Chris Chelios grabbed his red helmet, listened to some last-minute instructions, and then hit the ice -- running.
With the NHL lockout in full swing, Chelios traded his skates Wednesday for a pair of black booties and took three teeth-chattering runs in a two-man bobsled down the track at Mount Van Hoevenberg.
"That might hurt worse than hockey. Geez!" the 42-year-old defenseman said after his first run, sweat beading off his head, and his heart pounding as he stood at the finish line. "What a rush. We had some good speed. It's the fastest thing I've ever done. You don't have any control the way you're moving, I'll tell you that. I'm nervous now."
He needn't have been too much on edge because he wasn't driving. US women's bobsled star Jean Racine and men's driver John Napier were at the controls.
"At first, I thought, `Should I hit a wall?'" Racine said, smiling after going down the course. "I figured he's a tough hockey player. He's used to taking a hit into the boards. But I thought for the first time I'd try to make it nice and smooth and fun. Maybe next run. We don't get too many hockey players out here, but he was pretty confident. If he was nervous, he really didn't show it."
If the lockout continues, Chelios, whose parents are Greek, is toying with the idea of trying out for the Greek Olympic bobsled team for the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy.
"If the timing's right and the season's not looking like it's going to go, then I'll have the opportunity to compete and try to qualify for the Olympics. We'll see," said Chelios, who plans to train in Calgary, Alberta, and then return here in two weeks for more. "I don't kid myself if I'm not good at it. But it's not going to be tough to make the Greek team. Basically, if our hearts are in it, we're on the team just because of the lack of participation."
Clearly, though, he wants to play hockey, even at his age, and remains distressed over the lockout. The regular season was scheduled to begin on Wednesday night.
If Chelios is serious about his bobsled aspirations, one experienced onlooker said he had what it takes.
"There are two things you look for," said John Morgan, a former US bobsledder who has covered the last six Winter Olympics as an analyst. "You look in their eyes and the back of their pants."
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