THUNDER BAY — Former NHL star forward Patrick Sharp is replacing his hockey sticks with pickleball paddles.
PBX Pickleball, a pro-am style venture established this year, announced that the three-time Stanley Cup winner from Thunder Bay has signed on along with former NHLers Dave Bolland and Freddy Modin, who join four-time Stanley Cup champion and PBX advisor Kris Draper, and longtime NHL player, executive, and PBX co-founder Paul Holmgren.
Jarmo Kekalainen, the current general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets and a retired player, has also joined the organization.
Sharp and the others will participate in the PBX tour, BPX pro-ams and other PBX events later this year.
Amateur pickleball players will get an opportunity to play with the retired NHL players as well as former pro baseball, football and basketball players.
"PBX Pickleball offers an opportunity for amateur players of all ages to compete right alongside some of the best players and personalities" from pro sports, Holmgren said in a statement.
"Pickleball is fantastic game, and we'll have the opportunity to reignite that locker room camaraderie we all loved in hockey or the other sports, and bring it to the pickleball court."
He added "I know Bolland, Draper and Sharp also love the sport and will go out there to win and have fun."
As part of its outreach to athletes across major pro sports, PBX Pickleball has partnered to date with the NHL Alumni Association and the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association.
It will incorporate retired players' charities and other nonprofit organizations.
Sharp, who retired from the NHL in 2018, spent the next several years in the broadcasting booth as an on-air game analyst.
Earlier this year, he was hired by the Philadelphia Flyers as a special advisor to hockey operations.
