Cool article on Chris Chelios - Mentions Eddie
Don't bet on Cheli retiring before 50
By Ross McKeon, Yahoo! Sports
January 20, 2008
Ross McKeon
Yahoo! Sports
SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose Sharks coach Ron Wilson describes Chris Chelios as what he pictures as the ultimate Greek hockey player: dance all night, chug a jug of wine and still be the first to the rink in the morning.
Dallas co-general manager Brett Hull says the only way the ageless Detroit defenseman leaves the game is if someone locks him in a box and carries him out of the arena. And he didn't mean it in any morbid sense, rather he knows the only way Chelios goes is while kicking and screaming.
Sharks forward Jeremy Roenick, a former teammate and close friend of Chelios, gets right to the point: "He's a freak of nature."
Definitely one of a kind, Chelios now sits No. 2 behind only Gordie Howe as the oldest player to appear in an NHL game. Chelios achieved that distinction earlier in the month, passing former Chicago emergency goalie Moe Roberts, and will turn 46 on Thursday.
Howe played until age 52 and six days, retiring from the NHL – for the second time – in 1980.
"I guess it's something to be proud of," said Chelios, who contributed an assist to his team's 6-3 romp of the Sharks. "I've been very fortunate to play for this team for the last eight years. I'm thankful of the Red Wings for letting me continue my career here. I can't thank the fans enough for the way they've treated me."
"He epitomizes the notion of the Greek God," Roenick said. "He doesn't misuse his body, he doesn't live by the rules of good nature, either. One thing that he has is a love for the game that is unmatched."
The burning question is will Chelios challenge Howe's record? He says he intends to play again next season. After that is anyone's guess, but Roenick says he's got a pretty good idea. He says Chelios, who won't admit this publicly, has told Roenick he would like to play until age 50.
"He's the one guy who could play this game until he's 50," Roenick said.
You don't know if he's serious or not, but Chelios has said in the past that if he ever were to approach Howe's mark he'd retire a year short of breaking the record out of respect for Mr. Hockey. Chelios says he and Howe, who attends a number of Red Wings games in Detroit, haven't spoken about the record.
"He has a keen sense of humor and doesn't ask a lot of serious questions," Chelios said. "I'm just glad he's around here quite a bit and enjoys the game and players."
Chelios enjoys those things, too, but no one drives himself as hard in terms of fitness as the veteran who after Saturday's game stands just eight short of 1,600 for his illustrious career.
The stories are of legend. Chelios riding a stationary bike in a sauna after games while watching television. And he doesn't stop until he downs two healthy containers of water.
There's the summers spent on the shores of Malibu, Calif., where Chelios and trainer T.R. Gordon push the envelope on exercise. A number of NHL players, including Roenick, partake in the grueling program. And when everyone's done, Chelios heads out into the water for endurance work or goes for a run on the beach.
Chelios says it's just his nature. He doesn't take more than a week or two off between the end of one season and the grind of training for another. He can't sit still, even at home with his wife and four children. During the pregame skate Saturday, the horn sounded, the lights went down and guess who was the last Red Wing still firing pucks from the blue line?
"Cheli absolutely refuses to take days off," said Wilson, who has coached Chelios in a number of international events. "I think he's been blessed with sort of an ageless body because he works on it so hard, it's like one fuels the other."
"His passion and work ethic go hand-in-hand," added Hull, a teammate in Detroit and on many of those same national teams Wilson coached. "There's only one other guy I've met like that and it's Mike Keane. They love the game so much."
Chelios has to love the success he's enjoyed, too. Since breaking into the league late during the 1983-84 season with Montreal, Chelios has appeared in the Stanley Cup playoffs in all but one of the last 22 postseasons. That one early-spring tee-time followed the 1997-98 season with Chicago when the Blackhawks finished ninth in the West, five points out of the final playoff spot.
Chelios hates to lose at anything. It's probably the reason why all the teams he's played for have enjoyed success. Last year in the playoffs the Wings looked to be in trouble in a second-round series against San Jose when the Wings lost Mathieu Schneider to injury, but Chelios picked up the slack and they advanced to the conference finals.
"He's one of the few I always felt absolutely held himself accountable," Wilson said. "If you lost he always felt it was his fault and he could have done better, even more so than all the guys I've coached."
But it's not all work and no play for Chelios. Roenick calls him the most connected player to Hollywood in the league. Counted among Chelios' friends include actor John Cusack, comedian Chris Rock and musicians Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam and Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins.
"He goes hard at everything he does, he enjoys his life," Wilson said.
Roenick still remembers the routine when both he and Chelios were teammates in Chicago.
"We'd drive in together, stop at 7-Eleven and get Hostess Cupcakes, milk and head to the game," Roenick said. "That's the key to his success, Hostess Cupcakes."
