Artist behind Canucks' Lunar New Year jerseys says design intended to promote community, 'positive change'
The Vancouver Canucks will soon be sporting a new look during warm-ups in honour of the Lunar New Year.
Trevor Lai made more than 80 sketches while designing the jersey, which features the Canucks' orca logo transforming into a tiger, to match the Year of the Tiger on the Chinese zodiac.
Lai said he worked hard to incorporate Vancouver's Chinese heritage into the design.
"On the shoulder patches, I put the Chinatown Millennium Gate, and that was really important, and to put the Chinese characters of the Vancouver Canucks team into the gate to say that we are one community," Lai said.
"I think that message is also really resonating. So, to see the fanbase of all ethnicities get so passionate about this design is really an honor and I really thank the team for letting me do it."
The lifelong Canucks fan said he wanted his design to honour the team's logo, while also symbolizing "positive change" for the new year.
"If you look at the fin of the design, obviously that was the biggest challenge for me," Lai said. "It's like, how do you put a fin on a tiger? You know, that doesn't really work in nature. And then I thought it was a perfect space to put the Chinese character for Tiger … It goes right in the fin, and it just happened to fit perfectly with the Chinese calligraphy. And I was really happy about that."
The Canucks will wear the jerseys during warm-ups as part of their Lunar New Year celebrations.
Proceeds from sales of merchandise bearing Lai's design will be donated to Elimin8Hate, which is the advocacy arm of the Vancouver Asian Film Festival and works to combat anti-Asian racism in Canada.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'