October 8, 2007

By Paul LaTour

Special to USAHockey.com

His name is synonymous with hockey in the United States. Try to find a hockey fan anywhere in the world who hasn’t heard of him. In fact, he’s so well-known, sports fans in general have a pretty good idea of who Chris Chelios is.

But if that’s the case, how can Chris Chelios sit in a crowded restaurant on a Saturday morning only miles from his hometown in the Chicago area without being hounded for autographs? How can he say he only has a short time to talk because he has to race off to hold tryouts for the midget major team he coaches?

The answer is pretty easy, actually. This Chris Chelios is not that Chris Chelios.

“‘You’re not the real Chris Chelios’ -- I get that one a lot,” said Chelios, whose first cousin is the current NHL stalwart and hall of fame lock if he ever gets around to retiring. “He’s just a great role model for all kids and I’m very proud to have the Chelios name. He’s done so much for USA Hockey and the game itself.”

But this Chelios is every bit as dedicated to hockey as his more famous cousin, despite a relatively late start to his career. Chelios didn’t begin playing hockey until 1984 when he was 10 -- the same season the “other” Chelios began his NHL career -- in his hometown of Bolingbrook, a southwestern suburb of Chicago.

He later played for a year at St. Rita High School, a private Catholic school on Chicago’s south side, before transferring to Naperville Central High School for his final three years. After a stint in the United States Hockey League in Sioux City, Chelios attended the University of Wisconsin-Superior, helping the Yellowjackets to four consecutive Division III national semifinal appearances in the late-1990s.

He took a year away from hockey to earn his college degree, then spent a season with Baton Rouge of the East Coast Hockey League, played one year in Germany and then finished his playing days in 2003 after a season with Shreveport in the defunct Central Hockey League.

“Hockey has been a major part of my life,” said the 33-year-old Chelios. “It’s made me the type of person I am. Growing up, my whole thing was working hard -- it gave me a great work ethic. I wasn’t the most skilled player, but working hard was my forte. It taught me a lot of values. It taught me the meaning of team. It taught me respect. Those are things that are very valuable in life.”

These days Chelios busies himself transferring those values to today’s youth players. He’s so dedicated it’s a wonder he has time for anything else. In addition to being the midget hockey director for the Naperville, Ill.-based Sabre Hockey Association, he coaches a midget major and midget minor team.

Chelios is also the hockey director at All Seasons Ice Rinks, also in Naperville, and runs skills camps for bantams. He also operates CCH Xtreme, a developmental program for players just beginning their journey into hockey.

Oh, and he somehow still finds time to be an assistant coach for Robert Morris College women’s team in Chicago, the defending American Collegiate Hockey Association national champions.

“That’s the thing -- I just love my job,” he said, though exactly which job he meant wasn’t clear. “I wake up in the morning and I’m ready to go. I’m on the ice for long periods at a time, but I don’t get tired of it. People can’t believe how many teams I coach. I just don’t feel like I’m ever going to get burned out. Hockey’s given me so much. I want to give back to the sport, too.”

He may never reach the acclaim of the “real” Chris Chelios, but on pure dedication to hockey the cousins have more in common than a name.

Story courtesy Red Line Editorial.

Know of a deserving youth coach or administrator who should be spotlighted here? Send a note to d.mcmahon@redlineeditorial.com. We’ll contact you to get the details.