From Flyers practice facility employee to Blackhawks goalie in 1 day: 'Dream come true'
Eric Semborski feels like he owes the Chicago Blackhawks some money.
The 23-year-old had the Saturday of all Saturdays, after it appeared to be any other regular Saturday. Working at the Philadelphia Flyers' practice facility in Voorhees, N.J., Semborski got a call from a member of the Chicago Blackhawks - they needed a goalie.
Corey Crawford couldn't make the club's 1 p.m. ET start against the Flyers - he had appendicitis. Chicago's minor-league team was in Grand Rapids, Mich., and the Blackhawks had no salary cap space to work with.
Enter, Semborski.
"Oh, Chicago needs a goalie," is what Semborski was told on the phone, writes NHL.com's Adam Kimelman, after he was asked about his time in the crease over the years.
"Go home, get your stuff, and if they're going to use you, they'll call you," Semborski was told.
His phone rang shortly after, and that's when Semborski realized he had to get his gear and head to the Wells Fargo Center; to the Blackhawks' dressing room, specifically. And he showed up late, not wearing a suit or tie, after being stuck in traffic, Kimelman writes.
Sleeping with the enemy - in a good way
"We let him slide," said Blackhawks goalie Scott Darling, who got the start against Philly, adding the digs at Semborski's expense were meant to lighten the mood and make him feel welcome. Semborski's a Flyers fan, after all.
Watching the Blackhawks beat the Flyers in the 2010 Stanley Cup Final "was one of the hardest things I ever watched," Semborski told The Chicago Sun Times' Mark Lazerus.
"That's all forgotten," Semborski added. "I'm a Hawks fan today."
Yeah, there are no more hard feelings.
"They put my number on the board and said I was throwing in 200 bucks for the holiday party," Semborski said about his tardiness. "That was pretty good. I told them, 'You'd better take credit, because that's all I've got.'"
On the topic of money: Semborski didn't collect a dime from the Blackhawks. Hopefully he got to take home Corey Crawford's No. 50 jersey, which had Semborski's name sewn on it before the former Temple University goalie took to the rink for pregame warmup.
"I should be paying them," Semborski said of "the best 20 minutes of my life."
And as those 20 minutes came to an end, he stopped a wrist shot by Patrick Kane, the 2016 Art Ross Trophy winner, one of the few pucks not to find the net. That's a story to keep in your back pocket.
"Dream come true," Semborski told CSNPhilly.com's Jordan Hall.
And it happened on Semborski's father's 58th birthday.