San Jose Sharks center Joe Pavelski united with the Sharks Foundation and the Good Tidings Foundation to build a street hockey court at Franklin Elementary School in San Jose.

San Jose, Calif - The San Jose chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association announced today that San Jose Sharks center Joe Pavelski has been selected as its 2011 nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The Masterton Trophy is awarded each season under the trusteeship of the PHWA to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

After being selected in the seventh-round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by San Jose, Pavelski has blossomed into an extremely important part of the Sharks team. Without possessing great size or a special skill set, Pavelski has endeared himself to Sharks fans, bringing dedication, a work ethic and hockey smarts every night to the rink. His determination to be an elite NHL player caught the eyes of the U.S. selection committee who chose Pavelski to compete for his country in the 2010 Olympic Games where he helped team USA earn a silver medal.

This season – despite missing 10 games with a lower body injury and playing through pain in many others --Pavelski has cemented his role as someone Sharks coach Todd McLellan trusts in any and all situations. He has set career highs in points (65) and assists (46) and has affectionately earned the nickname “the Big Pavelski”.

Off the ice, he has begun to give back to both the game he plays as well as his adopted community of San Jose.

The 26-year-old, Plover, Wisconsin native has become an investor in the Janesville Jets of the North American Hockey League, part of the U.S. development program’s feeder network. At the start of this season, he also donated significant dollars for the construction of a street hockey rink at the elementary school closest to the Sharks practice site in a lower-income San Jose neighborhood.

Click here to see photos from the event.

San Jose Sharks center Joe Pavelski, right, works against Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk, of Russia, during the first period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

The Masterton Trophy winner is selected from a poll of the 30 chapters of the PHWA at the end of the regular season and a $2,500 grant from the PHWA is awarded annually to the Bill Masterton Scholarship Fund, based in Bloomington, Minn., in the name of the winner.

The PHWA first presented the Masterton Trophy in 1968 to commemorate the late Bill Masterton, a player with the Minnesota North Stars, who exhibited to a high degree, the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Masterton died Jan. 15, 1968 following an injury suffered in a game.

Former Shark Tony Granato received the award in 1997.