As players in the San Jose Sharks Masters League streak across the ice, Ed Asato trails behind the play, stick ready.
At 87, he still skates in the league’s over-60 division.
Though he isn’t as quick as he was when he first picked up the sport decades ago, his enthusiasm hasn’t faded.
“I’m having fun, and I’m thankful,” he said.
Every Monday at midday, teams of older hockey players gather at Sharks Ice in San Jose to face off.
Ed Asato (3), 87, from Sunnyvale, waits on the bench for his rotation during his game in the “Over 60 Division” of the Master’s League at Sharks Ice in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Many are fathers. Some are grandfathers.
They say hockey keeps them physically active, socially connected and in touch with their younger selves. At this stage of life, the game is less about speed or winning and more about staying active while maintaining camaraderie.
The recreational league draws players from around the Bay Area, many of whom first stepped onto the ice as children.
The hiss of blades gliding over the ice mixed with George Thorogood’s “Bad to the Bone” as a home team player chased the puck. Sticks clacked in quick succession as passes moved up the ice. Every so often, a shot sailed wide, the puck banging loudly against the glass behind the net.
During a shift change, Dean Tait watched from behind the glass, removing his helmet and taking a drink from his water bottle.
“My first skating lesson, my dad tied my skates, pushed me onto the rink and closed the door,” said Tait,61, the adult hockey manager at Sharks Ice.
Tait grew up in Quebec, where hockey is woven deeply into everyday life.
“In Quebec, there’s an outdoor rink on every block,” he said. “We’d take our sticks, no helmet, no equipment, and just play.”
Tait later moved west and eventually to the Bay Area in 2002, where hockey remained part of his routine even while working in tech and raising two young children.
In 2008, he joined the over-35 division at Sharks Ice. Today, he manages the rink’s adult leagues, which include about 2,500 players, 16 referees and 40 scorekeepers. Divisions range from 18 and older to special brackets for players over 35, 50 and 60.
Like many players in the older divisions, Tait has felt the realities of aging on the ice.
Games are slower now, he said, and injuries take longer to heal. In 2016, he dislocated his knee and spent six months recovering before returning to play.
Still, the draw of hockey remains strong.
Mark Belinsky (47), from Los Altos, plays in the “Over 60 Division” of the Master’s League at Tech CU Arena in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, March 9, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Mark Belinsky (47), from Los Altos, plays in the “Over 60 Division” of the Master’s League at Tech CU Arena in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, March 9, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
The “Over 60 Division” of the Master’s League plays hockey at Tech CU Arena in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, March 9, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Ed Asato (3), 87, from Sunnyvale, plays in the “Over 60 Division” of the Master’s League at Tech CU Arena in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, March 9, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Dean Tait (51), right, adult hockey manager, celebrates a teammates goal in the “Over 60 Division” of the Master’s League at Tech CU Arena in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, March 9, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Mark Belinsky (47), from Los Gatos, takes a shot while playing in the “Over 60 Division” of the Master’s League at Tech CU Arena in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, March 9, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
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Mark Belinsky (47), from Los Altos, plays in the “Over 60 Division” of the Master’s League at Tech CU Arena in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, March 9, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
“It’s a drug,” said Mark Belinsky, 69, who has been playing since he was a 10-year-old boy in Chicago. “You get high when you’re on the ice.”
For Belinsky, the game still delivers the same rush — the feeling of gliding across the ice, the satisfaction of a clean shot, the bite of cold air filling his lungs.
But experience has also taught caution.
“If a jumbo-sized guy’s got the puck and I wanna chase him down, I’ve gotta reconsider now because of physics,” he said with a laugh.
His teammates chuckled nearby.
Bob Gianni, 70, who has been playing since he was 8, said he now spends more time strategizing to avoid getting hurt. He’s already had a hip replacement and credits his ability to keep playing to “good doctors.”
“At our age, you gotta keep moving,” Gianni said.
Bob Gianni (78), right, from Los Gatos, plays in the “Over 60 Division” of the Master’s League at Tech CU Arena in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, March 9, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Asato lives by that principle as well.
The shortest player on the team, he is often dwarfed by younger, faster skaters. When the puck comes near him, a more agile player usually reaches it first.
Still, Asato follows the play, determined.
Before each game, he mentally runs through his rules: recognize the situation, make a decision, execute.
Ed Asato (3), 87, from Sunnyvale, puts on his jersey in the locker room before playing in the “Over 60 Division” of the Master’s League at Sharks Ice in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Ed Asato (3), 87, from Sunnyvale, stretches before playing in the “Over 60 Division” of the Master’s League at Sharks Ice in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Peter Fediay, left, from Santa Cruz, chats with Ed Asato (3), 87, from Sunnyvale, during their game in the “Over 60 Division” of the Master’s League at Sharks Ice in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Ed Asato (3), 87, from Sunnyvale, waits on the bench for his rotation during his game in the “Over 60 Division” of the Master’s League at Sharks Ice in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Ed Asato (3), 87, from Sunnyvale, keeps an eye on the puck during their game in the “Over 60 Division” of the Master’s League at Sharks Ice in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Ed Asato (3), left, 87, from Sunnyvale, celebrates his goal with Scott Shepard (5), from Fremont, in the “Over 60 Division” of the Master’s League at Sharks Ice in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Ed Asato (3), left, 87, from Sunnyvale, chats with Ted Tsuchiya (58), from Pleasanton, after their game in the “Over 60 Division” of the Master’s League at Sharks Ice in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Ed Asato (3), left, 87, from Sunnyvale, defends against another player in the “Over 60 Division” of the Master’s League at Sharks Ice in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Ed Asato (3), 87, from Sunnyvale, heads to the ice to play in the “Over 60 Division” of the Master’s League at Sharks Ice in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Ed Asato (3), 87, from Sunnyvale, waits on the bench for his rotation during his game in the “Over 60 Division” of the Master’s League at Sharks Ice in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Ed Asato (3), 87, from Sunnyvale, plays in the “Over 60 Division” of the Master’s League at Tech CU Arena in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, March 9, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Ed Asato (3), 87, from Sunnyvale, heads off the ice after playing in the “Over 60 Division” of the Master’s League at Tech CU Arena in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, March 9, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Ed Asato (3), 87, from Sunnyvale, carries his equipment out of the rink after his game in the “Over 60 Division” of the Master’s League at Sharks Ice in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
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Ed Asato (3), 87, from Sunnyvale, puts on his jersey in the locker room before playing in the “Over 60 Division” of the Master’s League at Sharks Ice in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
“But when I get on the ice, I forget everything,” said Asato, who picked up the sport at 59.
What keeps him playing at nearly 90, he said, is the community, the mental focus the game requires and the occasional small victory along the way.
“I don’t touch the puck much anymore,” he said. “But once every couple of years I’ll score a goal.”