At 15 years old, Nate Pavelski looks to follow in his father's footsteps, joining the Memorial Cup champion Kitchener Rangers.
The NHL offseason is officially underway, but it is not the only league getting its offseason business done. The Ontario Hockey League recently held its annual Priority Selection draft, and for Dallas Stars fans paying close attention, there was a familiar name that surfaced among the selected prospects.
Nate Pavelski, son of longtime NHL star Joe Pavelski, was selected by the Kitchener Rangers with the 180th overall pick in the ninth round, giving the reigning Memorial Cup champions a prospect with an unmistakable hockey pedigree and a résumé that already suggests the apple has not fallen far from the tree.
The timing could not be better for Kitchener as the Rangers won the OHL Championship in dominant fashion this past season before carrying that momentum into an equally commanding Memorial Cup run, hoisting the trophy and cementing themselves as the best junior hockey team in Canada. It is an organization that has established a winning culture and clearly targeted players they believe fit that mold, and Nate Pavelski fits the profile.
The younger Pavelski was born in San Jose during his father's long and celebrated tenure with the Sharks, but his hockey roots took hold in Texas after Joe Pavelski joined the Stars for the final five seasons of his playing career. Nate developed his game with the Dallas Stars Elite 13U AAA program before making the move back north to join the Madison Capitals, where he suited up at the 14U and 15U AAA levels over the last two seasons.
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The numbers he put up along the way have been nothing short of impressive. Pavelski posted 68 points in 75 games during his 14U season, then followed it up with 69 points in just 59 games the following year, a points-per-game pace that naturally draws comparisons to the kind of offensive consistency his father became known for throughout a decorated NHL career. Joe Pavelski retired as one of the more reliable goal scorers of his generation, finishing with over 750 points across nearly 1,300 NHL games.
At 15 years old, Nate Pavelski now has the opportunity to make the jump to junior hockey with a program that knows how to win and will give him every chance to develop in a championship environment. The path from a ninth-round OHL pick to NHL prospect is far from guaranteed, but the tools appear to be there and the lineage speaks for itself.
If Nate Pavelski can develop into the kind of player his father was, Kitchener may look back on the 180th pick of this draft as one of the steals of the entire selection. And over the next few years, NHL scouts keeping tabs on the Rangers will have one more reason to make the trip to the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
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