Jake Chelios (born March 8, 1991), also known as Jieke Kailiaosi, is an American-born professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

who is currently playing in China for

Kunlun Red Star HC Kunlun Red Star () is a Chinese ice hockey club that joined the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) prior to the 2016–17 season. History Preparation of the team In March 2016, representatives of Kunlun Red Star and the KHL signed a protocol o ...

in the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs b ...

(KHL). Born in the United States, he represented China at the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Bei ...

. He previously played with the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL).

Playing career

Chelios played with the Detroit Red Wings through to the under-18 level in the T1EHL. He later moved on to play junior hockey with the Chicago Steel in the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictl ...

(USHL). He committed to play collegiate hockey with

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conferen ...

. Undrafted, Chelios made his professional debut following his senior year in 2013–14, playing alongside brother Dean with the

Toledo Walleye The Toledo Walleye are a professional ice hockey team based in Toledo, Ohio. The Walleye are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the ECHL. The Walleye were founded in 1991 as the Toledo Storm and play their home games at ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). Th ...

before joining the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...

of the AHL. After posting a breakout season in the 2015–16 campaign in scoring 31 points in 73 games with the Charlotte Checkers, Chelios was signed to his first NHL contract with parent affiliate, the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...

on April 22, 2016. He re-signed with Carolina on June 27, 2017. On July 1, 2018, the

signed Chelios to a one-year,

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

. On March 29, 2019, the Red Wings recalled Chelios from the

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and play home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey Lea ...

under emergency conditions. Before being recalled, he recorded one goal and 13 assists in 59 games for the Griffins. He made his NHL debut later that same day in a game against the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The club was founded as the Kans ...

. Upon making his debut, he became the sixth father-son combination in Red Wings history, joining Sid and Gerry Abel,

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

and Andy Brown, Bill and

Peter Dineen Peter Kevin Dineen (born November 19, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 13 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Los Angeles Kings and Detroit Red Wings between 1986 and 1989. The rest of his care ...

, Gordie and

Mark Howe Mark Steven Howe (born 28 May 1955) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman and left winger who played sixteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) following six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA). He is cur ...

, and

Jimmy Peters Sr. James Meldrum "Shakey" Peters Sr. (October 2, 1922 – October 11, 2006) was a Canadian ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League between 1945 and 1954. He won the Stanley Cup three times, with the Montreal Canadiens in 1946, ...

and

Jimmy Peters Jr. James Stephen Peters Jr. (born June 20, 1944) is a Canadian retired ice hockey left wing who played 309 games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings and Los Angeles Kings between 1964 and 1974. After his playing career he worked ...

Chelios played out the season with the Red Wings, going scoreless in 5 games, before he was returned to Grand Rapids for the playoffs. Chelios embarked on a career abroad as an impending free agent, agreeing to a two-year contract with Chinese-based KHL club,

, on May 23, 2019.

International play

Due to his stint in China, Chelios was called up to represent the China men's national ice hockey team for the

, under the name ''Jieke Kailiaosi''. He became a Chinese citizen in order to be eligible to represent the nation at the Olympics. While confirming that he kept his American citizenship, Chelios denied answering whether he naturalized as a Chinese citizen. While the Olympic Charter stipulates that any athlete competing in the Games must be a national of the country of the NOC which is entering such competitor, the IOC Executive Board has the authority to make certain exceptions of a "general or individual nature", though it is unclear whether this was the case.

Personal

Chelios is the son of NHL Hall of Famer

Chris Chelios Christos Kostas Chelios (born January 25, 1962) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He was one of the longest tenured players in the National Hockey League, and is a three-time Stanley Cup champion—one with the Montreal ...

. Chelios has an older brother, Dean, and two younger sisters, Tara and Caley.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chelios, Jake 1991 births Living people Chinese ice hockey defencemen Olympic ice hockey players of China American men's ice hockey defensemen American emigrants to China American people of Greek descent Chinese people of Greek descent Naturalized citizens of the People's Republic of China Charlotte Checkers (2010–) players Chicago Steel players Chicago Wolves players Detroit Red Wings players Grand Rapids Griffins players Ice hockey players from Chicago Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL) players HC Kunlun Red Star players Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey players Toledo Walleye players Undrafted National Hockey League players American expatriate ice hockey players in China Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics