Blue Jackets general manager turned pickleball pro

Life is full of surprises. But this was one we really weren’t expecting. Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen has become a professional pickleball player.

In fact, the media outlet Balle Courbe received an e-mail from PBX Pickleball (a professional pickleball organization) announcing the arrival of several new members to their organization. That’s when they noticed that Kekäläinen was on the list.

But he’s not the only former NHL player to be introduced. Dave Bolland, Patrick Sharp and Fredrik Modin have also become pickleball pros.

When he’s not busy working as general manager, Kekäläinen seems to play a lot of pickleball. The sport seems to be his main passion.

As Michel Laprise of Balle Courbe explains, Kekäläinen lives for pickleball. There are several pickleball-related photos on his Instagram account, and his profile photo is him playing.

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If you’re interested, you can even watch one of his games on YouTube.

So don’t be surprised if the Blue Jackets play pickleball as a group. Then we’ll know whose idea it was.

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