USA Hockey made another big splash with its coaching staff for the 2016 World Juniors, announcing on Wednesday that Hall of Famer Chris Chelios would serve as an assistant under bench boss Ron Wilson.
Chelios, 53, is a symbolic hire for USA Hockey, given he’s one of the most decorated American internationals of all time. He represented the U.S. at four Olympic Winter Games, three Canada Cups, two World Cup of Hockey tournaments and once at the junior level, in 1982.
He, along with Wilson -- the ninth-winningest coach in NHL history -- gives the program some real clout heading into Finland next year. Chelios is also rumored to be shortlisted for an assistant coaching gig with Detroit under new head coach Jeff Blashill, so it’ll be interesting to see how his duties with USA Hockey play into that.
In addition to Chelios, USA Hockey also added ex-NHLer Danton Cole and Kevin Reiter to Wilson’s staff. Reiter had previously been with the U.S. at the U-18 level.