Watch: Larry Fitzgerald looks shaky on skates at Arizona Coyotes practice

Feb. 8 (UPI) -- One of the toughest players in the NFL tried out one of the toughest sports Monday.

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald laced up his skates and hit the ice at a recent Arizona Coyotes practice. He is a friend of captain Shane Doan.

"I'm a big fan [of hockey]," Fitzgerald told the team's website. "I enjoy the speed of the game and just the skill and the art of it. It's like watching poetry in motion. Even watching practice today, to watch the guys handle the puck their hands are just unbelievable."

Monday was the first time the Cardinals veteran has ever ice-skated. Fitzgerald didn't look quite as comfortable on the frozen floor as he seems to be on the gridiron. At the beginning of the session, he slowly coasted on the ice and looked very unbalanced. His wrist shot was slow and stoic. By the end of the practice, he was passing the puck with Doan and scoring one-timers.

"When we heard he was going to do it we were excited to do it," Doan told the Coyotes website. "It was pretty special. He was a lot better than I thought he would be."

Fitzgerald, 33, recently announced he will return for his 14th NFL season. The Coyotes are giving away a bobble head of Fitzgerald wearing a Coyotes sweater and football pants at its Saturday contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The first 10,000 fans will get the doll, which has Fitzgerald holding a hockey stick and a football.