![]() ![]() Brendan Shanahan had no choice because he got cut. He retired at age 47 after one final stop with the Atlanta Thrashers.įor some players, like fellow inductee Scott Niedermayer, retiring was a difficult decision. At first he figured five or six NHL seasons would be amazing, and then the years piled up.Ĭhelios finished his career with the NHL record for post-season appearances (24) and most games played by a defenceman or an American (1,651). Parker watched Chelios’ improbable success unfold and kept setting higher expectations. “I was there right at the start,” Parker said. As Chelios took questions at Saturday’s fan forum, Parker was sitting in the front row and made a cameo appearance when the Hall of Fame inductee was asked about his biggest influences. Parker lost touch with his friend until they reconnected very late in Chelios’ NHL career. He won two more Cups with the Red Wings in 20. Article content Frank Gunn/The Canadian PressĬhelios was unexpectedly traded to his hometown Blackhawks in 1990 and played eight-plus seasons there before being dealt to Detroit. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. “There’s nothing like winning a championship.” “Having each fan pass me a drink every minute of the parade, one hour and 15 minutes turned into a four-hour parade,” Chelios said. Being amid a million Habs fans on Saint Catherine Street remains one of the Chicago native’s most fondest memories. In 1986 Chelios enjoyed his first major team triumph as part of the 23rd Stanley Cup team in Canadiens’ history. In 1982 Chelios endured what he called the worst loss of his career, an 8-0 defeat to the Soviet Union in the world junior championship that made him almost “embarrassed to be American.” The same year Chelios was drafted in the second round by the Montreal Canadiens and went to the University of Wisconsin, Parker played his one and only game in the WHL, taking one minor penalty. He put on, I think, 15 pounds, over the course of a year. ![]() “What also happened he grew a couple inches. “I watch a lot of hockey and I played a lot, and what really amazed me was as soon as he started playing it was like his natural position,” Parker said. Once he caught a break thanks to Parker and Billows and switched to defence, Chelios shined and developed into a point-per-game player. His parents wanted him to get an education, so his mentality was to get a business degree from USIU and “go from there.” He lived and breathed hockey and was forced to adjust to life without it.Ĭhelios was ready for that when he was on the beach. Parker saw Chelios’s success all too clearly. “I don’t know how to explain, it was like somebody was dimming the lights and things were just a little bit blurry.” “I can function, but I don’t drive or anything like that,” Parker said Saturday. While Chelios was off winning three Norris Trophies as the league’s best defenceman, Parker’s vision continued to worsen. He tried out and played one game for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL, but declining vision in the other eye made it too much of a risk to continue. Parker was born with bad vision in one eye but still considered himself a decent hockey player and believed he had a chance to make the big-time. I’ll tell you, it took me a long time to kind of deal with that because after his second year in Moose Jaw basically my hockey was done. ![]() But not long after giving Chelios the tip of a lifetime, vision problems cut Parker’s career short just as his friend was getting started. What followed was the start of a story-book journey that included 1,651 NHL games, three Stanley Cups and enshrinement Monday into the Hockey Hall of Fame. “And I’m thinking, ‘Man he hasn’t even ever played defence.’ I had no idea what was going to happen.” “They started writing in the newspaper, ‘We got this defenceman coming from San Diego,”‘ Parker recalled. After some convincing, in part from Parker, Billows brought Chelios in as a defenceman even though he had never played the position before. When Chelios told Parker he just wanted to play hockey somewhere, Parker gave him the phone number of Moose Jaw coach Larry Billows. He was done, there was just a beer and pizza league there, like a senior league.” “We just started chatting and he said his hockey was done. “We were just on the beach one day and I recognized him. Before he left, Parker made a simple gesture that he attributes to fate. Chelios didn’t make it, and while the more accomplished Parker did, he decided the dilapidated facilities and life in California weren’t for him and went home to resume his career with the Moose Jaw Canucks of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |