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 " Playing career . 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 .