Joe Pavelski

Joseph James Pavelski (born July 11, 1984) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars.

Pavelski attended the University of Wisconsin and played for the Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey team. He was subsequently drafted 205th overall in the seventh round of the 2003 NHL entry draft by the Sharks, with whom he spent the first thirteen years of his NHL career, additionally serving as captain during his final four years with the team. He is often regarded as one of the greatest Sharks of all time, having led the team to their first Stanley Cup Finals in 2016. After departing in free agency, he spent the final five seasons of his career in Dallas, with whom he made the Finals again in 2020.

Nicknamed "Little Joe" and "Captain America", Pavelski scored a goal in his first NHL game, making him the 11th Sharks player in the history of the team to do so. He holds the record for most playoff goals by an American-born player, with 74.

Internationally, Pavelski won a silver medal as a member of the United States men's national ice hockey team at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He also served as captain of Team USA at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in Toronto.

Early life Pavelski was born on July 11, 1984, in Plover, Wisconsin, to parents Sandy and Mike Pavelski. His family is of Polish origin and their surname was originally spelled Pawelski. Pavelski grew up alongside three siblings, and although his younger brother, Scott, was a student-athlete for four years, he never played professionally.

Playing career

Amateur Pavelski won a Wisconsin State Hockey Championship with SPASH (Stevens Point Area Senior High) Panthers in 2002.

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 Tournament,

Professional (2006–2024)

San Jose Sharks (2006–2019) 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 7 goals and 10 points in his first 12 games. Pavelski earned the nickname "Little Joe" from Sharks announcer Randy Hahn, a reference to Pavelski's teammate and San Jose superstar "Jumbo Joe", Joe Thornton. On March 11, 2014, against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pavelski scored his 400th career NHL point. During the season, Pavelski recorded a career-high 41 goals and 79 points.

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

On October 5, 2015, Pavelski was named the Sharks' ninth 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 and 40 assists) and he earned a spot in the 2016 NHL All-Star Game. He finished fifth in the NHL in goals with 38, sixth in points and first in game-winning goals with 11. Pavelski's success continued into the 2016 playoffs, as he led the Sharks into their first ever Stanley Cup Finals. Pavelski only scored one goal in the Finals, though he still finished as the playoff leader in goals (14) and finished third in points (23). He became only the second Sharks player to score 300 goals with the team, after Patrick Marleau.

On April 23, 2019, during the 2019 playoffs, Pavelski suffered a major head injury after a cross check from Vegas Golden Knights center Cody Eakin, followed immediately by an incidental collision with Vegas' Paul Stastny which knocked Pavelski awkwardly to the ice. Pavelski was helped off of the ice and did not return to the game. Eakin was charged with a five-minute major penalty and a ten-minute game misconduct, which enabled the Sharks to score four goals in five minutes and send the game to overtime. The Sharks later won the game 5–4 in overtime and advanced to the second round of the playoffs.

Dallas Stars (2019–2024) Pavelski (left) battles with Jared McCann of the Seattle Kraken during Round 2 Game 6 of the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs. On July 1, 2019, as an unrestricted free agent, Pavelski signed a three-year, $21 million contract with the Dallas Stars. On August 16, 2020, during the first round of the 2020 playoffs, Pavelski scored the first postseason hat-trick in Stars history since their relocation from Minnesota; Dino Ciccarelli (twice), Steve Payne and Bob Brooke had previously scored playoff hat-tricks for the North Stars. On September 26, 2020, in game 5 of the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Pavelski scored his 61st playoff goal against Tampa Bay goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, surpassing Joe Mullen (who has 60 playoff goals) as the all-time playoff goal scorer by a United States-born player. Pavelski and the Stars would go on to lose the series 4-2.

