Now in his fifth full pro season, Jake Chelios has established himself as a solid defenseman who can contribute at both ends of the ice.

Story and photo by Mark Newman

Jake Chelios wasn’t necessarily destined to follow in his famous father’s footsteps.

Like his older brother Dean, he played forward growing up, establishing himself as a teenage prospect first with Little Caesars and later the Chicago Steel in the USHL. His fate, however, would change after he was recruited to play at Michigan State University.

Dean, who is nearly two years older, was already playing for the Spartans, so the opportunity for the two sons of Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Chris Chelios to attend the same school was too good to pass up.

“When Dean made the choice, it played a huge role in my decision,” said Chelios, who was torn between Wisconsin and MSU. “Both of our parents went to Wisconsin, but when you get the opportunity to play with your brother for three or four years, you’ve got to take it.”

Whether it was an effort to avoid competing for playing time with his older brother or an eye for increasing his long-term value as a hockey player, Chelios talked to the Spartans’ coaches about switching his position to defense.

“I didn’t run it by the Michigan State people until I was in their office for my visit,” he recalled. “Wisconsin wasn’t as excited about the idea because they wanted me to play forward. But Michigan State had been traveling around, looking for ‘D.’

“I had already been thinking about it after playing a year of juniors, so when I pitched the idea to them, they seemed really excited about it. It worked out for both sides, and I still think it’s one of the best decisions I made.”

On the surface, the proposed move seemed monumental, but Chelios felt the switch would be mitigated by the fact that he was a defensive-minded forward, so he was already accustomed to using his skill to shut down the opposition.

“Looking around the league, it seemed like there were fewer defensemen who were able to move the puck, so I was interested in giving it a try. State agreed to try me out at the position at the beginning of the season. From then on, it stuck.”

Chelios admits that he wasn’t the strongest of skaters, so he felt like playing defense might suit his game better. He is thankful that the MSU coaching staff had the confidence to stick an untested freshman into a lineup laden with upperclassmen.

“As a forward, you handle a lot of pucks in practice, but as a defenseman, it’s less,” he said. “The biggest difference is that you can make mistakes playing forward and still get away with it because you’re trying to make plays and make things happen. As a defenseman, if you make a mistake and let your guy go, it’s usually a goal. There were definitely growing pains that first year, for sure.”

He worked closely with Spartans associate head coach Brian Renfrew, a former Western Michigan University goalie who had mentored defenseman Jeff Petry the previous three seasons before the son of former Tigers pitcher Dan Petry had turned pro. He also did his best to draw on the experience of his well-seasoned teammates.

“Being able to watch the other guys helped a lot,” he said. “With the amount of practice you get in college, playing the position at Michigan State really helped my development. It was a learning experience every day.”

Chelios contends that he never worried about comparisons with his father, who many consider the greatest American-born defenseman to ever play the game. As far back as he can recall, the Chelios brothers played purely for the love of the sport.

“I remember Chicago Stadium and playing in the locker room with the other kids,” he said. “(Gary) Suter, (Ed) Belfour and Steve Smith all had kids my age and we all played mini sticks in the locker room growing up.”

While others fawned over their father’s abilities, Jake and his brother never made much of the connection. “Obviously, it’s the only thing you know,” he said. “As you get older, you start to appreciate all the opportunities you’ve been given and all the experiences you’ve been able to enjoy in the world of hockey. But when you’re growing up, you don’t think twice about it.”

Chelios played four seasons in East Lansing, finishing his collegiate career at the same time as his brother, who had redshirted his final season following a shoulder injury. “I had a blast – I wouldn’t change anything,” he said. “I enjoyed every second of my time there.”

The Chelios brothers began their pro careers together with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye after the 2013-14 Big Ten season.

“Within a week of finishing our college careers, we were driving down to Toledo to play our first pro games, which was cool,” said Chelios, who would need one more summer to finish his degree in communications. “It was a lot of fun to play there with him and start our pro careers together.”

Chelios earned a four-game audition with the Chicago Wolves at the end of that 2013-14 season, then spent the majority of the next season in the Windy City, save an eight-game stint with the Kalamazoo Wings in the ECHL.

