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.
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. Over the course of his North American career, Popovic appeared in 81 NHL games for 7 points.
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.
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).
On June 21, 2015, Popovic left Croatia and signed a one-year contract with Austrian club, EC KAC in the EBEL. 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 official capacity as the team's skills coach for the season on August 7, 2025.
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.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1997–98Mississauga ChargersOPJHL5110162632————— 1998–99Toronto St. Michael's MajorsOHL606263246————— 1999–2000Toronto St. Michael's MajorsOHL6811294068————— 2000–01Toronto St. Michael's MajorsOHL6173542541835822 2001–02Toronto St. Michael's MajorsOHL5812294142151111210 2002–03Cincinnati Mighty DucksAHL733212446————— 2003–04Cincinnati Mighty DucksAHL74410146391234 2003–04Mighty Ducks of AnaheimNHL10000————— 2004–05Cincinnati Mighty DucksAHL741171847112356 2005–06Chicago WolvesAHL7312263866————— 2005–06Atlanta ThrashersNHL70000————— 2006–07Chicago WolvesAHL6516244051153694 2006–07Atlanta ThrashersNHL30110————— 2007–08Atlanta ThrashersNHL3302210————— 2008–09SKA St. PetersburgKHL52814224030002 2009–10Atlanta ThrashersNHL3722410————— 2010–11HC LuganoNLA334121620————— 2011–12SCL TigersNLA24391214————— 2012–13SCL TigersNLA1114529————— 2013–14KHL Medveščak ZagrebKHL392792040004 2014–15KHL Medveščak ZagrebKHL4626820————— 2015–16EC KACAUT46510153170222 2016–17EC KACAUT504162012101230 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
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
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