The two most season performers for the 1988 Canadian Olympic hockey team were defensemen Trent Yawney and Chris Felix. They had both fully committed to the Canadian national team program way back in 1985, with Serge Roy joining shortly thereafter, and remained right through the entirety of the Calgary Olympics.
Felix was from Bramalea, Ontario and was a two time OHL all star with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. In his final year of junior the defenseman scored 29 goals and 101 points and helped his team achieve a record 33-0 win streak. Yet somehow he was never drafted by a NHL team.
So Felix jumped to Dave King's national team program and became one of the team's steadiest performers playing well over 200 international matches in his tenure.
His ice time was limited by the time the Olympics finally arrived. NHL veterans Randy Gregg and Tim Watters - both previous Olympians - were counted on heavily. Same went for Yawney and young Zarley Zalapski, both of whom were destined for long NHL careers.
Felix competed with Tony Stiles and Serge Roy for ice time on the third pairing. Stiles suffered two concussions during the tourney, allowing Felix to score a goal and assist on two others in six contests.
Felix signed with the Washington Capitals organization immediately following the Olympics. He would spend four years with the Caps, playing primarily in the minor leagues but also appearing in 35 career games, scoring once and adding 12 assists.
Tired of the AHL, Felix, like so many other Canadian National Team members, sought adventure in the pro leagues in Europe. He played in Germany, Finland and Switzerland.
Late in his career he returned to North America to play in the low minor leagues in the southern United States.
When he finally ended his vagabond hockey career days he returned to Sault Ste. Marie and coached youth hockey for many years.
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