The retirement of NHL defensive standout Chris Chelios Tuesday after 26 seasons ends the career of one of pro hockey’s greatest players. It was a career that almost never got started.
Chelios grew up in Chicago but moved to San Diego in the mid-1970s, when his father decided to try his hand at running a business in Southern California. With the trade that would bring Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings and spark interest in hockey throughout the region still more than a decade a way, Chelios was limited to playing in recreational leagues after his arrival in San Diego.
Unable to play high school hockey, Chelios wasn’t recruited by any US colleges. His only scholarship offer came from local San Diego-based US International University, the only NCAA Division I hockey team west of the Rockies.
When Chelios arrived on campus as a freshman in 1979 he soon realized he was in the wrong environment, facing bigger players with considerably more junior hockey experience.
He was eventually cut from the team and considered quitting hockey. One day on a Southern California beach, he ran into a former US International teammate, Bob Parker, who suggested Chelios try playing in Canada.
Taking the advice, Chelios first went to Ontario but failed to make Junior B teams in Hawkesbury and Chatham.
On the verge of quitting hockey again, he was contacted by the coach of the Moose Jaw Canucks of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, who needed a spare defenseman. He went to Moose Jaw for the entire 1979-80 season and returned to the team for a second season in 1980-81.
The Tier II experience in Moose Jaw and the fact Chelios added considerable size to his frame helped him earn a scholarship offer from the highly touted University of Wisconsin.
From there, things began to take off. Chelios led Wisconsin an NCAA title, played on four US Olympic teams and went on to a Hall of Fame career that saw him play in more than 1,600 NHL games and win three Stanley Cups.
By the time he finally hung up his skates earlier this week, Chelios had played in more NHL games (1,651 regular season; another 268 in the postseason) than any other American-born player, and he was the second-oldest player in league history, behind only Gordie Howe.
Not bad for a kid who couldn’t make the cut at US International, a school that dropped its hockey program more than 20 years ago.
The Cotton Boll Conspiracy 