BLACKTOP RESURFACING PROJECTS

SAN JOSE, Calif - San Jose Sharks center Joe Pavelski recently united with the Sharks Foundation and the Good Tidings Foundation to construct a street hockey court at Franklin Elementary School in San Jose.  With the project now complete, Pavelski was joined by teammates Devin Setoguchi, Jason Demers and Torrey Mitchell, Coach Todd McClellan, S.J. Sharkie and others to christen the court and battle the students in a game of street hockey on Monday, September 20.

“You can see how excited these kids are,” said Pavelski following the one-hour dedication ceremony and game.  “If they’re out at recess or gym class and they learn the game, then when they watch the Sharks it’s going to make it that much more meaningful for them.”

To kick off the event, Sharks Broadcaster Randy Hahn introduced several guests including Franklin-McKinley School Board Superintendent Dr. John Porter, Good Tidings Foundation Founder Larry Harper, Phuoc Nguyen of Playworks and Sharks Fan Development Manager Jeff Cafuir.

The main event of the afternoon featured Pavelski playing street hockey with the students alongside his NHL teammates and S.J. Sharkie. With the court lined with students two rows deep, Pavelski invited a mix of fourth, fifth and sixth graders to scrimmage in a game of five-on-five. These students were all Junior Coaches from the Playworks program and assist younger students with physical education at school.

Over the past seven years, the Good Tidings Foundation and the Sharks Foundation have completed construction on six street hockey courts in the Bay Area. Inspired by Patrick Marleau's contribution to the installation of a hockey court at downtown San Jose's Washington Elementary in 2008, Pavelski is now the second Sharks athlete to act as a financial benefactor.