada |
| ISBN | 978-0-88776-169-0 |
The Hockey Sweater (Le chandail de hockey in the original French) is a short story by Canadian author Roch Carrier and translated to English by Sheila Fischman. It was originally published in 1979 under the title "Une abominable feuille d'érable sur la glace" ("An abominable maple leaf on the ice"). It was adapted into an animated short called The Sweater (Le Chandail) by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) in 1980 and illustrated by Sheldon Cohen.
The story is based on a real experience Carrier had as a child in Sainte-Justine, Quebec, in 1946 as a fan of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team and its star player, Maurice Richard. Carrier and his friends all wear Canadiens' sweaters with Richard's number 9 on the back. When his mother orders a new sweater from the Eaton's department store in the big city after the old one has worn out, he is mistakenly sent a sweater of Montreal's bitter rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs, instead. Carrier faces the persecution of his peers and his coach prevents him from playing.
The Hockey Sweater is Carrier's most famous work and is considered an iconic piece of Canadian literature. The story has sold over 300,000 copies and has been republished in numerous anthologies. It exemplifies the nation's passion for hockey, and while it is often considered an allegory of the relationship and tensions that exist between francophones and anglophones, the story is popular throughout the entire nation. A line from the story appears on Canadian five-dollar bills as part of the Canadian Journey banknote series printed between 2001 and 2013.