Thursday, March 11, 2010

Chris Chelios

Any fan of hockey knows who Chris Chelios is.  I was still in my teens when he broke into the NHL in 1984.  I thought he was a dirty player who took a lot of cheap shots.

Flyer fans will never forgive him for his hit on Brian Propp that knocked him out with a concussion.  He was not an easy player to like and i most certainly did not like him.  He always played on teams i cheered against and his style of play was infuriating to the opposition.

However today, he is an inspiration to me.  After being cut by the Detroit Red Wings in the off season, he could not land another NHL job.  He did what any true hockey player would do......he found a team where he could play.

It was a minor league team but that didn't matter.  Chris Chelios would rather do anything than not play hockey.

Today he was called up by the Atlanta Thrashers and will play in the NHL once again......this time at age 48!!

That Chris Chelios is still good enough to play with kids less than half his age in the most competitive hockey league in the world is inspiring.  I don't think he'll last long enough to break Gordie Howe's record age of 52.....but i won't bet the farm that he won't make it.

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