When former NHL defenseman and Stanley Cup champion Adam McQuaid was approached about becoming a founding partner in a state-of-the-art indoor pickleball facility in his home province of Prince Edward Island, he immediately signed on.

McQuaid fondly recalls a June 2024 reach-out from close friends Scott Harris and Jonah MacMillan about an opportunity to join the Atlantic Pickleball Club at the ground level and help bring their shared vision to life.

“It was something Scott and Jonah were looking to pursue after seeing just how pickleball was exploding in popularity, and they’re both from PEI like me, so they thought it would be a really neat thing to bring to the island,” said McQuaid, who currently serves as the Director of Player Development for the Boston Bruins. “I remember hearing from them because I was at the NHL Draft in Las Vegas at the time, and I told them right away that I’d definitely love to get on board.”

Eighteen months later, the 25,000-square-foot facility located in Stratford, just outside the capital city of Charlottetown, is nearing completion and slated to open in the spring.

It will feature eight individual courts, one king court, a dink wall, a merchandise shop, two Trackman golf simulators, a boardroom, a large mezzanine for events, and a café.

“I'm really proud of where I grew up and where I'm from, and my wife is from there as well. We still spend a majority of our summers there, so being able to bring a project like this to Stratford is special,” said McQuaid. “It's something people from all over PEI will have access to and can use. The feedback that we got was there's a ton of demand. People want to play, but there isn't anywhere to play, so the hope is that this will be a place where people can come find community—play pickleball and then stay afterwards for a coffee, meet up with friends, and get to know people.”

Calling himself a “novice player,” McQuaid doesn’t see any pickleball tournament wins in his immediate future at Atlantic Pickleball Club, but he certainly recognizes and appreciates the sport’s appeal for players of all abilities.

Its distinctive ability to bring enthusiasts together has always resonated with him.

“There’s a big pickleball community in Needham, the town that we live in just outside of Boston. We drive by the courts on Sundays on our way to Church, and it seems like 100 people are always out there playing. I found out people will drive from like 30 or 40 minutes away just to play there. It’s a bit of a hub. One morning, I went down with a friend for open play, and it opened my eyes to just how tight the community is,” mentioned McQuaid.

“I'm in my late 30s and he's in his early 40s, and we went and played against this lady in her mid-60s and a guy in his mid-50s, and they were teaching us all about the game while kicking our butts. It’s such a unique sport where you can just show up and play—age doesn’t matter, skill level doesn’t matter—and people are so welcoming.”

Even though he doesn’t play as often as he’d like because of work and family commitments, McQuaid savors every opportunity to pick up a paddle, which is no surprise for someone who appeared in over 500 regular-season games at hockey’s highest level with the Bruins, New York Rangers, and Columbus Blue Jackets before retiring five years ago.

That competitive fire is obviously still there.

“I love racquet sports. I grew up playing badminton, and I would play tennis for fun with friends. If you get out there with the right people, as a former professional athlete, you can allow some of your competitiveness to come out. You certainly miss that when you’re done playing,” explained McQuaid. “As a retired athlete, you're always kind of looking for ways to just compete and get a good workout in, so pickleball checks a lot of boxes.”

Naturally, McQuaid is eagerly anticipating the day Atlantic Pickleball Club finally opens to the public.

He sees a bright future ahead.

“The group of people that helped make this facility possible all had a real vision for what it could do for the community and wanted to bring it to life for the community,” emphasized McQuaid. “The goal is to introduce more people to the sport and just have a place where people can feel welcome, have some fun, get some exercise, and socialize.”