Age-defying Chelios eyes shot at 2010 Olympics
Don McGowan, Canwest News Service
Published: Thursday, February 14, 2008Chris Chelios's passion for the game of hockey has carried him through 24 National Hockey League seasons.
The question is, will that passion carry the second-oldest player in league history to a spot on the U.S. Olympic team at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver?
"I would love to play in those Olympics, because I think its going to be one of the best ever," Chelios, who will be 48 by the time the Games arrive, told reporters Thursday during a conference call to promote USA Hockey's Hockey Weekend Across America, a three-day effort to highlight the game in the U.S.
"It's going to have the greatest group of players in the world and the fact that's it's going to be in North America ... if it's not as a player, I'd hope in some capacity, as maybe a coach or management. I'd really love to be involved."
That's no surprise. Despite his long list of successes in the NHL - two Stanley Cup championships, three Norris trophies as the league's top defenceman and five first-team NHL all-star selections - the Chicago-born Chelios takes special pride in the fact that he's witnessed first-hand the growth of hockey in the U.S., from when the country was an afterthought in international play to where it now ranks as one of the world's hockey powers.
He's played in four Olympics, in 1984 in Sarajevo as a collegian, then in 1998 in Nagano, Japan, 2002 in Salt Lake City and 2006 in Turin, Italy.
A fifth Games isn't out of the question.
"It's a ways away still, a lot can happen," Chelios said. "But physically I feel great. I don't want to hold any young kid from a spot on the team, but by the same token I'm not ready to give it up, either.
"I would think that even if wasn't working, I'd go to those Olympics and take my sons with me. I think it's going to be one of the best Olympics."
Like many young American players of his generation, Chelios was inspired by the U.S. "Miracle on Ice" victory at the 1980 Games in Lake Placid, N.Y., when a team made up largely of U.S. collegians shocked the powerful Soviet Union during the medal round, then defeated Finland to win the gold medal.
"The 1980 Olympics basically paved the way for players like myself and (Pat) Lafontaine and (Al) Iafrate, Dave Jensen," Chelios said. "It really made the hockey world aware of U.S. hockey and its growth and development. It happened at a rapid pace after the 1980 team accomplished what it did. Everybody wanted to play hockey.
"I was very fortunate. Because of their success, I was able to continue and get involved in junior national programs, World Cups, Olympics and so on."
Being a member of the U.S. squad that defeated Canada to win the 1996 World Cup of Hockey was the high-water mark for Chelios in international play. The 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, despite a 5-2 loss to Canada in the gold-medal game, is a highlight, too.
"Salt Lake was, as far as I'm concerned, the greatest event in hockey that I've played in," Chelios said. "It was all it was built up to be, and I'm hoping for the same thing in Vancouver and we get the same results, with Canada and the U.S. facing off in the gold-medal game."
He said the U.S. team fed off the energy provided by the home-country fans.
"I don't think we felt the pressure as we felt the support," Chelios said. "I think we used that crowd and the atmosphere to our advantage. I don't think it affected us one bit, right to the last game. That day, we got beat by the better team. There was no disappointment. It could have gone either way. I look at Joe Sakic's performance in that game (two goals, two assists). Sometimes it takes an individual to step up his game and the better team one. But (it) was some of the greatest hockey that I've seen or been a part of in my career."
And what does he think of the U.S. chances at the 2010 Games?
"I think our chances are as good as anybody's," Chelios said. "I think because Canada's . . . going to be on home ice, they're going to be the team to beat. Otherwise, we match up against anybody else in that tournament. We're just as good. It just remains to be seen who's the hot team at the right time."
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