03/05/2021 Mark Pavelich Found Dead

Rest in Peace.

Olympic "Miracle" hockey star Mark Pavelich was found dead Thursday in a central Minnesota residential treatment center, sources close to Minnesota sports legend said Thursday.

Pavelich, who turned 63 a week ago, died at Eagle's Healing Nest, where he was receiving mental health treatment for the past several months, the sources told the Star Tribune. At the time of his death he was under civil commitment for a violent assault on a North Shore neighbor nearly 1½ years ago,

Police said emergency personnel were called to the residence about 8:30 a.m. Thursday on a report of a death. Emergency dispatch audio disclosed that Pavelich had not been seen since 8 p.m. Wednesday. There is no initial indication pointing to what led to his death.

Pavelich was charged in Cook County District Court with beating his neighbor James T. Miller after the two went fishing in August 2019, after suspecting that Miller, spiked his beer. Miller, 63, was treated for cracked ribs, a bruised kidney, a fracture to one of his vertebrae and other injuries.

Pavelich, of Lutsen, faced four felony counts, including two assault charges and two illegal weapons charges after authorities found firearms with altered serial numbers on his reclusive property.

In December 2019, District Judge Michael Cuzzo ruled that Pavelich was incompetent to stand trial because he was mentally ill and dangerous. The judge ordered him committed to a state-operated secure treatment facility in St. Peter.

Two clinical psychologists who examined Pavelich ahead of the order found him to have post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as other conditions. Both found that he lacked insight into his mental illness and was opposing treatment.

However, he then showed enough progress in treatment to win release late this past summer from St. Peter to the less restrictive treatment center in Sauk Centre, where he had been living until his death.

In recent years, family and friends have said, they watched the public-averse Pavelich become confused, paranoid and borderline threatening. They said they came to believe that he suffers from chronic traumatic encephalopathy — commonly known as CTE — caused by repeated blows to the head while playing hockey as a tenacious, undersized forward.

The NHL has faced criticism for its handling of head injuries despite a long list of rules, studies and league-player committees focused on enhancing player safety. The league reached a court settlement in 2018 with hundreds of retired players who claimed harm from head injuries while playing, but the NHL admitted no fault or wrongdoing. Pavelich did not make a claim, his family has said.

A hockey star for Eveleth High School and then the University of Minnesota Duluth, Pavelich joined his U.S. teammates in winning gold in the 1980 Olympics. He assisted on Mike Eruzione's winning goal in a stunning upset of the heavily favored Soviet Union in their medal-round game of the tournament, referred to as the "Miracle on Ice." Team USA went on to defeat Finland to win the gold.

Pavelich played with the New York Rangers for five seasons and briefly joined the Minnesota North Stars and San Jose Sharks. Out of the game since 1992, he has lived quietly in Cook County, shunning the spotlight that was also there for him thanks to his Olympic fame.

His wife, Kara, died in an accidental fall from a balcony at their home in 2012, and several years later, Pavelich sold his gold medal for more than $250,000 in an auction.

Star Tribune staff writer Pam Louwagie contributed to this report.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482


I don’t know what to say; a local legend around here. Just surprised, I guess.
Mark Pavelich assaults neighbor

UMD alum Mark Pavelich was charged with four felonies this week in District Court in Grand Marais following an alleged pipe beating which left his neighbor in shock and broken in several places

Written By: Brady Slater | Aug 20th 2019 - 3pm.

A famously camera-shy Miracle-on-Ice hockey star living in the Northland remained in jail in Grand Marais on Tuesday, following felony assault and gun-related charges.

Mark Pavelich was charged in District Court in Grand Marais on Monday with four counts related to striking his neighbor on the back, arms and legs with a metal pole. Pavelich was additionally charged with being in possession of an illegally shortened shotgun which had its serial numbers filed down.

During his initial court appearance Monday, Pavelich, 61, was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation.

"There is reason to doubt (Pavelich's) competency," wrote Judge Michael Cuzzo in court order for the evaluation on Monday.

