After being selected by the San Jose Sharks in the seventh round (No. 205) of the 2003 NHL Draft, Pavelski led Waterloo in goals again with 21 and helped the team win the Clark Cup in 2004. He also captained the USA Hockey Junior Select team to a silver medal at the Viking Cup.

Pavelski is a natural goal-scorer, and he showed it even as an 18-year-old. He was named United States Hockey League Rookie of the Year in 2002-03 after leading the league with 36 goals for Waterloo.

Pavelski is a natural goal-scorer, and he showed it even as an 18-year-old. He was named United States Hockey League Rookie of the Year in 2002-03 after leading the league with 36 goals for Waterloo.

After being selected by the San Jose Sharks in the seventh round (No. 205) of the 2003 NHL Draft, Pavelski led Waterloo in goals again with 21 and helped the team win the Clark Cup in 2004. He also captained the USA Hockey Junior Select team to a silver medal at the Viking Cup.

Pavelski headed to the University of Wisconsin in 2004-05 and shared the NCAA lead in points among freshmen with 45 (16 goals, 29 assists). As a sophomore, Pavelski helped Wisconsin to the NCAA championship in 2006, leading the Badgers in assists (33) and points (56) and ranking second with 23 goals.

Pavelski turned pro and had 26 points (eight goals, 18 assists) in 16 games with Worcester of the American Hockey League, earning a call-up to San Jose. He made his NHL debut with the Sharks on Nov. 22, 2006, scoring a goal against the Los Angeles Kings. Pavelski scored his first Stanley Cup Playoff goal that season against the Nashville Predators in his second postseason game.

He had his first 20-goal season in the NHL in 2008-09, when he finished with 25. One year later, he helped the United States earn a silver medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. He had a six-game point streak during the 2010 playoffs and became the first NHL player since Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992 to score more than once in three consecutive postseason games. In 2010-11, Pavelski reached 60 points for the first time, and in 2011-12 he had his first 30-goal season, when he scored 31. He led the Sharks with 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in the 2013 playoffs.

Pavelski enjoyed a breakout season in 2013-14, establishing NHL career highs with 41 goals and 79 points and becoming the fourth player in Sharks history to score 40 goals in a season (joining Owen Nolan, Jonathan Cheechoo and Patrick Marleau). Pavelski had three hat tricks and was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team. He was named the Sharks Player of the Year, finished seventh in Hart Trophy voting and was eighth in Selke Trophy balloting. Pavelski also played for the United States at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

The 2014-15 season saw Pavelski finish second in the NHL with 19 power-play goals and fifth in the League with 37 goals. Named captain of the Sharks to start the 2015-16 season, Pavelski led San Jose with 38 goals and tied for the best rating on the Sharks at plus-25. He was selected to the NHL All-Star Game for the first time that season.

Also in 2016, Pavelski led the NHL with 14 playoff goals to help San Jose reach its first Stanley Cup Final, where it lost to the Penguins in six games.

Pavelski became the 199th NHL player, and the 18th born in the United States, to score 300 goals when he reached the milestone in a 2-1 win against the Florida Panthers on Dec. 1, 2017.

After 13 seasons with the Sharks, Pavelski signed with the Dallas Stars as a free agent July 1, 2019.

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