Cheryl Burke Is Dating Joffrey Lupul Of The Toronto Maple Leafs: Watch Their First Meeting [VIDEO]

Cheryl Burke is dating Joffrey Lupul of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Burke, a professional dancer on the ABC television show Dancing With The Stars, first met the professional hockey player when she was a presenter at the NHL Awards last month.

In Canada, the above headline might begin, Joffrey Lupul Is Dating Cheryl Burke, because of hockey's spot in the limelight there. In the U.S., however, Burke is certainly the better known of the two.

After some flirty tweets, they met for a dinner date at the Los Angeles restaurant Mercato di Vetro on July 12, according to Us Weekly. The magazine also reported they kissed when Burke got up to use the bathroom.

The restaurant could have been Lupul's suggestion: Before he went to the Toronto Maple Leafs, he spent some time with the Anaheim Ducks.

Burke has had some famous dance partners during her time on DWTS. She was partnered with Wayne Newton, Rick Fox, Chris Jericho, Rob Kardashian and Chad Ochocinco (aka Johnson), among others. After she and Johnson were eliminated from the competition, there were rumors the two had begun dating.

E! Online reported the couple was seen together this week at the Jockey for a Cause charity event in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., where they looked super lovey. Lupul and Burke, both 28, are said to have been holding hands and feeding each other.

Lupul is hardly the only NHL player with a famous partner. Mike Fisher of the Nashville Predators is married to Carrie Underwood, the winner of American Idol in 2005, and Mike Comrie, who is newly retired, just welcomed his first child with Hilary Duff, the former star of Lizzie McGuire.

If Burke and Lupul are still together by the time fall comes around, she should expect to hear her name more than once at Toronto Maple Leafs games. Toronto fans are notorious in their treatment of personalities they don't like, and they chanted Fire Wilson! last season at the Leafs' former coach, Ron Wilson. If Lupul misses a shot, then Burke could certainly hear about it.

The video below is footage of the first time Lupul and Burke met.