Ross McKeon is the NHL editor for Yahoo! Sports. Send Ross a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
By Ross McKeon, Yahoo! Sports
January 20, 2008
Ross McKeon
Yahoo! Sports
SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose Sharks coach Ron Wilson describes Chris Chelios as what he pictures as the ultimate Greek hockey player: dance all night, chug a jug of wine and still be the first to the rink in the morning.
Dallas co-general manager Brett Hull says the only way the ageless Detroit defenseman leaves the game is if someone locks him in a box and carries him out of the arena. And he didn't mean it in any morbid sense, rather he knows the only way Chelios goes is while kicking and screaming.
Sharks forward Jeremy Roenick, a former teammate and close friend of Chelios, gets right to the point: "He's a freak of nature."
Definitely one of a kind, Chelios now sits No. 2 behind only Gordie Howe as the oldest player to appear in an NHL game. Chelios achieved that distinction earlier in the month, passing former Chicago emergency goalie Moe Roberts, and will turn 46 on Thursday.
Howe played until age 52 and six days, retiring from the NHL – for the second time – in 1980.
"I guess it's something to be proud of," said Chelios, who contributed an assist to his team's 6-3 romp of the Sharks. "I've been very fortunate to play for this team for the last eight years. I'm thankful of the Red Wings for letting me continue my career here. I can't thank the fans enough for the way they've treated me."
"He epitomizes the notion of the Greek God," Roenick said. "He doesn't misuse his body, he doesn't live by the rules of good nature, either. One thing that he has is a love for the game that is unmatched."
The burning question is will Chelios challenge Howe's record? He says he intends to play again next season. After that is anyone's guess, but Roenick says he's got a pretty good idea. He says Chelios, who won't admit this publicly, has told Roenick he would like to play until age 50.
"He's the one guy who could play this game until he's 50," Roenick said.
You don't know if he's serious or not, but Chelios has said in the past that if he ever were to approach Howe's mark he'd retire a year short of breaking the record out of respect for Mr. Hockey. Chelios says he and Howe, who attends a number of Red Wings games in Detroit, haven't spoken about the record.
"He has a keen sense of humor and doesn't ask a lot of serious questions," Chelios said. "I'm just glad he's around here quite a bit and enjoys the game and players."
Chelios enjoys those things, too, but no one drives himself as hard in terms of fitness as the veteran who after Saturday's game stands just eight short of 1,600 for his illustrious career.
The stories are of legend. Chelios riding a stationary bike in a sauna after games while watching television. And he doesn't stop until he downs two healthy containers of water.
There's the summers spent on the shores of Malibu, Calif., where Chelios and trainer T.R. Gordon push the envelope on exercise. A number of NHL players, including Roenick, partake in the grueling program. And when everyone's done, Chelios heads out into the water for endurance work or goes for a run on the beach.
Chelios says it's just his nature. He doesn't take more than a week or two off between the end of one season and the grind of training for another. He can't sit still, even at home with his wife and four children. During the pregame skate Saturday, the horn sounded, the lights went down and guess who was the last Red Wing still firing pucks from the blue line?
"Cheli absolutely refuses to take days off," said Wilson, who has coached Chelios in a number of international events. "I think he's been blessed with sort of an ageless body because he works on it so hard, it's like one fuels the other."
"His passion and work ethic go hand-in-hand," added Hull, a teammate in Detroit and on many of those same national teams Wilson coached. "There's only one other guy I've met like that and it's Mike Keane. They love the game so much."
Chelios has to love the success he's enjoyed, too. Since breaking into the league late during the 1983-84 season with Montreal, Chelios has appeared in the Stanley Cup playoffs in all but one of the last 22 postseasons. That one early-spring tee-time followed the 1997-98 season with Chicago when the Blackhawks finished ninth in the West, five points out of the final playoff spot.
Chelios hates to lose at anything. It's probably the reason why all the teams he's played for have enjoyed success. Last year in the playoffs the Wings looked to be in trouble in a second-round series against San Jose when the Wings lost Mathieu Schneider to injury, but Chelios picked up the slack and they advanced to the conference finals.
"He's one of the few I always felt absolutely held himself accountable," Wilson said. "If you lost he always felt it was his fault and he could have done better, even more so than all the guys I've coached."
But it's not all work and no play for Chelios. Roenick calls him the most connected player to Hollywood in the league. Counted among Chelios' friends include actor John Cusack, comedian Chris Rock and musicians Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam and Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins.
"He goes hard at everything he does, he enjoys his life," Wilson said.
Roenick still remembers the routine when both he and Chelios were teammates in Chicago.
"We'd drive in together, stop at 7-Eleven and get Hostess Cupcakes, milk and head to the game," Roenick said. "That's the key to his success, Hostess Cupcakes."
Ross McKeon is the NHL editor for Yahoo! Sports. Send Ross a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
No EdVed sightings yet though!