The Hockey Hall of Fame welcomed its 20th former college star Monday night as former Wisconsin star and legendary NHL and United States defenseman Chris Chelios was inducted as part of the class of 2013.
Collegians in the Hall of Fame | NHL.com: Chelios praised as a 'war horse'
Chelios is 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.
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.
Chelios noted in his acceptance speech how unlikely his path to the NHL was, calling it "comical." Recruited from Moose Jaw in the SJHL, he went to Wisconsin with only two years of experience playing defense. He credited coaches Bob Johnson, Jeff Sauer and Grant Standbrook at Wisconsin for his "two-year crash course on how to play defense."
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, are both seniors at Michigan State, and Chelios can be found at most Spartan games.
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.