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My fourth “gear corner” focused on equipment for special events. Making sure everyone has what they need in their country’s colors or for those post draft photos is a fairly intensive process with months of work involved. For the fans (and players) it’s a seamless transition to see the equipment with a new “paint job” and a cool new look. Thanks again to Doug Todd and Warrior for taking the time with last week’s gear corner.
My first “summer reading post” covered Chelios’s career defining fib.
My second summer reading post took a look at the world’s funniest bar fight.
In my third installment of Summer Reading, Chelios found out exactly what Yzerman was like as a leader.. For the fourth installment, I’m going to look at Chelios and his core strength. It allowed him to play through a lot of things, including a missing tendon….
One of the hardest things to hear retired athletes talk about is the physical toll. Ultimately, they make a decision to enjoy a short window of competing at the highest level knowing that there will be daily reminders in terms of pain for the rest of their lives. I’ve heard athletes talk about knowing they wouldn’t ever walk normally again but pushing through. The story is a bit different regarding head injuries, as players have felt like long term issues weren’t revealed. That’s a week’s worth of blogs on its own terms.
For Chelios, his training regime was ahead of its time. Athletes weren’t in the mind frame of year round conditioning, and Cheli knew it gave him an advantage. He was at the forefront of “core conditioning”. Knowing that leg and core strength was what carried an athlete. It allowed him to focus less on upper body training and preserve shoulder and arm muscles. It turns out that his leg strength was so powerful it allowed him to function without one of his ACL tendons.
In Chapter 17 “Paddling to Success” on page 255, Chris describes finding out about his unknown injury. As always, to get “Made In America - Chris Chelios with Kevin Allen”. Head to
Triumphbooks.com and you can find this and several other titles by Kevin Allen. Digital formats are also available.
“I always felt like I was totally in tune with my own body, and was aware of everything that was feeling right or wrong with it. That’s why I was pretty shocked during my first major physical with the Red Wings in 1999 when the doctor asked me when I had lost my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
I had no idea what he was talking about. Upon reflectionI remembered an incident I had with my knee back in Chicago but the doctor there never picked it up in the physical. I had torn the ACL clean off but my legs were so strong that they were able to support my knee without it.
Since it wasn’t bothering me, I decided not to have any surgery. Today, I’m paying for it. The little movement kept grinding and grinding until it created a hole in my cartilage. It started to give out on me.
During the last three or four years of my career, it affected my training. The harder I trained the more the knee hurt. Eventually, I decided to stop training that knee and just figured I’d gut it out as long as I could.”
It’s amazing what these players learn to live with. Chris dealt with that injury (potentially) for the last 10 years of his career. We watched as Yzerman played on one leg, the same with Kronwall. Datsyuk found out in surgery that he’d destroyed several tendons in his foot. I maintain that hockey players are some of the toughest athletes on the planet. Between what it takes just to play the sport at the NHL level, the number of games played, and the intensity of shifts, it’s an unbelievable set of skills needed. My doctor had done studies on hockey players for a thesis. I asked him what set them apart. He told me that it’s the recovery time. An NHL player can go from exhausted to “ready to run” quicker than (in his opinion) any other athlete. One of a million reasons I love hockey.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this series, and we’ll continue through until the draft. (Possibly a couple more in August). We’re getting to the top of the first hill on the rollercoaster. Buyouts stand in the ready as many are waiting to see what Seattle does. Between the expansion draft and the entry draft a slurry of trades could hit the fan with the buyout window coming to a close at the end of July. Stay tuned, a lot of irons are in the fire. Someone just needs to be the first out of the gate.
Check out some of my previous posts
My fourth “gear corner” focused on equipment for special events.
The Canadiens have to get down to business after the post season ended.
my previous article covered some of the top UFA right shooting forwards available.
The expansion draft is swiftly approaching.
In my third installment of Summer Reading, Chelios found out exactly what Yzerman was like as a leader..
My third “Gear Corner” focused on helmets.
Alex Tanguay is a new assistant coach in Detroit.
I posted about the state of the Wings being at about half of the team it needs to be..
Frank Seravalli’s top 20 list has some options for Detroit.
My second summer reading post took a look at the world’s funniest bar fight.
My second “Gear Corner” talked a bit about gloves.
The Golden Knights are out of the playoffs.
Updated mock drafts have Detroit looking at Wallstedt, Eklund and Edvinsson.
Helm and Filppula could be moving on.
Jared McIsaac may finally be healthy enough to have a solid pro year.
My first “summer reading post” covered Chelios’s career defining fib.
Friday was my first gear corner with Doug Todd from Warrior Hockey.
Albert Johansson won’t be competing for a spot in North America this season
I will be featuring the writings of Kevin Allen for a summer reading program this year. It’s tough to break up the summer months, and the one on one formats that Kevin has perfected is not only a pleasure to read but gives insight that isn’t easy to come by. I’ll be starting with Chris Chelios “Made in America”.
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