BLOG: Draisaitl meets tennis stars in Cologne

EDMONTON, AB - Last summer it was NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki, this off-season it's German tennis superstar Alexander Zverev.
Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl continues to forge friendships with his fellow national sports heroes as he hit the hardcourt in his hometown on Monday with the finalists of the ATP Tour's 2020 Bett1Hulks Championship at Lanxess Arena in Cologne.
The NHL's reigning Hart Memorial Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award and Art Ross Trophy winner received some tennis pointers from Zverev and Canadian star Felix Auger-Aliassime before they traded their racquets for hockey sticks and Draisaitl returned the favour.

"It's always fun getting to meet other top athletes in the world," Draisaitl said. "Especially guys that are around my age that you can kind of grow up with... As an athlete, you always love watching other sports, so it was great to see those two."
"It's always great to meet other athletes," echoed Zverev, the seventh-ranked player in the world who beat the Canadian 6-3 6-3 in the Cologne tournament final. "Especially somebody who's won the MVP in such a big sport as ice hockey in the NHL."
"It was good fun to meet Leon, the MVP this year in the league, playing for a Canadian team also," added Auger-Aliassime, who's ranked 22nd in the world and is the second-youngest player on tour at just 20 years old. "I love to meet athletes in other sports, especially hockey. I played a little bit for fun in winters at home and went to games in Montreal."
Draisaitl's teammate Connor McDavid is friends with Canada's other young gun on the ATP Tour, Denis Shapovalov, so perhaps there's a Germany vs. Canada doubles match in their future.