OPINION

By Craig Custance

updated 9:30 p.m. ET Oct. 22, 2009

ROSEMONT, Ill. - Grant Lewis knows hockey is tough on the body. He's just now coming back from a busted kneecap suffered last season, and it's only the latest injury to slow down the talented defenseman prospect.

"It's tough on our bodies and I'm 24 years old," Lewis said.

A few feet away, Chris Chelios sat at his new locker room stall. Chelios, 47, recently signed to play for the Chicago Wolves, an American Hockey League.

The sweat was pouring from his face after an intense practice under new coach Don Lever, who is cramming a training camp's worth of drills and skating into hour-long practices to help turn things around. Chelios passed every test, and was out front in many of the skating drills.

At an age when most contemporaries are retired, Chelios is still going — and impressing another generation of hockey players.

"He's obviously in incredible shape," Lewis said. "At 47 years old, to play with his level and skill, it's amazing. He was with Detroit forever."

Not quite forever, but close enough.

Chelios will make his Wolves regular-season debut Friday night when Chicago, top affiliate for the Atlanta Thrashers, plays host to Manitoba at Allstate Arena.

Like his new Wolves teammates, Chelios is playing in hopes of getting a shot at the NHL. Unlike his new Wolves teammates, Chelios has 1,644 NHL games under his belt and a space in the Hockey Hall of Fame waiting for him if it doesn't work out.

Chelios played in 28 games during an injury-shortened 2008-09 season in Detroit, and he didn't skate much over the summer, so he's realistic about what he can offer.

"My game has changed and my role is helping young guys out in a leadership role," Chelios told Sporting News. "If you're a five or six D in the NHL, you're looking to buy time for your top players and fill in those gaps."

So basically, don't screw up.

"You don't necessarily have to be helping out as long as you're not hurting the team," Chelios said.

Manny Legace has seen enough from Chelios that he's convinced he can help an NHL team. Like Chelios, Legace, a former NHL goalie, is on a tryout with the Wolves, waiting for a call from any team that needs veteran help.

Chelios shouldn't have to wait long, Legace said.

"He's a top six on any team in the NHL right now," said Legace, a former All-Star said. "It's unfortunate, they're looking at his age and it's a shame because he could be in the top six on any team in the National Hockey League."

The AHL stint is one last attempt for Chelios to make sure he doesn't leave the game he loves too soon. It also has opened him up to criticism from fans who don't understand why he keeps going.

Chelios said he'll know when it's time to hang up the skates for good. It's not time, yet.

And no, he's not worried that a trip to the AHL will spoil his legacy.

"I grew up on the South Side of Chicago, and not one guy there made it to pro. I have nothing to worry about in that sense," he said. "I never expected to make it when I started. Everything, right now, is a bonus."

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