Sharks Legends Game: Joe Pavelski Returns To San Jose To Honor Joe Thornton
In his first media appearance since retirement, former San Jose Sharks captain Joe Pavelski talked to reporters about the lasting impact that Joe Thornton had on him and the organization.
Dean Tait - Sport Shots - Sharks Legends Game: Joe Pavelski Returns To San Jose To Honor Joe ThorntonIn his first media appearance since retirement, former San Jose Sharks captain Joe Pavelski talked to reporters about the lasting impact that Joe Thornton had on him and the organization.
Pavelski spent 13 years with Jumbo Joe, both of whom were Sharks captains. As a young player in the league, Pavs talked about how comfortable Thornton made him feel.
"You look back to then, [and] you don't realize how fortunate you are as a young kid to come in and into the locker room you did, and with the people and the characters and just how much fun we had and how much you can learn," Pavelski said. "It was definitely a huge building block for me, coming in there and being around these guys. It's awesome."
Pavelski will play on Team Teal for tonight's Legends game and once again share the ice with Jumbo, which he has been missing.
"We'll see. We'll see how our goaltending is [with] Nabby," Pavelski said about playing as the most recent retiree. "[I'm] looking forward to getting out there. I haven't skated much. [Just] a couple times here and there, once or twice with the beer leagues and coaching on the ice. So it'll be fun to get out there."
The Big Pavelski looked back to the first time he was ever put on Thornton's line.
"It was was great. [He's] a player you want to play with. Coming in your first two years, there are certain areas of the game you're trying to do, to not just stay in line up and have success, and then you play with him, and you learn real quick, kind of where he wants the puck and where to get open and then expect it at all points," Pavelski said. "It was something, I think, that grew quick, and found a lot of success with it. It was just some of the best hockey playing with him."
There are reports about Pavelski possibly joining the Sharks or Dallas Stars front office at some point, but No. 8 isn't ready to commit to a team.
"I like the game. There's been a few teams I call, and [they] always offer something, [but] these first few years, it's going to be all about family and being around and taking a step back a little bit," Pavelski explained. "If there's conversations we have, then they'll happen, but no strings attached right now. [I'm] not too worried about that."
Pavelski was still playing in the NHL when Patrick Marleau's jersey was retired, and he was sad he could not attend the event.
As for his favorite Jumbo memory, he said it was in 2019, after his injury, in game seven against the Vegas Golden Knights.
"There's too many of them. That game seven, seeing his face right there, after I went down and coming out, and that was one of my first times back. [I] just remember him saying, we got you, you're going to be all right, those types of things," Pavelski said. "That one definitely sticks with me. There's a lot in the locker room, [but it is an] accumulation of everything."
Pavelski didn't directly say no to a possible return to the ice this season when asked if he was officially done playing but said: "We're just day-by-day right now, getting through hunting season." Based on context clues of how often he's skating and his mentality, Pavelski's return to the NHL as a player seems unlikely.
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