Mark Popovic

Mark Popovic
Born	(1982-10-11) October 11, 1982 (age 42) 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

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

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 offical capacity as the team's skills coach for the 2025–26 season on August 7, 2025. ^[6]

Personal

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

Regular season and playoffs

				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

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

1. "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.
2. "Thrashers, Mighty Ducks make swap". theahl.com. August 25, 2005. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
3. "Mark Popovic to Lugano" (in Italian). hockeyfans.ch. September 21, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
4. "Mark Popovic agree to contract with the Bears" (in Croatian). vecernji.hr. June 6, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
5. "Mark Popovic from the KHL to KAC". EC KAC. June 21, 2015. Archived from the original on June 22, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
6. "Avalanche hires Popovic as Skills coach". Colorado Avalanche. August 7, 2025. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
7. "Ignite Performance Hockey homepage". ignitehockey.com. August 8, 2025. Retrieved August 8, 2025.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Eurohockey.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database