WinterSports2002.com, Wednesday, February 20, 2002

USA captain keeps teammates focused

Chris Chelios — at age 40 — leads by example

By Tim Buckley
Deseret News Olympic specialist

WEST VALLEY CITY — When Herb Brooks first made the pick way back in July, it might have seemed curious to some.

Defenseman Chris Chelios was captain of the 1998 USA men's hockey team. The team that exited so early from Nagano. The one with some members who partied after they lost, and tore up some furniture, and, well, that's an old story that's been told over and over.

Still, having the same captain for 2002 may have raised eyebrows. For Brooks, though, his were up not due to skepticism, but rather because his eyes were so wide with excitement over the selection.

"Well," Brooks said when asked about his choice, "I think Chris is an emotional-type guy. He's been a leader of a lot of different things. He's a veteran player. He's been around an awful lot. This is Chris' last big kick at the can. He's 40 years old now. He's a man . . . and I felt he was the guy that could give us that catalyst of emotion."

Through Team USA's first three games of these Winter Games, it's worked.

The man older than even any of the NBA Utah Jazz's old fogies — Karl Malone is only 38, mind you, and John Stockton still has a few weeks to go before he hits the big four-oh — has injected American teammates with just the sort of sage enthusiasm they need.

"Everyone looks up to that guy," said USA forward Tony Amonte, who played several seasons with Chelios in Chicago. "He wants to win every time he gets on the ice. It's contagious."

Now with the Detroit Red Wings, a team boasting of an NHL-high 10 Olympians, Chelios does not wear the "C" in his day job. But he has before, having not only captained the Blackhawks, but also having served as the first American-born captain of the tradition-rich Montreal Canadiens.

That made this honor that much more meaningful.

"Being named team captain was a pleasant surprise," he said, "and it's one of the greatest honors for an American player.

"I recognize this is my last chance to win a medal in the Olympics," added Chelios, a Stanley Cup-winner with the Canadiens in 1986. "It's the one thing I haven't accomplished."

If he does do it, it will be largely because the Americans followed his lead.

"The captain," Philadelphia Flyers center Jeremy Roenick of the Team USA said with reference to Chelios, "takes pride in his work and makes sure everyone is focused."

That's precisely what Brooks had in mind when he tapped Chelios, off of whom he has bounced numerous thoughts and ideas in the months, weeks and days preceding the Olympics. When Brooks was asked about the USA's quick-developing team chemistry, in fact, the American coach didn't hesitate to identify its primary element.

"It's the leadership of Chris Chelios," he said. "He's a great leader.

"I'd like to see him become a coach someday," Brooks added, "but he's probably too smart, and has too much money, to do that."

E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com

© 2002 Deseret News Publishing Company