# Mark Kastelic

Mark Kastelic (born March 11, 1999) is an American professional ice hockey player for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Kastelic was drafted in the fifth round of the 2019 NHL entry draft by the Ottawa Senators.

## Early life

Kastelic was born in Phoenix, Arizona. Kastelic played his youth ice hockey years with the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes teams while attending Desert Vista High School.

## Playing career

Kastelic joined the Calgary Hitmen junior team of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 2015. He played five seasons for the Hitmen. His best season was 2018–19 when he scored 47 goals and had 77 points. He served as team captain for the 2018–19 and 2019–20 seasons. He went undrafted twice during his time with Calgary.
After his outstanding 2018–19 season, Kastelic was drafted in the 2019 NHL entry draft in the fifth round, 125th overall, as an over-age player by the Ottawa Senators. Kastelic signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Senators. Kastelic returned to Calgary for the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons. In 2021, Kastelic made his professional debut, joining the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League (AHL), Ottawa's primary minor-league affiliate.
Due to injuries to several Senators players, Kastelic was called up to Ottawa in January 2022. Kastelic made his NHL debut on January 29, 2022, against the Anaheim Ducks. On April 23, Kastelic scored his first two career NHL goals, including the eventual game-winner, in a 6–4 win against the Montreal Canadiens.
During the 2022–23 season, Kastelic made the Ottawa Senators out of training camp and became an NHL regular. Impressed with his play, general manager Pierre Dorion signed him to a two-year $1.67 million contract on October 27, 2022. On January 13, 2023, Kastelic scored the game-winning goal in a 5–3 win over the Arizona Coyotes, playing in his hometown for the first time. During the NHL All-Star break, Kastelic was sent back to Belleville on February 2, 2023, after having missed the previous four Ottawa games with an illness/injury. He was recalled on February 25.
On June 24, 2024, Kastelic was traded alongside Joonas Korpisalo and a 2024 first round pick to the Boston Bruins, in exchange for goaltender Linus Ullmark.

## Personal

Kastelic is of Slovenian descent. His father Ed is a former professional ice hockey player who played 220 games for the Washington Capitals and Hartford Whalers of the NHL. His grandfather Pat Stapleton played over 600 games for the Chicago Blackhawks and the Boston Bruins of the NHL. His uncle Mike Stapleton played 697 games in the NHL for several teams.

## Career statistics
### Regular season and playoffs

| | | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 2014–15 | Phoenix Jr. Coyotes | T1EHL | 24 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 38 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| 2015–16 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 59 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 39 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2016–17 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 67 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 65 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2017–18 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 71 | 23 | 22 | 45 | 93 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2018–19 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 66 | 47 | 30 | 77 | 122 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 18 |
| 2019–20 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 58 | 38 | 30 | 68 | 83 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2020–21 | Belleville Senators | AHL | 31 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2021–22 | Belleville Senators | AHL | 64 | 14 | 14 | 28 | 87 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 2021–22 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 16 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2022–23 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 65 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 102 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2022–23 | Belleville Senators | AHL | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023–24 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 63 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 63 | — | — | — | — | — |
| NHL totals | NHL totals | NHL totals | 144 | 14 | 11 | 25 | 179 | — | — | — | — | — |

### International

| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 2016 | United States | IH18 | | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Junior totals | Junior totals | Junior totals | Junior totals | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |

## Awards and honors

| Award | Year |
| WHL |||
| East Second All-Star Team | 2019, 2020 |