While he embraced the opportunity – “The pro game allows a little more creativity than the college game, which is more structured.” – he admits that the transition to pro hockey further tested his abilities.

“It was a big jump to the AHL,” he said. “For me, it was a growing pains year. In college, you can get away with a few things, but in the pros when you’re playing against good players, they’re going to score on you if you make a mistake.

“There were definitely some bad pinches and blown coverages those first couple of years. I was lucky to play with guys like Brent Sopel, Adam Burish, Ben Eager and Colin Fraser, and they helped me to learn the pro lifestyle.”

Chelios signed with the Charlotte Checkers for the 2015-16 season, and it was while playing for the top affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes over the course of the next three seasons that his career would blossom.

“I started my season in Charlotte as the team’s eighth defenseman and then (James) Wisniewski hurt his knee the first shift of the first game with the Hurricanes and everybody got moved up a spot,” he recalled.

“Now in the seventh spot, I was scratched the first two games before I finally got to play in the third game. By luck, I got three assists in the game and then scored a goal in the next game, so it was hard for them to take me out.”

Chelios became one of Charlotte’s top blueliners, appearing in all 76 games during the 2016-17 season for the Checkers, who were coached by former NHL defenseman Ulf Samuelsson, whose son Philip also played on the team.

“Hockey is such a tightknit community that everyone is in the same boat,” he said. “I’ve also played with Keegan Lowe (son of Kevin) and Josh Wesley (son of Glen). When it comes down to it, your name doesn’t matter. We’re all trying to make a name for ourselves while trying to make the NHL.”

It’s all about making the most of your opportunities.

“Every year in the pros has been different for me,” he said. “My first two years in Charlotte, I was more of an offensive defenseman. Then last year I was put into more of a penalty-killing role when they gave power play time to some of the younger guys. I’ve learned to play in every situation.

“In college, I was more of a stay-at-home defenseman because it’s harder to create offense due to the style of the game. Every year has been a learning experience. I’ve adapted my play to whatever the team needs.”

Signing a one-year contract with Detroit this past summer was a dream-come-true for Chelios, who still considers Michigan as much his home as his birthplace of Chicago.

“Every year it was in the back of my head,” he said. “I wanted to wind up back in Michigan, and while I was waiting on a couple of other offers, it was pretty easy to convince me to sign here. I knew it was a great organization that has won Calder Cups, so it just felt right.”

At age 27, he feels he has reached an important junction in his career. “I’m at that age where your career can go one of two ways. You can fizzle out or you can keep proving that you’re getting better every year while you wait for your chance. Once you get that opportunity, you’ve got to be ready to take advantage of it.”

Although a late-bloomer, he has now been a defenseman for nearly a decade.

“I’m pretty confident I wouldn’t still be playing if I was still a forward,” he said. “If I had started as a defenseman, there are some little things that might have helped me – being able to recognize situations a little quicker is one – but I think I developed puck skills as a forward that have helped me out in defensive situations. I’d like to think starting as a forward has ultimately helped make me a more well-rounded player.”

Chelios believes that he needs to continue to refine his game.

“You’ve got to keep it simple,” he said. “You’ve got to let the forwards do their job by getting them the puck. I’ve found that it’s important to focus on a good first pass, make sure you can get the puck up to them and then just play smart defense.”

Part of the only father-son duo to ever play for the Griffins – Chris had a two-game conditioning stint in Grand Rapids in 2008-09 – he admits that he does his best to listen to his father, who like most hockey dads is not shy with his words of wisdom. “He has no problem throwing his two cents in,” he said, “but I’d be stupid not to take his advice.”

With his father playing until the age of 48, Chelios was able to watch his father play much longer than most sons, so he did his best to watch and learn.

“I was getting to the age that I was almost as old as some of his teammates,” he said. “It was a weird situation, but when it was coming to an end it was a cool experience. The older I get, the more I appreciate what it takes to be able to play that long. He proved that you’ve really got to keep working at it.”