San Jose Sharks
Warsofsky, Sharks on Rec League Goalie Harold Robinson Joining Practice
NEW YORK — On Wednesday, the San Jose Sharks invited rec league goalie Harold Robinson to join their practice at Chelsea Piers.
The 65-year-old had been changing with the Sharks in the public Chelsea Piers locker room.
“We didn’t know there was another sheet [of ice], so we thought he was actually kind of coming on [our] ice. And then, he was stretching with the boys,” head coach Ryan Warsofsky laughed. “So we said, come on out, take some shots.”
“I came out of the locker room because I was heading over towards Chelsea open hockey [at another sheet], and one of the [Sharks] equipment managers turned around and said to me, Coach wants you to get on the ice,” Harold Robinson told San Jose Hockey Now. “I looked at him, you gotta be kidding me?”
It was Ryan Warsofsky who asked rec league goalie Harold Robinson to join #SJSharks practice at Chelsea Piers.
"One of the equipment managers turned around & said to me, Coach wants you to get on the ice. I looked at him, you gotta be kidding me?”https://t.co/S6ZB6I9i0r
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) November 14, 2024
Robinson introduced himself to Sharks players, then took about a dozen shots, including a bar down wrister from 18-year-old phenom Macklin Celebrini.
Sharks are sharing Chelsea Piers locker room with adult rec players, no private locker room here, this goalie asked to come out and take a couple shots from the big boys pic.twitter.com/XTznpEzsxD
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) November 13, 2024
“I forgot he was in the net,” Celebrini confessed. “So when I came down, I was just kind of going through it, and I ripped it. I looked up when I was about to shoot it, I was like oh no, this isn’t gonna be good.”
“When he let it go, I’m like, oh, that’s an NHL shot,” Robinson laughed. “I don’t mind being challenged by those guys. That was a really good thing.”
It was the experience of a lifetime for Robinson, and even for the San Jose Sharks, it was a lasting memory.
“I haven’t seen anything really like that,” Mackenzie Blackwood smiled.
Robinson has goaltended at Chelsea Piers for 25 years, and a visiting NHL team has never asked him to take shots.
“It loosened up our group maybe a little bit,” Warsofsky said. “The guys were the ones that really kind of wanted to keep him out there. The guys were great. Mack, Luke Kunin had some nice words to say about him.”
“It was awesome,” Celebrini said.
It was all part of a different kind of day for the San Jose Sharks.
Because Madison Square Garden is always booked with other events, public rink Chelsea Piers is pretty much the only place in Manhattan where they can practice.
“I’ve also never seen before, the change stalls at Chelsea Piers are public. It was like a local YMCA,” Blackwood said. “There was like random people changing, showering with us and stuff. It was so funny.”
Chelsea Piers is a great place to watch practice, though player facilities leave something to be desired pic.twitter.com/HHOO3Exb45
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) November 13, 2024
