This August, Austin MacLellan will make history as the first athlete from New Brunswick to represent Canada at a World Wheelchair Rugby Championships.

For the 25-year-old, the journey to the world stage began with an unexpected invitation to join a local wheelchair rugby practice in 2021.

A wheelchair basketball player at the time, MacLellan’s introduction to rugby came when his basketball team and the local rugby club both found themselves short on players during practice.

“The rugby guys were in the same situation of, ‘Hey, we don’t really have the numbers. Would you guys be interested in hopping in a chair?’ That was the first time” he recalled.

Among the athletes welcoming him that day was Hal Merrill, a pioneer of wheelchair rugby in New Brunswick whose passion for growing the sport left a lasting impression.

MacLellan continued to pursue wheelchair basketball while occasionally joining rugby practices as a form of cross-training. As the years went on, Merrill and other members of the Fredericton club continued encouraging him to return.

“It was just a lot of fun. We would chat before practice, get into what we were doing, have a blast, and then chat about it after. It was always that ‘see you next week’ mentality. We were going to come back for each other because we enjoyed it.”

By 2022, MacLellan decided to take wheelchair rugby more seriously. Just a few months after beginning to train regularly, he competed at his first National Championships. Later that year, he earned an invitation to his first Team Canada prospect camp, opening the door to Canada’s high-performance pathway.

Looking back on his early days in the sport, MacLellan says making Team Canada wasn’t something he had mapped out.

“I didn’t envision it right away. I knew it would take a lot of hard work and dedication to get there. It wasn’t an overnight thing. I just left the door completely open for whatever growth the sport had for me.”

At just 25 years old, MacLellan has steadily progressed through Canada’s high-performance pathway. He earned his first national team selection in 2025 and made his international debut at the World Challenge in Australia that same year. Throughout the 2026 season, he established himself as a fixture on Team Canada, highlighted by earning Best in Class (2.5) honours at the 2026 Canada Cup before being named to Canada’s roster for the World Wheelchair Rugby Championships.

Looking back, MacLellan credits much of that journey to the people who first introduced him to wheelchair rugby, including the late Hal Merill. Although Merrill passed away in 2025, his influence continues to be felt throughout New Brunswick’s wheelchair rugby community and in the athletes he inspired.

“He was absolutely our leader and pioneer for wheelchair rugby. He always met people exactly where they were at and was there to help them grow, whether it was on or off the court. That’s something that really touched me deeply because it was more than just between the four lines.”

As MacLellan’s role within the sport continued to grow, so did his impact on the court. Earlier this year, he was named the recipient of the Division 1 Garrett Hickling MVP Award at the 2026 Canadian Wheelchair Rugby National Championships, recognizing him as the tournament’s most valuable player.

For Sally Chamberlain, Executive Director of Parasport New Brunswick, MacLellan’s World Championships selection is the culmination of years of growth for both the athlete and the province.

“This is a historic and incredible achievement for Austin and the entire Parasport NB community,” said Chamberlain. “ We are a small, tight knit community that has gone through many challenges and changes over the years. Austin’s selection to represent Canada at the World Championships is a significant milestone for him personally, but also for Parasport New Brunswick and our entire province… It is exciting to see an athlete who trained here reach the highest levels of the sport.”

For Maclellan, the opportunity is also about representing the community that helped shape him.

“It means a lot because I look at other parasports and how each athlete has a pathway or someone to look up to. I’m really honoured to have the potential to be that pathway for someone else. Hopefully I can help pave the way for more athletes to have the opportunities that I’ve been grateful to have so far.”

Giving back has already become an important part of MacLellan’s journey. He has helped introduce new athletes to wheelchair rugby through clinics, community outreach and mentorship as a Recruitment Coordinator and junior program coach for Parasport New Brunswick.

Chamberlain has watched that leadership develop over the years.

“Austin has always been incredibly coachable. He wants to learn and ask questions. He has a genuine passion for the technical, tactical and strategic side of sport, which has helped him excel at the high-performance level. His role within the Team NB Maddogs has evolved over the years, and he ensures every teammate is heard, feels valued, is empowered and has fun- many qualities he learned from Maddog (Merrill) himself. Watching this translate onto an international stage has been pretty special.”

For Chamberlain, MacLellan’s selection is about more than one athlete reaching the world stage. It reflects the growth of wheelchair rugby in New Brunswick and the opportunities now available to future generations.

“Austin is helping put New Brunswick on the map in wheelchair rugby and showing that athletes from our province can compete and succeed on the international stage,” she said. “The entire parasport community is proud of his achievement. While Austin is the first New Brunswick athlete to represent Canada in wheelchair rugby, I don’t think he will be the last.”