Detroit Red Wings‘ 5th year defenseman Jake Chelios(84) scores a 1st recall under emergency conditions and skates his NHL debut.
In his first game he skated a healthy 20 shifts for 17:11 total ice time with 1 shot on net, 2 hits, 1 play break up and went a +1 rating in a 4-0 team win.
The 6’2″ 200 lbs. blue liner, son of Chris Chelios, has played 294 AHL games (17-90-107), mostly with Charlotte Checkers, where he spent two years in Carolina Hurricanes‘ prospect system, twice putting up 20+ assists and his first season with the club under a minor league contract.
He hasn’t quite put up numbers in this campaign as he did in his last two (1-13-14) but has raised his on ice accountability to a +17, which likely helped him get the attention of the higher ups.
The 28-year old signed a one-year deal on the opening day of unrestricted free agency but could be making an argument to stick and help out for at least a short extension.