Chris Chelios has had one of the longest careers in the NHL. A defenseman, he has played for the Montréal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings from 1983-84, is still active thru the 2009 season, and has played in the most games of any American-born player in the NHL. He played two years for the University of Wisconsin, leading them to an NCAA title in 1983, and represented the US at the 1982 World Junior Championships, the 1984 Winter Olympics, as well as competing in the Olympics in 1998, 2002, and 2006 when professionals were permitted to play. Prior to the 1984 Winter Olympics he played one season with the Moose Jaw Canucks of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. In the NHL Chelios has been a three-time winner of the Norris Trophy, given annually to the league’s top defenseman, winning in 1989, 1993, and 1996. He has played in 11 All-Star Games, has been first-team All-NHL five times, and three-times has played for the Stanley Cup Champion – for the Canadiens in 1986, and the Red Wings in 2002 and 2008. Chelios’s oldest son, Dean, plays minor league hockey with the Chicago Steel. Chris Chelios also had a cousin, also Chris Chelios, called Little Chris, who played minor league hockey and is a college hockey coach. Continuing to play in 2009, Chelios signed a minor-league contract with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League.
United States