Eric Semborski will never forget his day as an NHL goalie.
His own hockey trading card should only help.
Semborski's story got that much cooler Wednesday night when Topps NHL Skate announced it produced a card for the 23-year-old from his game as the Chicago Blackhawks' emergency backup goaltender against the Flyers last weekend.
For those of you that don't know the wild story of the Blackhawks' finding Semborski — a Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, native no longer playing competitively since his Temple club days — you can read about it here ...
“I was at work, at the rink in Voorhees just coaching,” Semborski said. “My boss called me and I missed it. I walked off the ice and started talking with someone from the Flyers, he started asking me, ‘Where’d you play hockey, what’s your playing history?’”
Semborski was confounded.
“I didn’t even know what he was getting at,” he said. “I asked, ‘Why are you asking me this?’ And he said, ‘Oh, Chicago needs a goalie.’ I just lost it. He said, ‘Go home, get your stuff and if they’re going to use you, they’ll call you.’ I left right away.
“I was like, OK, this probably isn’t going to happen, there’s no way.”
Ten minutes later …
“I’m in the truck and I got a call from Chicago,” Semborski said.
Semborski already has some memorabilia.
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“I got a couple of pucks, got a hat, they’re going to send me a jersey,” he said after Chicago's 3-1 loss to the Flyers on Saturday.
"I should be paying them for this. That was awesome.”
He can add his own card to the collection.
#Flyers fan turned #Blackhawks emergency goalie @Sembo182 comes to #ToppsNHL with Topps NOW! Get the first of two cards for FREE now! pic.twitter.com/MIwUhzwkcd— Topps NHL SKATE (@ToppsNHL) December 7, 2016
This is awesome. Thank you @ToppsNHL for making a free card of @NHLBlackhawks emergency goalie Eric Semborski. pic.twitter.com/GAnIdQXZOh— Sal J. Barry (@PuckJunk) December 7, 2016
