Mark Popovic
| Mark Popovic | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Popovic with the Atlanta Thrashers in 2010 | |||
| Born |
October 11, 1982 Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Atlanta Thrashers SKA St. Petersburg HC Lugano SCL Tigers KHL Medveščak Zagreb EC KAC | ||
| NHL draft |
35th overall, 2001 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | ||
| Playing career | 2002–2017 | ||
| Website | popovichockey.com | ||
Mark Popovic (born October 11, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Atlanta Thrashers.
Playing career
[edit]As a youth, Popovic played in the 1996 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Toronto Young Nationals minor ice hockey team.[1]
Popovic was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2001 NHL entry draft by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers in 2005.[2] Over the course of his North American career, Popovic appeared in 81 NHL games for 7 points.[citation needed]
On September 21, 2010, Popovic again left the NHL after a single season with the Thrashers and signed a one-year deal with HC Lugano of the Swiss National League A.[3]
After three seasons in Switzerland on June 6, 2013, it was announced that he signed a free agent contract with Croatian club, KHL Medveščak Zagreb of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).[4]
On June 21, 2015, Popovic left Croatia and signed a one-year contract with Austrian club, EC KAC in the EBEL.[5] Following two seasons with KAC, Popovic opted to conclude his playing career, retiring from professional hockey after 15 seasons.
Post-playing career
[edit]Post playing career, Popovic settled in Castle Rock, Colorado and worked initially as a consultant within the Colorado Avalanche and AHL affiliate Colorado Eagles organizations. He joined the Avalanche in an official capacity as the team's skills coach for the 2025–26 season on August 7, 2025.[6]
Personal
[edit]Popovic, is the owner and founder of IGNITE HOCKEY, a hockey development company based out of Colorado. IGNITE provides both on and off-ice development for elite young hockey players. Popovic also owns Perfect Skating Denver, a similar development program for young players.[7]
Career statistics
[edit]Regular season and playoffs
[edit]| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1997–98 | Mississauga Chargers | OPJHL | 51 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Toronto St. Michael's Majors | OHL | 60 | 6 | 26 | 32 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–2000 | Toronto St. Michael's Majors | OHL | 68 | 11 | 29 | 40 | 68 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Toronto St. Michael's Majors | OHL | 61 | 7 | 35 | 42 | 54 | 18 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 22 | ||
| 2001–02 | Toronto St. Michael's Majors | OHL | 58 | 12 | 29 | 41 | 42 | 15 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 10 | ||
| 2002–03 | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks | AHL | 73 | 3 | 21 | 24 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks | AHL | 74 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 63 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2003–04 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks | AHL | 74 | 1 | 17 | 18 | 47 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 2005–06 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 73 | 12 | 26 | 38 | 66 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 65 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 51 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 4 | ||
| 2006–07 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 33 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | SKA St. Petersburg | KHL | 52 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 40 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2009–10 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 37 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | HC Lugano | NLA | 33 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | SCL Tigers | NLA | 24 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | SCL Tigers | NLA | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | KHL Medveščak Zagreb | KHL | 39 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2014–15 | KHL Medveščak Zagreb | KHL | 46 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | EC KAC | AUT | 46 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 31 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | EC KAC | AUT | 50 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| AHL totals | 359 | 36 | 98 | 134 | 273 | 35 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 14 | ||||
| NHL totals | 81 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| KHL totals | 137 | 12 | 28 | 40 | 80 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Canada | ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
 | 2002 Pardubice | |
 | 2001 Moscow | |
International
[edit]| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Canada | U18 |  |
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2001 | Canada | WJC |  |
7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |
| 2002 | Canada | WJC |  |
7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 17 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | ||||
References
[edit]- ↑ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
- ↑ "Thrashers, Mighty Ducks make swap". theahl.com. August 25, 2005. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
- ↑ "Mark Popovic to Lugano" (in Italian). hockeyfans.ch. September 21, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
- ↑ "Mark Popovic agree to contract with the Bears" (in Croatian). vecernji.hr. June 6, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
- ↑ "Mark Popovic from the KHL to KAC". EC KAC. June 21, 2015. Archived from the original on June 22, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
- ↑ "Avalanche hires Popovic as Skills coach". Colorado Avalanche. August 7, 2025. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
- ↑ "Ignite Performance Hockey homepage". ignitehockey.com. August 8, 2025. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
External links
[edit]- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- 1982 births
- Living people
- Atlanta Thrashers players
- Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
- Canadian ice hockey defencemen
- Chicago Wolves players
- Cincinnati Mighty Ducks players
- Ice hockey people from Hamilton, Ontario
- EC KAC players
- HC Lugano players
- KHL Medveščak Zagreb players
- Anaheim Ducks draft picks
- Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players
- SCL Tigers players
- SKA Saint Petersburg players
- Toronto St. Michael's Majors players
- 21st-century Canadian sportsmen