Not sure what happened to other thread, guessing flushed for some reason. I don't recall who I was chatting with about Chelios and his MC days, but below is a snippet from the tribune.
Chelios, 53, was born at Little Company of Mary Hospital, raised in Evergreen Park and attended Mount Carmel for two years. He started skating at Candy Cane Park on 99th Place when he was 6 or 7. He suited up for the Chicago Jesters, St. Jude Knights and the Chicago Saints in his youth hockey days.
He was a Greek kid growing up in a blue-collar Irish neighborhood. The kid who played hockey despite his family’s tight budget and no indoor rink in his hometown. The Mount Carmel student who couldn’t afford a Catholic education.
How he ended up with the Caravan was the first of three big breaks.
His father, Kostas Chelios, owned the Blue Note Lounge at 103rd and Halsted, where he befriended frequent patron Pat Doyle. Doyle knew Chris, who worked at his father’s business, and offered to pay his way to Mount Carmel to help him continue his hockey career. Chelios had started his freshman year at Evergreen Park High School, which had no hockey team.
Chelios also played for the Chicago Saints, a Triple-A team, which was the highest level of youth hockey in the U.S. In the 1970s, players could play club hockey and high school hockey at the same time.
“I got myself in trouble because I skipped a game my freshman year to go play with the Triple-A team, and John Deuran, the coach, got a little upset with me,” Chelios said. “That probably had a little bit to do with me playing on the JV team that year.”
Chelios split time between JV and varsity as a freshman, scoring five goals with 10 assists in about 20 varsity games. He had a goal and two assists in his varsity debut Nov. 22, 1975, against Leo. He added 12 goals and 11 assists as a sophomore, when he played as the third-line varsity center.
First-line center Craig Ferguson, now Mount Carmel’s head coach, was suspended for one game after slashing an opponent Jan. 7, 1977. Chelios was promoted to the top line to fill Ferguson’s place and scored two goals in the next game.
“He was more of a finesse player back then,” Ferguson said, adding that the young Chelios weighed no more than 120 pounds but won an intramural boxing title. “He wasn’t the guy that terrorized NHL forwards. But personality-wise, Chris was extremely playful. He always had a goofy smile on his face.”
Chelios was promoted to the second line after the first shift in the winner-take-all third game of the Kennedy Cup finals. The Caravan were 23-1 entering the playoffs, but Brother Rice had won Game 2 and was considered a favorite because Mount Carmel had a young team.
The Crusaders scored first, but Chelios tied it with 38 seconds to go in the first period. He scored again with 10 seconds left in the game, and Mount Carmel won 2-1 for its first of six consecutive Kennedy Cup titles.
“He probably scored the two most important goals in Mount Carmel history,” Ferguson said. “He was really, really talented. The perfect skater, he really understood the game of hockey. He had a great head for the game.”
His best game marked the end of his high school career.
Chelios, 53, was born at Little Company of Mary Hospital, raised in Evergreen Park and attended Mount Carmel for two years. He started skating at Candy Cane Park on 99th Place when he was 6 or 7. He suited up for the Chicago Jesters, St. Jude Knights and the Chicago Saints in his youth hockey days.
He was a Greek kid growing up in a blue-collar Irish neighborhood. The kid who played hockey despite his family’s tight budget and no indoor rink in his hometown. The Mount Carmel student who couldn’t afford a Catholic education.
How he ended up with the Caravan was the first of three big breaks.
His father, Kostas Chelios, owned the Blue Note Lounge at 103rd and Halsted, where he befriended frequent patron Pat Doyle. Doyle knew Chris, who worked at his father’s business, and offered to pay his way to Mount Carmel to help him continue his hockey career. Chelios had started his freshman year at Evergreen Park High School, which had no hockey team.
Chelios also played for the Chicago Saints, a Triple-A team, which was the highest level of youth hockey in the U.S. In the 1970s, players could play club hockey and high school hockey at the same time.
“I got myself in trouble because I skipped a game my freshman year to go play with the Triple-A team, and John Deuran, the coach, got a little upset with me,” Chelios said. “That probably had a little bit to do with me playing on the JV team that year.”
Chelios split time between JV and varsity as a freshman, scoring five goals with 10 assists in about 20 varsity games. He had a goal and two assists in his varsity debut Nov. 22, 1975, against Leo. He added 12 goals and 11 assists as a sophomore, when he played as the third-line varsity center.
First-line center Craig Ferguson, now Mount Carmel’s head coach, was suspended for one game after slashing an opponent Jan. 7, 1977. Chelios was promoted to the top line to fill Ferguson’s place and scored two goals in the next game.
“He was more of a finesse player back then,” Ferguson said, adding that the young Chelios weighed no more than 120 pounds but won an intramural boxing title. “He wasn’t the guy that terrorized NHL forwards. But personality-wise, Chris was extremely playful. He always had a goofy smile on his face.”
Chelios was promoted to the second line after the first shift in the winner-take-all third game of the Kennedy Cup finals. The Caravan were 23-1 entering the playoffs, but Brother Rice had won Game 2 and was considered a favorite because Mount Carmel had a young team.
The Crusaders scored first, but Chelios tied it with 38 seconds to go in the first period. He scored again with 10 seconds left in the game, and Mount Carmel won 2-1 for its first of six consecutive Kennedy Cup titles.
“He probably scored the two most important goals in Mount Carmel history,” Ferguson said. “He was really, really talented. The perfect skater, he really understood the game of hockey. He had a great head for the game.”
His best game marked the end of his high school career.
