Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Hall of Fame Selects Chelios

Former Wisconsin star a first-ballot selection in the Hall’s class of 2013.

Hall of Fame Selects Chelios
Chris Chelios spent two years at Wisconsin prior to joining the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team.

Former Wisconsin star and legendary NHL and United States defenseman Chris Chelios will be inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame’s class of 2013, his first year of eligibility, the Hall announced Tuesday.

Collegians in the Hall of Fame

Chelios will be the 14th former college player inducted in the Hall, joining six others who were inducted as builders. This marks the sixth consecutive year that a former NCAA player has been among the Hall of Fame’s inductees.

Chelios, who will be inducted Nov. 11, is joined in the 2013 class by Scott Niedermayer, Brendan Shanahan, Fred Shero and Geraldine Heaney.

Star at Wisconsin

Chelios’s long and storied NHL career started after two years at Wisconsin and another with the U.S. Olympic team. He joined the Badgers in 1981, after being drafted by Montreal, and recorded 22 goals and 97 points in 88 games over two seasons.

His sophomore year, Chelios helped lead the Badgers to the national championship, the first NCAA title of head coach Jeff Sauer’s tenure. Remarkably, he was just a second-team All-WCHA selection, though the two defensemen ahead of him also enjoyed impressive NHL careers – James Patrick and Doug Lidster.

Chelios left school that summer to join the U.S. Olympic Team that competed in Sarajevo.

He was later named a member of the AHCA All-Time West Team, the NCAA’s 50th Anniversary Team and the WCHA’s Top 50 Players of its first 50 years. In 2011 he was inducted in the Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame and the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.

Close to college hockey

Chelios remains close to college hockey. His sons, Dean and Jake, played for Michigan State this season. Dean graduated, while Jake will be a senior in the fall.

Chelios played 1,651 games spanning 26 seasons in the NHL and is the league’s all-time leader in games played by a defenseman. He won three Stanley Cups – two with Detroit and one with Montreal. Internationally he represented the U.S. in 10 events, including four Olympics, serving as captain of the 1998, 2002 and ’06 teams.