Denis Shapovalov might have pursued a career in ice hockey if he wasn’t a tennis player. On Monday night, he experienced the game at its highest level before his opening match at the Dallas Open.

The Canadian watched the Dallas Stars — the NHL’s Western Conference leaders — defeat the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in a shootout. He even had time to snap some photos with members of the Stars team from Toronto, including his friend Tyler Seguin, who scored the winning goal in the shootout.

“I’ve met Tyler before. We’ve known each other for years now,” Shapovalov said. “Really cool to see him again, and to meet a couple of the other Toronto guys was a really cool moment.”

<img src="https://eltaszone.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/shapovalov-enjoys-vip-experience-at-dallas-stars-nhl-game.jpg" alt="Denis Shapovalov with NHL stars”>
Left to right: Wyatt Johnston, Ty Dellandrea, Colin Miller, Denis Shapovalov, Tyler Seguin and Mason Marchment. Photo credit: @DallasStars

The third seed at the Dallas Open, Shapovalov will hope to replicate the Stars’ fighting spirit that was on display in Monday’s win.

“It was one of those games where [the Ducks] scored a goal, got momentum back,” he assessed. “I think Dallas did a great job to fend them off in overtime short a man, and then get the win in the shootout.

“My boy Tyler scored the game-winning goal so it was pretty cool.”