A hockey jersey is a breathable "sweater" worn over top of standard hockey equipment as a means of identifying both the team a player plays for and the specific player on a given team. Jerseys typically have
a team logo on the front and in some cases also feature a team "shoulder patch." As well, depending on a player's role on the team they may feature a small "C" on the front of their jersey to designate "Team captain," or a small "A" to designate alternate captain. Captains and Alternates are just about exclusively work by defensemen and forwards as opposed to goaltenders.
European club teams are notorious for having montenized the hockey jersey ahead of their North American counterparts. Many of the former teams sell space all over their jerseys to sponsors, who in turn typically have their logos featured on various parts of the jersey.
Players typically wear a one or two digit number on the back of their jersey to identify them. This number is almost always the same from the start to the end of the season for a given player.
Although no hard rules exist, goaltenders typically wear the number 1 or numbers 30-35. Notable exceptions include Felix Potvin's trademark #29. Defenceman more often then not wear single digit numbers between 2 and 9. The majority of skaters wear numbers under 40, however this can vary significantly depending on player preference and team policy. Notable numbers include Wayne Gretzky's #99, Mario Lemieux's #66 and Sidney Crosby's #87.
In extremely rare situations, a team may "retire" the jersey number of an exceptional player. In those circumstances, that number may never be worn by any player on that team again. Furthermore, Gretzky's #99 was retired throughout the NHL as a token of respect to arguably the game's greatest player.
Jerseys come in all colors depending on the preference of the team. Typically, common harmonious color schemes are used in accordance with the color wheel as per color theory.
Many higher level teams now sport a special "third jersey" that allows them to deviate from their standard look. These jerseys are worn infrequently, but are often hot sellers in the souvenir marketplace.
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