Pavelski was named an alternate captain for the 2021–22 season and has played on the Stars' top-line, alongside young guns Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson. That top-line led the Stars in scoring, accounting for almost 44% of the Stars’ goals. Given the age difference between Pavelski and his linemates (12 and 15 years), the line became known as the "Pavelski and Sons" line in the Dallas sports media. On November 26, 2021, he scored his 400th NHL goal, making him the tenth American-born player to do so. On March 11, 2022, the Stars signed Pavelski to a one-year, $5.5 million contract. He would go on to enjoy a highly productive output during the 2021–22 season, scoring 27 goals with 54 assists for a career-best 81 points in the season in all 82 games played.

On January 1, 2023, the Stars signed Pavelski to a one-year, $3.5 million extension. Pavelski scored his 1,000th career point in a 6–1 win over the Detroit Red Wings with a goal on goaltender Ville Husso on April 10, 2023.

Following the Stars' elimination from the 2024 playoffs in early June, Pavelski initially indicated that he planned to retire, though he declined to do so officially. A month and a half later, on July 16, 2024, five days after his 40th birthday, Pavelski formally announced his retirement from professional hockey.

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, Since 2010, Pavelski has served as the co-owner of the Janesville Jets of the North American Hockey League (NAHL). In 2020, Pavelski and his wife co-opened a meal preparation company in Madison, Wisconsin, with two friends. As a retired player, Pavelski won the 2025 American Century Championship golf tournament, finishing with a score of 73.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Bold indicates led league

Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2000–01 Stevens Point Area Senior High School HS-WI — — — — — — — — — — 2001–02 Stevens Point Area Senior High School HS-WI — — — — — — — — — — 2002–03 Waterloo Black Hawks USHL 61 36 33 69 32 7 5 7 12 8 2003–04 Waterloo Black Hawks USHL 52 21 31 52 58 10 5 4 9 10 2004–05 University of Wisconsin WCHA 41 16 29 45 26 — — — — — 2005–06 University of Wisconsin WCHA 43 23 33 56 34 — — — — — 2006–07 Worcester Sharks AHL 16 8 18 26 8 — — — — — 2006–07 San Jose Sharks NHL 46 14 14 28 18 6 1 0 1 0 2007–08 San Jose Sharks NHL 82 19 21 40 28 13 5 4 9 0 2008–09 San Jose Sharks NHL 80 25 34 59 46 6 0 1 1 9 2009–10 San Jose Sharks NHL 67 25 26 51 26 15 9 8 17 6 2010–11 San Jose Sharks NHL 74 20 46 66 24 18 5 5 10 10 2011–12 San Jose Sharks NHL 82 31 30 61 31 5 0 0 0 5 2012–13 Dinamo Minsk KHL 17 7 8 15 10 — — — — — 2012–13 San Jose Sharks NHL 48 16 15 31 10 11 4 8 12 0 2013–14 San Jose Sharks NHL 82 41 38 79 32 7 2 4 6 2 2014–15 San Jose Sharks NHL 82 37 33 70 29 — — — — — 2015–16 San Jose Sharks NHL 82 38 40 78 30 24 14 9 23 4 2016–17 San Jose Sharks NHL 81 29 39 68 34 6 2 2 4 0 2017–18 San Jose Sharks NHL 82 22 44 66 41 10 2 6 8 8 2018–19 San Jose Sharks NHL 75 38 26 64 22 13 4 5 9 4 2019–20 Dallas Stars NHL 67 14 17 31 29 27 13 6 19 30 2020–21 Dallas Stars NHL 56 25 26 51 16 — — — — — 2021–22 Dallas Stars NHL 82 27 54 81 14 7 3 3 6 2 2022–23 Dallas Stars NHL 82 28 49 77 8 14 9 5 14 2 2023–24 Dallas Stars NHL 82 27 40 67 20 19 1 3 4 2 NHL totals 1,332 476 592 1,068 458 201 74 69 143 84

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2009 United States WC 4th 5 1 1 2 0 2010 United States OG 6 0 3 3 4 2014 United States OG 4th 6 1 4 5 0 2016 United States WCH 7th 3 1 1 2 0Senior totals 20 3 9 12 4

Awards and honors

Records Most playoff goals by an American-born player – 74