John Anderson hinted yesterday that a defenseman would be called and word got out this morning that it would be Chris Chelios.
Now it’s official. The future Hall of Famer will join the Thrashers in Columbus for tomorrow night’s game where he will make his Thrashers debut. John Anderson didn’t bring him up to have him watch from the press box and he intends to play him right away. The former Blackhawk and Red Wing has been playing about 24 minutes per night with the Wolves, so the coaching staff shouldn’t’ have any concerns about giving him ice time. The only questions are who will sit out, who Chelios will play with, and whether or not he’ll see any special teams time.
On the last point, Anderson said he’d likely wait and see how things go before trying Chelios on the PK or PP.
Zach Bogosian grew up idolizing Chelios, so pairing the two together could have a huge impact on him, much like Mathieu Schneider did last season. When asked about the impact Chelios could have on the younger players Anderson said that he doesn’t think the veteran’s influence will be limited to the kids. The three-time Norris Trophy winner has a wealth of experience to share and has been through a lot of battles on his way to three Stanley Cups. There’s no question that he still has what it takes to make an impact both on and off the ice and that’s exactly why he was signed by the Thrashers before the trade deadline.
Chelios will wear number 24 with the Thrashers. You can watch tomorrow night’s game on SportSouth (in HD) at 7 pm.
In the mean time, here is a video feature on Chelios and his time with the Wolves from earlier this season (before he turned 48).
interesting. i was exepcting kulda but i’m anxious to see how this works out.
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Though the last three losses have dented Atlanta’s chances at making the playoffs, a good stretch of 5 or 6 games puts the Thrashers right back into the mix. If Atlanta were eight or more points out, then I’d say call up Arturs Kulda.
My opinion is certainly subjective, but I believe Atlanta has been playing very uptight over the last three games. The Thrashers won the first two games out of the Olympic gate and the pressure mounted with some national attention. A pretty young roster (average age of under 28) is susceptible to such a problem. Would the team admit to it? Is it really the problem? I don’t know… just an observation.
Chelios brings a steadying presence to an unstable team. Cheli will probably be paired with Zach Bogosian to start off and we all know how up-and-(mostly)-down Bogo’s game has been this season. Also, a move, especially one involving a player who’s reputation resonates through the locker room, might spark this team.
Not a knock on Arturs, but his locker room presence isn’t going to make the waves of a chit-chatting Chris Chelios suiting up. I’m excited to see the old man play and see what kind of gas he’s still got left in the tank. If he doesn’t work, then we can bring up Kulda.
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Can’t wait to see how this plays out tomorrow.
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Put Chelios with Bogo, put Kubina and Oduya together, and have Hainsey and Enstrom as your third pairing.
Chelios hopefully will have a similar impact on Bogo that Schnieder had
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I for one am stoked by this. Let Bogo learn from the master, maybe we’ll see the end of the brain farts and kid mistakes that are hampering the development of this young man’s potential.
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Also, remember … *everyone* on this team is a ‘kid’ compared to him.
I don’t think his influence is going to be limited to the guys behind the blue line – let’s hope his experienced, steadying influence affects every single guy on the bench.
Cross your fingers … our playoff chances are on life support as is … if this ship doesn’t get righted soon (e.g. – in Columbus), our playoff chances will be sitting on the fantail, as the ship takes its final plunge.
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I agree with Zim. The national attention probably got to this young team. Hopefully, Chelios can settle em’ down for the playoff run. Go Thrashers!!!
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