Professional Hockey Player Picks Up Hitchhiking U2 Frontman Bono

Bono from U2 performing. (AP)

EDMONTON, Alberta -- Edmonton Oilers center Gilbert Brule found something very unusual on the side of the road while taking a drive in West Vancouver -- U2 frontman Bono, the Edmonton Journal reported Thursday.

The 24-year-old hockey player was heading to a park Tuesday with his girlfriend, Kelsey Nichols, to take their German Shepherd for a walk when Brule thought he spotted the music icon.

Nichols, who was behind the wheel, found it hard to believe the 51-year-old rock star would be hitchhiking.

"I didn't want to stop, but they waved and [Gilbert] yelled 'that's Bono'," Nichols told the Journal. "I didn't believe him so I kept driving."

After convincing Nichols to turn around, the couple found the famous frontman and his assistant waiting patiently by the roadside.

After hopping in, Bono, by now sitting in the back beside the couple's dog, told them they had gone for a walk only for it to start raining.

"We go to walk our dog and Bono ends up in our car," Brule said of the bizarre episode.

As a gesture of appreciation, the Irishman offered tickets and backstage passes to U2's Wednesday night show in Edmonton. The couple happily accepted despite being forced to sell off tickets to Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals.

Bono reportedly shared his gratitude with the Edmonton crowd at Commonwealth Stadium, saying, "I like ice hockey because people who play ice hockey are the kind of people who pick up hitchhikers.

"I'm ever so grateful. I've decided that I want to be Gilbert Brule."