Per the Grand Rapids Press’s Patrick Nothaft:
In a field of more than 1,000 players at the 2023 Beer City Open, only one competitor owns four NHL championship rings, and on Saturday, he’s tucked away in the northeast corner of Grand Rapids’ bustling Belknap Park pickleball complex.
Donning a backward Toronto Blue Jays hat and Vancouver Canucks athletic shorts, Kris Draper isn’t drawing attention to himself, but there’s a bit of a buzz building around Court 11, where the longtime Detroit Red Wing and his doubles partner, James Fernandez, are locked in an intense elimination match with Jayce Landheer, of Caledonia, and Jordan DeWeerd, of Hudsonville.
“C’mon, Kris!”
“Let’s go, Draper!”
The former Grind Line center, who’s now the Red Wings assistant general manager, has the support of a growing crowd, but he maintains a steady demeanor, hesitant to celebrate winning shots too vigorously or chirp at his opponents like he did during his 17-year playing career in Detroit.
“It’s funny. I’m the exact opposite on the pickleball court,” he said. “I kind of try to play low-key and all that, and a lot of the other guys are very vocal and cheering, so it’s kind of ironic how that happened.”
The fan support wasn’t enough, however, as the West Michigan natives defeated Draper and Fernandez by the slimmest of margins, 15-13, to advance in the men’s doubles consolation bracket at the 5.0 skill level, which is the tournament’s highest amateur offering.
