Chris Chelios Retires

It had already been reported several weeks ago, but yesterday it was made official:

Chris Chelios is retiring, and will be working with the Detroit Red Wings front office.

Nothing too shocking to report here, but for those interested, here's some video from the presser, where Cheli spoke candidly about the end of his career (video courtesy of NHL.com)



Also, a nice lengthy interview this morning on WCSX in Detroit. I can't find a way to embed or directly link it here, but go to this link and find the "Jamie with Chris Chelios" podcast from this morning.

Cheli is a legend, and one of the greats. He's certainly one of the finest American defensemen to ever play the game (if not, one of the finest defensemen period). A champion, an Olympian and time-defying freak of nature. Even though his kids went to East freakin' Lansing Clown College, he still was, is, and always will be a Badger. He was a key component in our 1983 national title, and as Badger fans we could always take pride in calling him one of our own.

Chris Chelios, we salute you.

Bohmbach signs minor league deal w/ Blackhawks

This is old news, but my time is stretched thin these days. Anyway, the Chicago Blackhawks have signed the Bohmber to a minor league deal, and is projected to play w/ the Rockford IceHogs this coming season. This continues a short tradition of Badger players playing in Rockford, as Jake Dowell and Jack Skille have played in Rockford the last two seasons (and will hopefully be in Chicago this winter).

In case you forgot, the Bohmber had a breakout junior year which was followed up by a very solid senior season where he roled as one of the best PKers on the team and Hobey Baker's best option at LW on the top line w/ Craig Smith.

Good Luck to Andy in Rockford, I'm still searching for a new favorite player, but glad I can see the Bohmber in Rockford this coming winter.

High School Hockey Elite League around the corner

Well, I'm not sure where everyone has disappeared to here on the blog. Calling the rest of the bloggers here, are you still alive? I've been on vacation out West for a few weeks.

Anyway, there has not been much Badger hockey news in the past two weeks, but some stuff to look forward to and start discussing as the season slowly draws forward. Something happening much sooner is the HS Hockey Elite League which returns for another year; it starts in four weeks already. Here is the schedule. There will be three weekends hosted by Team WI in the state, but nothing close to Madison like there has been the past several years. You'll have to travel to Wausau, Stevens Point or Eau Claire if you are interested. I plan to head to Point in early October to watch a like hockey as Shattuck St Mary's will be there that weekend giving me a chance to see Zach Stepan.

They also have rosters up for the minnesota based teams. Based on Chuck's potential recruit sheet, there are five potential recruits playing from mn. Team NW: Christian Horn; Team SW: Tyler Heinonen; Team SE: AJ Michaelson, Hudson Fasching & Taylor Fleming. If any of these kids have committed somewhere recently, refer to the opening paragraph, I'm not up to date on everything yet.

I haven't seen an official Team Wisconsin roster yet, but Dplaya projected the roster a few weeks back.

I've gone the last few seasons to see a few games to see some future WCHA and Badger players, but I also haven't seen a live hockey game since April and need an early season fix.