Joe Pavelski on captaining Team USA at World Cup: 'You feel like you let people down'

TORONTO – When Team USA was eliminated from semifinal contention at the World Cup of Hockey, captain Joe Pavelski felt some of the same emotions he generally associates with the end of an NHL regular season

His anger and sadness may not have been quite as strong, but his disappointment was still obvious.

“After the Canada game we knew we were eliminated, it felt like the end of a season when you’re going home for the summer, you just know you don’t have anything left to play for, well not necessarily that but as far as winning,” Pavelski said after America’s 4-3 loss to the Czech Republic in their final game of the tournament.

Last season with the San Jose Sharks, Pavelski emerged as one of the game’s top leaders, helping his team to their first Stanley Cup Final in his first year as captain. But he will now be known as the person who wore the ‘C’ on one of the most disappointing American teams since the NHL players started taking part in international best-on-best tournaments, even though the result wasn’t his fault.

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“It’s terrible, it sucks. You just didn’t do enough, didn’t rally enough. It’s just frustrating,” Pavelski said. “You feel like you let people down. You let yourself down, you always expect the best from yourself and in these tournaments you expect good results. You want good results, we didn’t get them. It’s tough.”

Pavelski’s only goal came against the Czech Republic on the power play in Team USA’s final game. He was one of just four players on the roster who scored a goal.

“He’s a tremendous hockey player,” defenseman Ryan McDonagh said of Pavelski. “I’ve gotten to know him from training with him in Wisconsin. He prepares as well as anybody and picks the right times to speak up in the room, lets his play dictate out there and really keep the right mindset going into the game.”

After the tournament ended, Pavelski’s teammates said they still believed he was the best choice to lead this team. He’s done a solid job with the Sharks and has been a good citizen for USA Hockey, competing in two Olympics. Picking him certainly made the most sense when Team USA came to their choice.

“The reaction was a lot of congratulations (when he was named captain) and he was absolutely the right choice,” forward Blake Wheeler said. “He’s an incredible leader, almost led his team to a Stanley Cup about four months ago. I think you need to keep that in mind.”

Even though Pavelski scored 38 goals last season and led his team to a Cup Final, taking part in another international competition with Team USA isn’t a given. He’s 32 years old and if NHL players don’t go to the 2018 Olympics in South Korea, it may be four more years at the next World Cup when he’ll have another crack at best-on-best tournament.

“It’s a long ways away, it really is,” Pavelski said. “If we go to the Olympics it’s two years from now, a lot can happen and then you have to stay with it, stay with the training, stay with your game, keep trying to improve and not look too far ahead.”

Unlike a typical NHL offseason, Pavelski doesn’t have to sit around and stew all summer at what could have been. Training camp with the Sharks starts Friday, and he can quickly jump back into action with his NHL teammates to lessen the sting of the World Cup.

“You take a little bit of time, get a little rest,” Pavelski said. “There’s still a responsibility, there’s still a job to your teammates once you get back and I think going into the tournament everyone knows that, so you learn from an experience like this.”

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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