It was a made-on-Vancouver Island meeting as Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn welcomed newly drafted FC Dallas player Callum Montgomery into the Stars' locker room Tuesday.
A video of their encounter was posted to the Dallas Stars Twitter account after the team's 1-0 win over the New York Rangers — and it also gave Victoria a big plug.
The two took to reminiscing about island life as they shook hands and traded jerseys for a picture.
"I miss it every time, going back," said Montgomery, a Lantzville-based professional soccer player who went fourth overall to Dallas FC in the 2019 Major League Soccer SuperDraft.
"Especially in the summer," added Benn, a Victoria native who won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer in 2015.
The love didn't stop there as FC Dallas replied to the Stars' video calling Benn "a true leader on and off the ice."
Benn grew up on the Saanich Peninsula, playing minor hockey for hte Peninsula Eagles and later moving on to the Peninsula Panthers Junior B team. Before he was drafted by the Stars in 2007, he played for the Victoria Grizzlies BCHL team for parts of three seasons.
Montgomery is a centre back who played 73 games in four years for the UNC Charlotte 49ers before he went as the highest-drafted Canadian player in the 2019 SuperDraft.
