PBX Pickleball has partnered up with the NHL Alumni Association and attracted several former Stanley Cup Champions

Pickleball.

Somehow the popularity of this wacky sport that combines tennis, ping pong and for some reason pickles is sweeping the nation.

The fastest-growing sport in the U.S. had more than 36 million people playing pickleball last year, according to the Association of Pickleball Professionals.

There is now even a professional league of pickleballers called PBX Pickleball, and it was co-founded by former NHL player Paul Holmgren.

PBX Pickleball describes itself as “the company that unites retired professional athletes with the Pickleball community.”

Former Florida Panthers forward Dave Bolland is one of several Stanley Cup Champions to become a PBX Pro, a group that includes Patrick Sharp, Kris Draper and Fredrik Modin.

Additionally, a current NHL General Manager, Jarmo Kekalainen of the Columbus Blue Jackets, is also becoming a PBX Pro.

“PBX Pickleball offers an opportunity for amateur pickleball players of all levels to compete right alongside some of the best players and personalities from hockey, baseball, football, basketball, and more,” Holmgren said in a statement released by PBX Pickleball. “Pickleball is a 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. I know Bolland, Draper, Modin, Kekalainen, and Sharp also love the sport and will go out there to win and have fun.”

It was a wise move for the company to partner up with the NHL Alumni Association, which is clear from its early collaborations.

Pickleball courts have been popping up all over South Florida, and the sport has been popular among members of the Panthers coaching staff and front office in recent years.

We’ll see if pro pickleball takes off as quickly and astronomically as the amateur ranks of the sport have.