It sounds like Team USA has found their captain for next month’s World Cup of Hockey.
A source told CSN Bay Area’s Kevin Kurz that there’s a “99 percent” chance that Joe Pavelski will wear the “C” for Team USA.
This will be Pavelski’s fourth tour of duty with the American team. He represented the States at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, as well as at the 2009 World Championship.
In Pavelski’s first season as captain of the Sharks, San Jose made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final last spring.
The pressure of wearing the “C” clearly didn’t impact Pavelski’s production either. The 32-year-old scored 38 goals and 78 points in 82 regular season games. He added 14 goals and 23 points in 24 games during the playoffs.
Fun fact: Pavelski is the first full-time, US-born captain in Sharks history.