Joe Pavelski joked that he\u2019ll have to golf less if he gets the Toronto Maple Leafs head coach job.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just heard Coach [Mike Macdonald] say you don\u2019t get to play as much golf when you\u2019re a coach, so we\u2019ll have to take that into consideration,\u201d the defending American Century Championship champ, doing a media availability with NBA star Kyle Lowry, Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Saleh, and Seattle Seahawks head coach MacDonald, quipped.<\/p>\n
The celebrity golf tournament begins in South Lake Tahoe on July 8.<\/p>\n
Of course, the San Jose Sharks legend would be thrilled to be tapped to be the Leafs head coach.<\/p>\n
Pavelski spoke on what intrigues him about coaching, how discussions with the Maple Leafs have been going, helping get ex-San Jose Sharks teammate Tomas Hertl out of his playoff slump, and the excitement back at the Shark Tank.<\/p>\n
Joe Pavelski, on any current NHL\u2019ers coming for his title as best golfer in hockey:<\/strong><\/p>\n Yeah, there\u2019s a few guys out there that are playing good. I hear that [Clayton] Keller in Utah\u2019s pretty good. I play with Nick Schmaltz back home a decent amount, and we kind of go back and forth a little bit.<\/p>\n Until they get into one of these tournaments, I guess you don\u2019t know how good they are, and how they react to tournament golf.<\/p>\n Those two guys I know of, and there\u2019s definitely a few more, I\u2019m sure someone\u2019s coming.<\/p>\n Pavelski, on interviewing for the Maple Leafs head coach job:<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, I just heard Coach [Mike Macdonald] say you don\u2019t get to play as much golf when you\u2019re a coach, so we\u2019ll have to take that into consideration. (laughs)<\/p>\n But there is truth to that stuff. We have had discussions there, obviously. Their process, they\u2019re going through many options and stuff, but it\u2019s been very interesting and intriguing in a lot of ways, and I\u2019m excited to go through the process and kind of see where it leads.<\/p>\n Pavelski, on the San Jose Sharks\u2019 resurgent season:<\/strong><\/p>\n Yeah, you\u2019re definitely excited about that young core that\u2019s coming up right now, led by [Macklin Celebrini]. [Mike Grier] has done a great job, one of my teammates, the GM there now is building it and doing it the right way.<\/p>\n I was a fan, just like all the other Sharks fans, as far as watching that playoff race and having them try to get in, and the most important part, the most exciting part is the fans are back. The Shark Tank is going again.<\/p>\n That was kind of the common term you heard, is like the atmosphere in there right now, just trying to make the playoffs, and the excitement that\u2019s in that building again is special. It\u2019s great to see that they\u2019re there, and we would love to see them take the next step and get in the playoffs and start making noise again.<\/p>\n Pavelski, on what intrigues him about coaching:<\/strong><\/p>\n What intrigues me about coaching? Well, I\u2019ve coached the boy\u2019s team, for what that is \u2014 they were 14-year and 15-year-old players.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been done playing for two years now, and I think if you ask athletes, when someone checks in, they\u2019re like how\u2019s the transition been? It\u2019s been really good. And why has it been going good?<\/p>\n One, I like my hobbies, [this so-called] fake golf career, but the celebrity tours come out and they get your attention, so you get to compete and get to feel that. And then I have the boys team, they\u2019re old enough where you do some real things with them, and you can kind of get mad at them, or you can get mad at the other team a little bit, and you can try to win a game, so the competitive juices are there in that way.<\/p>\n I think it\u2019s actually added a ton to my transition, as I\u2019m around the game and around some kids. It\u2019s probably in its purest form, as far as they show up to the rink, if they\u2019ve had a bad day, it\u2019s because of school or something like that, they\u2019re excited to be at the rink and they work hard and they have fun with each other.<\/p>\n I do like the coaching side. I\u2019ve always thought the game well. It was a strength of mine when I played. When the opportunity kind of came on this one to explore it more, it was something I definitely wanted to entertain, and that\u2019s where kind of the discussions have led.<\/p>\n