He's back: Chelios officially joins the Wolves; will play Friday

The way Chicago Wolves general manager Wendell Young sees it, 47-year-old defenseman Chris Chelios, who signed with the team on Tuesday needn't to be a miracle worker for a team that has struggled out of the gate to a 1-5 start.

"We just need him to be himself," Young said. "Off the ice, it's leadership and how to be a pro - that's a major teaching tool.

"On the ice that carries over. I've played against Cheli, I know what he's all about; he's going to be competitive."

Chelios and his No. 7 jersey will make their debut Friday night at the Allstate Arena when the Wolves host Manitoba (7:30 p.m.), and Young said he expects the former Blackhawk defenseman to see plenty of ice time in a variety of situations, just as he had over his 25-year career.

Chelios has won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman three times (1989, 1993, 1996), and has been named to the NHL's All-Star team five times (1989, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2002).

He has participated in 11 NHL All-Star Games, and been a member of three Stanley Cup winning teams (Montreal, 1986; Detroit, 2002 and 2008), while playing in the Stanley Cup Finals on three other occasions (1989, 1992, 2009).

The signing of Chelios, along with the firing of coach Don Granato and the expected hiring of a new coaching staff in the next day or two, has made it quite an interesting week for Young.

Over the past couple of days, the Wolves' GM, along with director of hockey operations Gene Ubriaco have been running practice, and for some of the veterans on the team it was probably a case of deja vu.

"I told the guys today, 'You just experienced two Atlanta Thrashers practices,'" Young said. "I ran the practices the way we used to when (former Wolves and current Thrashers coach) John Anderson was here."

And he liked what he saw.

"They were high energy," Young said. "The guys were phenomenal.

"It seems like the guys are refreshed and excited about moving forward. We're 1-5 but we're a real good team.

"I told them, 'Boys, we can challenge anybody.'"