The jerseys, and the situation that led to them being worn on international ice, are an embarrassment.

This whole mess began in October 2025, when the IIHF announced a multi-year partnership with True Hockey to be the “exclusive supplier” of national team uniforms and apparel for all international events starting in 2026-27, which marked a significant change from the status quo.

Under the previous long-standing agreement with Nike, the IIHF controlled on-ice branding while national federations — such as Hockey Canada and USA Hockey — retained their lucrative commercial rights to sell replica jerseys. At the Winter Olympics, for example, the Canadian hockey teams wore Nike jerseys on the ice, but the jerseys available to purchase, featuring the exact same design, were produced by Bauer.…