Tony Plush on ice?
Yep, that happened.
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Nyjer Morgan -- also known by his alter ego, Tony Plush -- practiced with the San Jose Sharks today for about a half-hour, culminating with a shootout contest against backup goalie Thomas Greiss.
Morgan missed on his first three attempts before burying the fourth...though that may have come with some assistance from a flopping Greiss.
“How many athletes do you know who can just jump on the ice and do what I just did? Exactly,” Morgan said. “Pretty cool, huh?
“It’s been many moons, it’s been a lot of years, yeah. And I’ve still got it, you see that?”
The ‘many moons’ remark was in reference to Morgan’s hockey days -- the Bay Area native grew up playing hockey, making it all the way to Regina of the WHL (where he played on a team that featured current Blues defenseman Barret Jackman.)
Sharks head coach Todd McLellan -- who was coaching in Swift Current when Morgan played for Regina -- remembers the Brewers outfielder well.
“His ball characteristics, and the way he stirs things up on the ballfield, that’s the exact same way he was on the ice surface,” McLellan explained. “He was a bit of a disturber, got under the skin of some of the other players, and competed hard.”
Joe Thornton seemed pretty impressed by Morgan and more than amused by “Plush.”
“Not bad. It was better than I thought,” Thornton said. “It seems like he enjoyed coming here and we loved having him. ... It loosens everybody up. He’s got a good personality and he relates to the guys.”
Check out video of Morgan and his alter-ego’s appearance, via CSNBayArea.com.
Update: Here’s some video of Morgan during his Regina Pats days, including a cameo from Jackman at the 1:05 mark.