Joe Pavelski

Personal life

Joe was born to Sandy and Mike Pavelski and has three siblings—Jerry, Sheri, and Scott. His family is Polish American and their surname was originally spelled Pawelski. His mother said: "He loved anything athletic, and hockey was just a good fit for the winter. You didn't realize that your son was that good." Joe Pavelski is co-owner of the Janesville Jets NAHL team. His younger brother Scott formerly played for the University of New Hampshire men's ice hockey team.

Amateur

Pavelski won a Wisconsin State Hockey Championship with SPASH (Stevens Point Area Senior High) Panthers in 2002. He was a member of the 2004 Clark Cup champion Waterloo Black Hawks of the USHL. He won the 2004 USHL Dave Tyler Junior Player of the Year Award.

Pavelski played in 84 games over two seasons (2004–06) at the University of Wisconsin of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association He recorded 101 points (39-62). Pavelski was named to the All-WCHA Rookie Team in 2005, was selected to the All-WCHA Second Team, and the Men's RBK Division I West All-America Second Team. He helped Wisconsin win the 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship, while leading the team in overall points.

Professional

Pavelski began his NHL career in the 2006–07 season. He began on a hot streak, scoring a goal in his first game, and scoring a total seven goals and 10 points in his first 12 games. He continued playing well, but suffered a leg injury which reduced his playing time. Pavelski earned the sobriquet "Little Joe" from Sharks announcer Randy Hahn, a reference to Pavelski's teammate and San Jose superstar "Jumbo Joe," Joe Thornton.

During the 2007–08 season, Pavelski became a regular player on the Sharks roster and one of the best and most consistent young players on the squad, playing in all 82 regular season games and in all 13 playoff games. He also became one of the most dangerous players in the NHL during shootouts, scoring seven times on 11 opportunities that season. During the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs, he was tied with Ryane Clowe for the team lead in goals (five) and tied for second with Clowe in points (nine). Pavelski also led San Jose with three game-winning goals during the playoffs, which tied for third most in the league. In addition to his offensive numbers, he finished tied 12th among NHL forwards in blocked shots (59) during the regular season.

Pavelski had another solid season in 2008–09, playing in 80 games and recording 25 goals, 34 assists, and 59 points—career highs for all three statistics.

During the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, Pavelski had three straight multigoal games (Game 6 against the Colorado Avalanche and Games 1 and 2 against the Detroit Red Wings), not only helping the Sharks win all said games, but also becoming the first player to do so since Mario Lemieux in 1992. It was after this streak that he also picked up the nickname "The Big Pavelski" to accompany his former nickname of "Little Joe."

Pavelski came close to scoring his first NHL hat trick on March 19, 2011, against the St. Louis Blues. After the game, however, one of the goals was awarded to Patrick Marleau, when it had been originally attributed to Pavelski, thus holding him to a two-goal game.

During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Pavelski signed with Belarusian team Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

On July 30, 2013, the Sharks announced that the club has signed Pavelski to a five-year contract extension. The extension began on July 1, 2014, following the expiration of Pavelski's current contract.

On March 11, 2014, against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pavelski scored his 400th career point. During the season, Pavelski recorded a career-high 41 goals and 79 points.

During the 2014–15 season, Pavelski had another great season scoring 70 points (37 goals, 33 assists) and was named one of the Sharks four alternate captains.

On October 5, 2015, he was named the Sharks' 12th captain in history, over teammates (and former Sharks' captains) Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau.

During the 2015–16 regular season, Pavelski tallied 78 points (38 goals, 40 assists) and he earned a spot in the 2016 All Star game. Joe was fifth in the league in goals with 38, sixth in points, and first in game winning goals with 11. Pavelski's success continued in the playoffs as he led his team into their first ever Stanley Cup Finals. Pavelski only scored one goal in the Stanley Cup Finals, however, he was still the league leader in playoff goals with 14 and third in points with 23.

In the past three seasons, from 2013 to 2016, Joe Pavelski is second in goals with 116 and second in power play goals with 47 with only Alexander Ovechkin having more in both categories.

International play

On January 1, 2010, Pavelski was selected to the 2010 USA Olympic team, the only USA player from the San Jose Sharks. He had three assists in the team's silver medal effort and was second in faceoff percentage amongst all players in the tournament. In the waning seconds of regulation time in the gold medal game, Pavelski won a faceoff, swatted a clearing attempt out of the air, and made a pass that set up the play that resulted in the USA tying the game with 24 seconds left. He was nicknamed "Swiss Army Knife" by USA General Manager Brian Burke. On January 1, 2014, Pavelski was selected to the 2014 USA Olympic team, his second appearance.

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