Joe Pavelski, One Of The Most Underrated American Hockey Players Ever, Finally Wins The Big One
Christian Petersen. Getty Images.Joe Pavelski has come so close plenty of times in his career.
He was on the US Olympic hockey team who won a silver medal in Vancouver in 2010. He led the San Jose Sharks to the 2016 Stanley Cup Final, but they ended up losing to Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins in 6 games. After spending more than a decade in San Jose, he ended up signing with the Dallas Stars in free agency during the summer of 2019. He immediately went back to the Stanley Cup Final with the Stars in 2020, but they ended up losing to Tampa Bay in 6 games.
The thing is that Joe Pavelski is a winner. He won a high school state championship. He won a USHL championship. He won an NCAA National Championship with Wisconsin. The man is a winner, it's just that the big one kept slipping right out of his grasp for the last 20 years.
But that all changed yesterday at the American Century Championship. He's come so close in each of the last 3 years. He finished 2nd behind Tony Romo in 2022. He finished 3rd behind Steph Curry and Mardy Fish in 2023. He finished 2nd behind Mardy Fish again last year.
But here he is on the 18th green. He's on in 2 with an eagle look from 20'. It's a modified Stableford tournament so 6 points are up for grabs right here, which would be lights out for everybody else. Joe Pavelski is known for having some of the softest hands in hockey, and now it's time for him to put those silky mitts to work on the course….
BANG!
For the first time in his professional life, Joe Pavelski breaks through and wins the big one. A great guy who plays the game the right way finally getting the result he deserves. He's been known as "Captain America" in the past, and now he's the first American hockey player to win the ACC. And just further proving that hockey players make the best golfers. The perfect blend of power and finesse it takes to move that little white ball around on the course. The only thing that hockey players really struggle with when it comes to golf is finding a pair of pants to fit those tree trunk legs into.
He's won the American Century, but I'm sure there's one more major golf accomplishment he'd like to knock off his bucket list moving froward. We need to see Joe Pavelski in a sandbagger. Maybe we can recreate this moment.