BOSTON –– Mark Kastelic did not come into the season prioritizing his point total.
The bruising forward embraced his bottom-six role, throwing hits, being formidable on the forecheck and picking his spots to drop the gloves. That all remained at the heart of Kastelic’s game during the 2025-26 season – but he added another level to his value for the B’s.
Kastelic posted a career-high 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) through 82 regular-season games. He was one of three players, alongside Fraser Minten and Sean Kuraly, to play in all 82 matchups; it marked the first time in his career he had done so. Kastelic’s 60.8 face-off win percentage sat amongst the top of the league. The 27-year-old also made his NHL playoffs debut and had one assist in the first-round series against the Buffalo Sabres.
Kastelic landed in Boston in June 2024 as a piece of the return from the Ottawa Senators in the Linus Ullmark trade. The Bruins went on to sign Kastelic to a three-year extension in January, 2025, and since then, he has cemented himself as a fourth-line fixture. He spent the majority of this year skating with Kuraly and Tanner Jeannot, and bought in on the penalty kill.
The Bruins set out to be harder to play against, and Kastelic was a key part of that. Standing at 6-foot-4, 234 pounds, Kastelic led Boston with 10 fights this season. He ranked second in total hits with 215, only behind Jeannot, who logged 239. Kastelic also had 64 blocked shots this year.
The regular season ended on a high note for Kastelic, who had four points (three goals, two assists) in two games, including a two-goal showing against the New Jersey Devils on April 14 at TD Garden. Kastelic’s other two-goal game came on Dec. 9 at Enterprise Center against the St. Louis Blues, and helped the Bruins extend their win streak to three games. He had four total multi-point performances this season, which was the most of his career. Kastelic’s longest point streak was four games from Nov. 8 to Nov. 15, with four points (one goal, three assists) through that stretch.
Kastelic stuck to his identity during the 2025-26 season, all while allowing himself to evolve and grow into a greater asset for a Bruins team that appreciated his gutsy effort night in and night out.
