The San Jose Sharks will soon be hoping to close out their second-round series against the Nashville Predators Monday night as they try to advance to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2011. They’ve been one of the postseason’s most impressive teams up until now and it appears they’ve also found a good luck charm to help them exorcise their playoff demons.
Perhaps you remember the bizarre scene before Game 1 against Nashville in this series, the night a black cat wandered onto the ice, walked directly in front of the Sharks bench and then escaped the surface through an open door. As you may have also heard, the cat in question was rescued by Sharks staff the next day and turned it over to a local shelter, while keeping track of her progress.
In the week since the cat, now affectionately referred to as Jo Paw-velski, made its rather strange debut, the shelter has been working to make that sure she is well taken care of as they attempt to find out whether or not she has an owner. If no one steps forward, she will be up for adoption.
So far no one at all has come forward, but little Jo is probably the most popular kitty at her shelter now. In fact, the people at the Humane Society of Silicon Valley do have a way for you to keep an eye on Jo and a few other feline friends with their 24/7 “MaddieCam.”
The room is completely decked out with Sharks blankets. Watch here:
Jo Paw-velski is doing great and now she has some friends. (HSSV)
Black cats may be viewed as bad luck by some people, but the Sharks won that first game she appeared at and now are on the brink of advancing to the conference finals. From the very beginning San Jose’ PR, marketing and social media arms have turned Jo’s appearance into one big positive thing. All of this great attention the cat is getting might just be helping the black cats that have been getting a bad rap for all these years.
Additionally, it’s helped aide the campaign to get captain Joe Pavelski, for whom the cat has been named (obviously), to land on the cover of EA Sports’ NHL 17.
Pavelski even made the final four in the cover vote.
But the real thing all of this extra attention is surely doing is bringing more exposure to the Humane Society Silicon Valley. It appears that there is already a long list of people that would love nothing more than to adopt Jo Paw-velski, as the Sharks stated they were overwhelmed by people reaching out to take in the cat. However, they’re going through the proper channels.
#NHL17Pavelski Black Cat of the Tank edition. https://t.co/VDQZebknkq pic.twitter.com/k11FyeVIKq
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) May 2, 2016
Additionally, the Humane Society Silicon Valley may promote other potential adoptive pets for families to take in if they miss out on landing the highly-coveted “Black Cat of the Tank.”
By the way, Jo is looking much better compared to the first picture that was released after she was found and taken in to the shelter.
Check out the before and after photos here:
Newest @SanJoseSharks fan is safe & well @ local shelter. More details forthcoming. @sharkscat #SJSharks #SmashNash pic.twitter.com/TuBhbJdCFa
— Jim Sparaco (@JimSparaco) May 1, 2016
The latest photo of Jo PAW-velski. Thanks @hssv for taking care of our kitty #SJSharks #SmashNash #sharksblackcat pic.twitter.com/gjBLiUIUuR
— Jim Sparaco (@JimSparaco) May 8, 2016
As for the human version of Joe Pavelski, he’s not doing so bad either. The Sharks captain is one of the postseason’s top performers with a total of eight goals and 12 points. It seems like everything is looking up for the Sharks in general, their captain and the little good luck charm.
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