Mark Kastelic wore this red sweater during his first season of professional hockey with the Belleville Senators of the AHL.
Kastelic is another product of the growing Arizona hockey movement. He was born in Phoenix and played his youth hockey here for the Jr. Coyotes AAA program before joining the Calgary Hitmen of the WHL.
He was a 5th round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators in the 2019 NHL Draft.
Kastelic’s father is former Whaler Ed Kastelic. His grandfather is Pat Stapleton and his uncle is Mike Stapleton, both former NHLers. Needless to say he’s got hockey in his blood.
Mark Kastelic battles in a game against the Laval Rocket on April 21st, 2021. Kastelic was wearing a cage for the game, and the jersey is clearly photomatched to the marks on the back numbers, beside the numbers, and the right sleeve numbers. (photo credit: André Ringuette/Freestyle Photography)
Kastelic’s Red Set jersey has decent visible wear and has been photomatched to 7 games thus far.
Most of the wear consists of stick and puck marks throughout, but there is more.
The right sleeve has several burns and burn holes near the wrist area. The right sleeve #2 has stick marks in the number that have been matched. The right front side of the sweater also has a stick mark near the armpit. The crest itself has a huge loose thread in the top loop of the “B” that is visible in a few photos of Kastelic from the 2020-2021 season.
Just to the left of the crest are two puck marks which are shown in several photomatches. The left sleeve has more board burns and burn holes, including an adhesive patched repair near the wrist. There is a stick mark near the wrist and another larger mark in the elbow. The left sleeve #2 has a stick mark on the bottom of the number.
The back numbers have some of the most visible wear for photomatching. The back #2 has a slash mark in one of the bends of the number and other marks near the bottom. There is also a stick mark just to the right side of the numbers. Kastelic’s nameplate also has a very faint slash mark through it starting at the “T” and carrying through the “L” in KASTELIC.
Mark Kastelic finished the 2020-2021 season having played in 31 games and scoring 4 goals and 6 assists.
He still has work to do to make it to the NHL, but he has plenty of family to draw experience from. Hopefully he can push through and fulfill his dreams.