Former San Jose Sharks captain Joe Pavelski has to wait two more years before he’s eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame, but he’s already headed to the United States’ version.
Pavelski, who played the first 13 years of his 18-year NHL career with the Sharks after he was drafted by the team in 2003, was named to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025 on Wednesday, along with longtime NHLers Scott Gomez and Zach Parise, women’s Olympic gold medalist Tara Mounsey, and photographer Bruce Bennett. Gomez played with the Sharks in 2012-13 as part of a 16-year NHL career.
Starting in 2006 until his retirement in 2024, Pavelski played a combined 1,332 NHL regular-season games with the Sharks and Dallas Stars. The Plover, Wisconsin, native played 963 games for the Sharks, and is third on the team’s all-time list in points (761) and second all-time in goals (355).
Pavelski was the Sharks captain from 2015 to 2019, and helped lead San Jose to its first-ever appearance in the Stanley Cup Final in 2015-16. In 24 playoff games that year, Pavelski had 23 points, including 14 goals.
Pavelski spent the final five seasons of his NHL career in Dallas and finished his career with 1,068 points in 1,332 regular-season games, including 476 goals and 592 assists. His teams reached the playoffs in 16 of his 18 NHL seasons, and the forward played in 201 playoff games with 143 points. His 74 playoff goals are the most all-time by an American-born player.
A two-time Olympian, Pavelski helped the U.S. win a silver medal at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and was also a member of Team USA for the 2014 Games. He served as captain of the American team for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
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As an amateur, Pavelski played for two seasons at Wisconsin, helping the Badgers win the 2006 NCAA title before he joined the Sharks organization, which drafted him 205th overall in 2003. Pavelski spent two seasons competing for the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks, leading the team to the 2004 Clark Cup and earning the Dave Tyler Junior Player of the Year Award.
It’s been a memorable year for Pavelski, an avid golfer who won the American Century Championship celebrity tournament at Edgewood Tahoe in July for the first time.
Other U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame members who have ties to the Sharks include current goaltending development coach Ryan Miller (class of 2022) and hockey operations advisor Doug Weight (class of 2013). Others to be enshrined were Craig Janney (1994-96; class of 2016), Bill Guerin (2006-07; class of 2013), Gary Suter (1998-2002; class of 2011), Jeremy Roenick (2007-09; class of 2010), and former head coach Ron Wilson (2002-08; class of 2017).
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