- Pirates first baseman Spencer Horwitz skated with Evgeni Malkin at the Penguins’ practice facility
- Horwitz played hockey growing up in Maryland and won two state titles in high school
- Read below for the full video and Malkin’s response when Horwitz asked for a coaching job
Evgeni Malkin picked up an unlikely training partner this week.
He plays first base for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Spencer Horwitz swung by the Penguins’ practice facility on Wednesday, suited up in a white practice jersey and full pads, and laced up the skates for a session with Malkin. The Pirates posted the whole thing to social media.
The video opens with Horwitz talking a big game before a single drill even started.
“Put me through the practice, I’m ready,” Horwitz said.
Check out the clip:
Malkin quickly reminded him who’s still the best player on the ice.
“I’m not coach yet,” Malkin said. “Maybe next year. But I’m still a good player.”
Horwitz then went out and showed the trash talk wasn’t empty, ripping shots on an open net and moving the puck like he’d never left the blue line.
Baseball wasn’t always the plan. Horwitz grew up playing both sports in Maryland, and he stuck with hockey as a defenseman all the way through high school, winning two state championships before picking baseball for college.
It’s a lighter moment for a Penguins locker room that’s fielded nonstop retirement questions about Malkin all preseason.
Both have somewhere to be. Horwitz still has a Pirates lineup to get back to, and Malkin still has a full camp left before Pittsburgh opens the regular season. For one afternoon, though, the two traded sports without missing a step.
