First Shift: Pavelski household on a roll as Stars welcome Sharks to town

One of the smartest things the Stars have done in recent seasons is allowing rookie Wyatt Johnston to stay with veteran Joe Pavelski and his family.

Pavelski and Stars coach Pete DeBoer go back a long way from their time in San Jose, so when the Stars decided to bring Johnston in as a 19-year-old last season, the thought was that mimicking a “billet” family like many prospects use in junior hockey might be a good idea. So Johnston lived with Pavelski and his family, and the result was Johnston earning a spot on the NHL All-Rookie Team and the Stars making it to the Western Conference Final.

Everyone enjoyed the set-up so much that Johnston decided to remain at the Pavelski home in his second season. The relationship between the veteran and the youngster has produced hours of meaningful hockey talks and a real unique growth opportunity for Johnston. So it made sense that when the Stars called up young forward Logan Stankoven from the minors, he might also stay at the Pavelski home.

Both Johnston and Stankoven were drafted by the Stars in 2021 and have become good friends, and having them live together now has been great. The two are playing on the same line, and Stankoven has three goals and one assist in his first four games, while Johnston has a goal and three assists.

Pavelski said he’s been impressed with the line that also includes team captain Jamie Benn.

“That line has been as good as any line,” Pavelski said. “They’re fun to watch and they’re fun to follow up on the next shift because they are competing. Wyatt has been competing and Logan has been awesome, and Chubs has been great. It’s fun to watch. They’re all around it and it’s a complete line right now.”

Pavelski deserves a lot of credit for helping out with the two young players. It’s nothing new for the 39-year-old forward, who is in his fifth season with the Stars. In addition to being a great billet dad, he also is out on the ice early for every practice, working on his own skills, and helping teach the rest of the team how to prepare properly.

“He’s more valuable in the room with his leadership and the way he leads than he is even on the score sheet,” DeBoer said. “All the guy wants to do is win. He’s willing to do everything and willing to sacrifice parts of his game to do that.”

And as for helping Johnston and Stankoven?

“When you talk to him, he’s got great perspective on his career, and I think he has an appreciation for all of the people who have helped him along the way,” DeBoer said. “I think you get that way with age and maturity. I think he’s trying to give it back a little bit.”

And the repercussions flow out like ripples. Johnston now is helping lead Stankoven even though they are the same age.

“With Wyatt, you couldn’t ask for a better role model to be around,” DeBoer said. “You can see that Wyatt and Logan are going to be very good NHL players for a long time here and lead this franchise. And to have valuable time around one of the greatest leaders I’ve been around, I think it’s fantastic.”

Typically, players who are recalled from the minors will stay in a hotel room and that can be a hard transition at an emotional time in your career. For Stankoven, he’s able to analyze the game on car rides home, at the dinner table, or while watching television.

“It’s great that a young guy like him can have someplace to go and people to talk to,” said forward Jason Robertson. “They go through the game, talk through the game, not just Joe, but Johnny too. He’s not sitting by himself in a hotel, so that’s a great setup. I’m sure any distraction he had is gone so he can just focus on hockey.”

Key Numbers

Minus-104
The Sharks have the worst goal differential in the league at minus-104. Dallas has the seventh best at plus-34.

25.7
San Jose ranks last in the NHL in average shots on goal per game at 25.7. They also rank last in shots against at 35.4

355
Stars forward Joe Pavelski ranks second all-time in San Jose Sharks history in goal scoring at 355. He ranks fourth in games played at 963 and third in points at 791.

He Said It

“When it’s all said and done, I want to have the record for wins for this organization and for American goalies.”

- Stars goalie Jake Oettinger after notching his 100th career win on Thursday. Marty Turco has the franchise record at 262 wins, while Ryan Miller has the American record at 391

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.