2025 Hall of Fame Feature: Joe Pavelski

Joe Pavelski was 20 when he showed up for his first practice with the Wisconsin men’s hockey team in 2004. A freshman center, he was already older than 10 teammates, including six sophomores, but he didn’t feel as though that translated into a competitive advantage.   

“I didn’t think I was ahead of the curve by any means,” Pavelski said. “When you come in as a freshman, there’s still a lot of questions about yourself as an athlete.”

How good were you? How would you fit in? How hard were you willing to work? Pavelski went about trying to answer those questions as forcefully and as quickly as possible.

After guiding Stevens Point Area Senior High School to the WIAA state title in 2002, he spent two years with Waterloo (Iowa) in the United States Hockey League where he was named rookie of the year in 2003 and player of the year in ’04. He captained the Black Hawks to the Clark Cup, which is awarded to the U.S. Junior A Tier I national champion.

From there, Pavelski went about fulfilling his sense of promise at Wisconsin. He paced the club in scoring as a freshman and sophomore and helped lead the Badgers to their sixth, and most recent, NCAA title in 2006.

“We had such a competitive group, guys wanting to get the program back to where we believed it should be and not just for the sake of the program, but ourselves as well,” Pavelski said. “We wanted to win games.

“It was great to learn and see the other guys and their commitment to it. They kind of helped pull me along early on. I really got to learn from a lot of guys.

“I felt behind the eight-ball if anything, especially with training because it isn’t like today where there’s all this information out there. There definitely was some, but at times when you’re starting to train at a higher level, you need someone to hold your hand a little bit and teach you technique. You just have to provide the effort and commitment to it.”

Pavelski turned pro after two seasons with the Badgers and established himself as someone worthy of two Olympic assignments, including a silver medal in 2010, as well as 476 goals in 1,332 NHL games.

In all, Pavelski played 18 seasons in the NHL and emerged as one of the most impactful American players in history. He scored 74 goals in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the most by a U.S. player.

Adam Burish, the UW captain in 2004 and ’05, described Pavelski’s unique approach to the game.

“I don’t remember a guy that I ever played with that was as happy and excited to be at the rink every day,” Burish said of Pavelski. “That was contagious. It pushed me. It pushed other guys because you’d see him at practice either before, after or during working on something and you’d look over and think, ‘What is he doing?’ Well, he missed a shot from that spot yesterday and so he’s got 100 pucks lined up right there and he’s working on that shot.’ Or he’s tipping pucks in front of the net because he missed a tip-in on his backhand. So, he has coach shoot pucks on his backhand so he can tip that in the next time.”

It’s that kind of passion, work ethic and attention to detail that has led Pavelski to the UW Athletic Hall of Fame.

“It’s something you never think about as you’re going along,” Pavelski said. “It’s not your goal. It’s kind of your whole body of work that comes together at the end. I’m definitely proud of it knowing that each and every day you tried to keep building towards that next level and building yourself individually.

“It’s a huge compliment to just look back and the success and the efforts you put in. It’s an awesome honor with everyone that’s come through and the athletes that keep coming through.”

Mike Eaves, the Wisconsin coach from 2002 to 2016, said Pavelski always played to his strengths.

“It’s fun to look at different athletes and the package they bring to the table with them,” Eaves said. “You think about Joe Pavelski. He was labeled as not overly big, not overly fast, good shot, good hands, good IQ. But you know the thing that Joe did best was play to his strengths. He would continue to work on his weaknesses – we didn’t call them weaknesses; we called them “areas of improvement” – and he would get better at those areas. But he always played to his strengths. That’s what he built his game on.”

Former UW standout Dany Heatley was an NHL teammate of Pavelski’s when the two played in San Jose. He said Pavelski was a leader by example, a guy who found a way to let his creativity shine through.

“I don’t think anyone would call him the fastest guy in the league or the biggest, obviously, but he was smart, knew where to put pucks, great face-off guy, always came up with good face-off plays and always thinking about things – creative things – off the draw entering the zone,” said Heatley, the Calder Trophy winner in 2002 as the NHL rookie of the year. “He’s a real craftsman, if you will, on the skills and a real smart hockey IQ.”

Pavelski believes he maximized his time at Wisconsin.

“It felt that way,” he said. “I think I learned a ton the first year and the second year I was able to build off of that and really lay a foundation.  

“Probably the No. 1 reason I ended up choosing to go pro then was wanting more, feeling like there was more out there. It probably would have still been there the following year or the year after, but it was kind of just an urge that I was pulling that I’ve gotten a lot out of this and I want to keep pursuing the next level.

“I do believe I got a lot out of it, but I didn’t get it all by myself. There were a lot of people that helped along the way and my teammates were a huge part of that.

“When you plant yourself inside a culture like we had, then it was something where you were going to be part of it and help make it better or you’re going to struggle at times.”

Burish marveled at the fact that from high school to Waterloo, to the Badgers and on top NHL stops in San Jose and Dallas, Pavelski never experienced a losing season.

“Every coach trusted him,” Burish said. “Every coach could put him out there in any situation and any time and you know what you’re going to get. That’s not true for every player or almost any player where he doesn’t have a bad day. He doesn’t have a practice where he’s not focused and he’s not on.”

BEST OF THREE

One: Heatley declined to speculate on Pavelski’s Hockey Hall of Fame candidacy, but Eaves and Burish had similar thoughts regarding JoePa’s worthiness. “I do think he’s a Hall of Famer for his body of work,” Eaves said. “I certainly think (Pavelski) deserves it,” Burish added. “When you start doing things for a country that have never been done, it’s pretty unique. I don’t know what gets more unique than that.”

Two: Pavelski said his proudest moment at Wisconsin is easy to ID. “The championship year, 100 percent,” he said. “Being a part of that group and us having that kind of bond together. Hands down having that winning culture and getting it done as a group.”

Three: Eaves was known for his demanding practices and hard-edge style of play. Pavelski said Eaves and his associate head coach Troy Ward helped him prosper in that environment, especially Ward. “I spent a lot of time in the video room with Troy, talking and learning about the game,” Pavelski said.