Cech, soccer legend, gets in net against Blackhawks

CHICAGO -- Petr Cech has traded in his goalie gloves and cleats for pads and skates.

Cech, considered one of the greatest soccer goalies of all time, donned hockey gear Tuesday and Wednesday to get between the much-smaller pipes and face Chicago Blackhawks shooters at their practice facility.
"Of course, you're facing the top players in the world," said Cech, who played in the Premier League with Chelsea from 2004-15 and Arsenal from 2015-19. "You have to expect they all have a good shot and obviously being clever and in control when you face them. At the end of the day, you try to do the same thing. You try to fill the gaps and try to read, which is harder. But overall, I really enjoyed it. It's a priceless experience for me to get on the ice and try it out."
Cech, who was invited onto the ice by friend Petr Mrazek, the Blackhawks' real goalie, now plays semipro hockey for Chelmsford of the National Ice Hockey League South Division I in the United Kingdom.
Mrazek said he's been working on getting Cech into an NHL net for several years now. Opportunities to do it while Mrazek played for the Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs were thwarted due to COVID-19. In early December, Mrazek said he got the OK from Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson, coach Luke Richardson and goaltending coach Jimmy Waite to have Cech join them.
"Yeah, he looks like a real goalie, I would say," Mrazek said. "You wouldn't say he never played hockey, he played only soccer."

The Blackhawks also tried their hand -- er, foot -- at Cech's game, looking to convert penalty kicks against Cech on a soccer field on Monday. Mrazek also had a turn in that goal.
"He's definitely better than me in a soccer net, because I felt like the net was five times bigger than it actually is," Mrazek said.
Mrazek said Cech will be at United Center on Thursday to watch the Blackhawks play the Colorado Avalanche (8:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCH, ALT, ESPN+, SN NOW) before he returns to London on Friday.
Blackhawks forward Andreas Athanasiou said he was rather impressed by Cech.
"He's pretty smooth out there," he said. "He plays [hockey] a little bit, so you can see he's pretty comfortable out there. I grew up watching [soccer] and playing a little bit at least, so I know who he is. Pretty cool to get the opportunity to take some penalty shots on him, go on the soccer field with him and obviously him come on the ice."