It's a hockey sweater.

   Today was Hockey Day in Canada. A great tradition started about 10 years back by the folks at CBC Sports. It gives us all a chance to reflect on what the game means to us both as individuals and as a society.

   We've heard all the cliches before. Hockey is like a religion. Hockey is what binds us together as a country. Hockey defines us as a people.

   Hockey has also given us expressions and vocabulary that is unique to us as Canadians. Things such as "changing on the fly", "two-hander", "playing in traffic", and "top shelf". 

   And in much the same way that we spell words such as "colour" and "centre" differently than they do in the United States, the vocabulary of the game of hockey is also different to that used in what are considered American sports. Two examples of this are the use of the words "jersey" and "locker rooms".

   Unfortunately these words seem to be creeping into the hockey vernacular. They are terms which are used by the NHL by the CBC, and by the Canadian Press.

   As the NHL is mostly an American corporate entity, that it lacks awareness of the traditional Canadian hockey vocabulary is not all that surprising. The CBC and CP on the other hand, should know better.

   At the risk of being accused of nitpicking, here in Canada, it's a hockey sweater and a dressing room. In the words of Hockey Night in Canada's Jim Hughson, "a jersey is a cow", and there are no lockers in a hockey dressing room.

   So in the spirit of keeping the Canadian game Canadian, let us therefore commit ourselves to using the proper terminology when discussing hockey. A good place to start would be the proper use of the terms hockey sweater and dressing room.