According to the complaint, Pavelich, a land developer in Lutsen, had been fishing with his neighbor last Thursday prior to the alleged assault later that evening. Upon returning home, Pavelich accused the neighbor of "spiking his beer," the complaint said. When Cook County Sheriff's Office deputies arrived, the neighbor was "in shock" with "observable injuries and an obvious disfigurement of his leg," the complaint said.

Pavelich was a forward on the 1980 U.S. Olympic men's hockey team, which famously defeated the dominant Soviet Union and went on to win the gold medal. The victory over the Soviet Union has been dubbed the "Miracle on Ice." While several members of the team have capitalized on their fame, it famously took Pavelich 35 years to return to Lake Placid, N.Y., where the upset took place. Media reports often describe how Pavelich enjoys fishing and covets his privacy. In 2012, Pavelich's wife, Kara, died following a second-story fall at the couple's home in Lutsen.

Following Olympic glory, Pavelich spent several years in the National Hockey League, mostly with the N.Y. Rangers. He grew up a prep star at Eveleth High School before becoming an All-American at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

According to the criminal complaint, a metal tension bar "or something like that," was discovered in Pavelich's yard at 192 W. Deeryard Lake Road, and matched what the victim described as the instrument used to strike him.

Authorities conducted an official interview with the victim in the North Shore Health Hospital in Grand Marais, where the victim "was in a tremendous amount of pain."

"He had marks, bruising, and discoloration of his arms and legs," said the complaint, which outlined additional injuries as two cracked ribs, a fractured vertebrae and a bruised left kidney.

"It was possible he was experiencing internal bleeding," the complaint said.

Pavelich and the victim live two driveways away from one another, the complaint said, "in an extremely remote and rural area of Cook County."

During their investigation, authorities also found an illegal shotgun at Pavelich's home. The shotgun had the buttstock removed and replaced, and was shorter than the legal 26 inches. The serial number had also been filed off.

Pavelich is charged with four felony counts — second- and third-degree assault, possession of a short-barreled shotgun and possession of a firearm with a missing or altered serial number. The second-degree felony comes with a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine, while the other charges max out at five years and $10,000.

Results of Pavelich's mental health exam must be reported to the court within 60 days in advance of a competency hearing.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bcereuss,

Lots of folks have mental health issues. Professional athletes are no exception, yet somehow we are surprised. Would we be surprised if he had diabetes or cancer? Hopefully he will get the assistance he needs.

On the plus side, Minnesota has very good mental health services.

Alzheimers / Dementia or TBI from years of hockey.
Possibly.

I would think TBI would be the primary culprit. But Alzheimer's is sometimes looked at a Type 3 diabetes, and could strike anyone who does not have a great diet.

CTE

quote:

Originally posted by smithnsig:
CTE

My first thought as well, or just piss drunk and mean as hell.

I'm friends with his nephew, and since his wife died, he's been unstable according to the nephew. The family tried to get him into counseling, but he just withdrew even more. You throw that in with CTE, TBI or whatever is going on with him, it's sad to see how his life has taken such a downturn.

Sad story. Neal Broten another local Miracle On Ice participant and my favorite all time North Star just had his 3rd DUI a few months ago.
Also to his credit he is one of the few if not only player to engage fisticuffs with Gretzky.

quote:

Originally posted by giz55792:
I'm friends with his nephew, and since his wife died, he's been unstable according to the nephew. The family tried to get him into counseling, but he just withdrew even more. You throw that in with CTE, TBI or whatever is going on with him, it's sad to see how his life has taken such a downturn.

I am friends with one of the guys from that team. We go back to the early 80s together. I do not get to connect with him as often I would like, but from our last few previous contacts, I strongly suspect that he may have some TBI/CTE issues also. He has slowed down much too fast.

Updated original post with news of his passing.

RIP. I remember watching that game and how proud I was of our team beating the Soviets. Sad news.