Welcome To The Show: The San Jose Sharks Let A Beer League Hockey Goalie Come Out And Get Between The Pipes At Practice
Being a beer league hockey goalie is one of the most thankless jobs in all of sports. You're 40-years-old showing up to a 9:30pm game, you have to be up for work at 5:30am the next morning, you have to put on all those pads and then just stand in net while getting shelled with vulcanized rubber all night.
You can't play the game without a goalie. You are one of the two most important players on the ice every game. And how do your teammates reward you? By not even attempting to play a lick of defense all night. You're seeing 3v1 after 3v1 after 3v1. The beer league hockey goalie never gets the respect they deserve out there, but that's not why they show up every week. The play for the love of the game.
So it's just nice to see one of the boys rewarded every now and then. Maybe it's a chance to suit up and sit on the bench as an EBUG in an NHL game. Or maybe you end up sharing a locker room with the San Jose Sharks, and they let you hop on the ice to take a few shots at practice.
Now what's the play here if you're a Sharks player? I feel like you can't just turn this into a Make-A-Wish practice and feed him gumballs all day. Maybe you ease him into practice with a few cupcakes just so he can get the feel of the puck. But after a while you need to let those things fly. That's really why he's there. He wants the full experience. He wants the puck to be splashing the top corner of the net before he even has a chance to react to it coming off the stick. Maybe ring one or two off his mask just so he has a few new dents to remember the day with. I just really hope the Sharks didn't take it easy on the guy out there. Especially not Celebrini. I'm sure he wouldn't want to embarrass the guy, but nothing would make a beer league hockey goalie gain closure that he could never have made it further in his career than getting completely torched by an 18-year-old.