Former NHL star arrested in Lutsen on suspicion of felony assault

Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen confirmed with WTIP that former NHL star and Olympic gold medalist Mark Pavelich was arrested Aug. 15 in Lutsen on suspicion of felony assault.

According to a law enforcement report, Cook County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call for service Thursday evening involving an assault in the Lutsen area. A 63-year-old man reported being struck with a metal pipe by his neighbor after returning from fishing.

Deputies arrived and after an investigation they arrested 61-year-old Mark Thomas Pavelich for assault.

Pavelich is a longtime Minnesota resident who was a member of the 1980 'Miracle on Ice' Olympic hockey team that won a gold medal. He went on to play for a number of years in the NHL, including stints with the New York Rangers, Minnesota North Stars and San Jose Sharks.

Media reports often focus on the fact Pavelich preferred solitude and enjoyed fishing and hunting in the North Shore region.
According to the Associated Press, Pavelich’s wife died in September 2012 at their Lutsen home when she accidentally fell approximately 20 feet from a second-story balcony that had no railing. She was 44.

Pavelich is being held in the Cook County jail on suspicion of felony assault, according to Eliasen.