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Jake Chelios

American ice hockey player (born 1991)

Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

Jake Chelios (born March 8, 1991), also known as Jieke Kailiaosi, is a Chinese-American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played in China for Kunlun Red Star in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for six seasons. Born in the United States, he represented China at the 2022 Winter Olympics. He previously played with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL).

01Playing 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 (USHL). He committed to play collegiate hockey with Michigan State University in the Big Ten Conference.

Undrafted, Chelios made his professional debut following his senior year in 2013-14, playing alongside brother Dean with the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL before joining the Chicago Wolves 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 on April 22, 2016. He re-signed with Carolina on June 27, 2017.

On July 1, 2018, the Detroit Red Wings signed Chelios to a one-year, two-way contract. On March 29, 2019, the Red Wings recalled Chelios from the Grand Rapids Griffins 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. Upon making his debut, he became the sixth father-son combination in Red Wings history, joining Sid and Gerry Abel, Adam and Andy Brown, Bill and Peter Dineen, Gordie and Mark Howe, and Jimmy Peters Sr. and Jimmy Peters Jr. 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, Kunlun Red Star, on May 23, 2019.

After six seasons and 277 games in the KHL, Chelios announced his retirement from professional hockey in August 2025. He scored 16 goals and 56 assists in his career with the Red Star, and retired as the franchise's leader in games played by a defenseman.

Chelios (left, playing for Michigan State) and Michigan's Carl Hagelin (right) during The Big Chill at the Big House
Chelios (left, playing for Michigan State) and Michigan's Carl Hagelin (right) during The Big Chill at the Big House

02International play

Due to his stint in China, Chelios was called up to represent the China men's national ice hockey team for the 2022 Winter Olympics, 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 refused to answer whether he was a naturalized 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.

03Personal

Chelios is the son of NHL Hall of Famer Chris Chelios. Chelios has an older brother, Dean, and two younger sisters, Tara and Caley Chelios.

Chelios playing for the Chicago Wolves in April 2014
Chelios playing for the Chicago Wolves in April 2014

04Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2008-09 Little Caesars 18U AAA T1EHL 46 14 28 42 32 , , , , ,
2009-10 Chicago Steel USHL 52 12 22 34 45 , , , , ,
2010-11 Michigan State University CCHA 37 8 6 14 34 , , , , ,
2011-12 Michigan State University CCHA 39 2 7 9 44 , , , , ,
2012-13 Michigan State University CCHA 42 5 5 10 79 , , , , ,
2013-14 Michigan State University B1G 36 2 19 21 38 , , , , ,
2013-14 Toledo Walleye ECHL 7 1 1 2 2 , , , , ,
2013-14 Chicago Wolves AHL 4 0 1 1 4 , , , , ,
2014-15 Chicago Wolves AHL 41 1 14 15 32 , , , , ,
2014-15 Kalamazoo Wings ECHL 8 1 2 3 2 4 1 1 2 2
2015-16 Charlotte Checkers AHL 73 7 24 31 44 , , , , ,
2016-17 Charlotte Checkers AHL 76 4 28 32 54 5 0 1 1 6
2017-18 Charlotte Checkers AHL 41 4 10 14 41 , , , , ,
2018-19 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 61 1 14 15 28 4 0 0 0 7
2018-19 Detroit Red Wings NHL 5 0 0 0 2 , , , , ,
2019-20 Kunlun Red Star KHL 48 2 11 13 32 , , , , ,
2020-21 Kunlun Red Star KHL 43 2 7 9 52 , , , , ,
2021-22 Kunlun Red Star KHL 38 3 6 9 40 , , , , ,
2022-23 Kunlun Red Star KHL 51 3 17 20 26 , , , , ,
2023-24 Kunlun Red Star KHL 66 4 12 16 26 , , , , ,
2024-25 Kunlun Red Star KHL 31 2 3 5 6 , , , , ,
NHL totals 5 0 0 0 2 , , , , ,
KHL totals 277 16 56 72 182 , , , , ,

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2022 China OG 12th 4 0 2 2 2
2022 China WC D2A 27th 4 2 6 8 2
2023 China WC D1B 25th 5 2 5 7 4
Senior totals 13 4 13 17 8

05Awards and honors

Award Year
College
B1G Honorable Mention All-Star Team 2014
Watch videos about Jake CheliosExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Jake Chelios, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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