Joe Pavelski

Joseph Pavelski (born July 11, 1984) is an American professional ice hockey player now playing for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He scored a goal in his first NHL game, making him the 11th Sharks player in the history of the team to do so. He won a silver medal as a member of the United States national men's ice hockey team at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Personal
Joe was born to Sandy and Mike Pavelski. His family is Polish American. 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 currently plays for the University of New Hampshire men's ice hockey team "

Junior career
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 Blackhawks of the USHL. He won the 2004 USHL Dave Tyler Junior Player of the Year Award

College career
Joe 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.

San Jose Sharks
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 7 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 "Big 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 versus Colorado and Games 1 & 2 against Detroit), not only helping the Sharks win all said games, but also becoming the first player to do so since Mario Lemieux in 1992.

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, whom it had been originally attributed, thus holding Pavelski to a two-goal game.

Olympics
On January 1, 2010, Pavelski was selected to the 2010 USA Olympic team, the only USA player from the San Jose Sharks. He had 3 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.

Transactions

 * June 22, 2003 – Drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the 7th round, 205th overall.
 * In the offseason, Pavelski signed a three-year entry level contract that paid him US$850,000 per year (not including bonuses) until June 2008.
 * On June 25, 2008, Pavelski signed a contract extension, which will pay him $3.3 million over the next two years.
 * On June 24, 2010, Pavelski signed a 4 year, $16 million contract to stay with the Sharks.