BOSTON– Few people knew who Mark Kastelic was or even cared when he became a member of the Boston Bruins. All that mattered on the evening of June 25 was that the Bruins had just traded away their former Vezina Trophy-winning goalie and fan-favorite, Linus Ullmark.
It remains to be seen how that trade will pan out for the Bruins. Following a poor year in Ottawa last season, there’s worry around Joonas Korpisalo, who right now is in line to be Boston’s starting goalie. Meanwhile, Dean Letourneau is likely years away from his NHL debut after the Bruins selected the 18-year-old with the 25th overall pick in this summer’s draft.
But if Kastelic can consistently bring the aggressive and physical style of play that he did in the Bruins’ preseason opener on Sunday night, he too will become a fan-favorite in Boston.
“There’s a lot of staff, players and fans [watching], so I wanted to showcase my best effort and show what I can bring to the team early,” said Kastelic. “I think that was kind of in the back of my mind.”
Kastelic was a bright spot in what was otherwise a dull game in which the Bruins fell by a final of 3-2 to the visiting New York Rangers at TD Garden. After taking the opening draw at center ice, Kastelic immediately introduced himself to the Boston crowd and Rangers defenseman Brandon Scanlin, stapling him into the boards with a thunderous hit in the corner.
“I was pretty amped up,” Kastelic said. “I think that’s just part of the preseason, with it being the first game in five months or so for me. I was trying to establish the way I wanted to play early, and it’s better to be too aggressive than not being physical enough. I’ll get better with managing everything, but for the first one, it was just fun to be back out there.”
Perhaps a bit too eager, though, Kastelic was called for two tripping penalties during the first period. However, he quickly made up for his indiscretions at the start of the middle frame, helping kill off a five-on-three shorthanded situation that, at the time, helped keep it a one-goal game.
Kastelic continued to be a nuisance throughout the night and was unafraid to mix it up with any Ranger that was within reach after the whistle. His line, which featured Johnny Beecher and Riley Duran, was a constant source of energy that powered the Bruins.
“I thought him Beecher, and Duran, the whole line, was really heavy and hard,” said Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery. “You can see them winning a lot of battles. They look like they’re going to be hard to handle down low, which is an ideal situation for your fourth line.”
Beecher and Kastelic have been tied at the hip thus far in training camp, as they both possess the speed and big frames that make them ideal forecheckers. Not to mention, they’re also proficient at taking faceoffs. They went a combined nine for nine at the dot on Sunday.
“I think we’re getting more and more comfortable each day,” said Kastelic of his work with Beecher thus far. “With each game that we play together, we’re going to figure out we complement each other’s styles. I love playing with him so far. He’s a pretty reliable player, and he’s good on faceoffs. We have that in common, and I think our games can feed off each other going forward.”
So while Kastleic may still be relatively unknown, he came as advertised in his introduction to Boston, as did the city to him.
“It felt pretty special,” Kastelic said. “It’s pretty cool to come here and be in the home locker room and experience everything for the first time. I was trying to soak it all in. Donning the ‘B,’ it doesn’t get much better than that.”
