Mark Katic 2010-11 SEASON REVIEW:

Mark Katic
Date of birth: May 09, 1989 (2010-11 Season Age: 21)

Place of birth: Timmins, Ont., Canada
Height: 5-11
Weight: 185
Shooting Hand: Left
NHL Season: ROOKIE
Drafted: NY Islanders In the 3rd Round (62nd Overall) of the 2007 NHL Draft 
Acquired: Originally Drafted By The NY Islanders


2010-11 Season Stats:

Bridgeport Sound Tigers      AHL:  GP: 63  G: 4  A: 26   P: 30   PIM: 37

New York Islanders               NHL:  GP: 11  G: 0  A: 1     P: 1     PIM: 4

Short-Term Status: 

He was solid in his 11-game stint with the Islanders and was a key player down in Bridgeport, so don't be surprised if he makes a serious push to make the team out of camp. Unfortunately for Katic (and many other young Isles defensemen), the Islanders currently have 6 NHL defensemen under contract for next season. I believe Katic will be a final cut at training camp and will end up being sent to Bridgeport for one more season. He should be on their top pair, getting significant minutes.

Long-Term Status:
Mark Katic definitely has some NHL potential but the question is, in what capacity? His skating is superb and he is able to carry the puck with speed out of his own zone which is a rare commodity amongst defensemen. In my opinion, his absolute highest upside would be as a 2nd pairing defenseman who is a big contributor on the offensive side of the puck.

Contract Status:

LENGTH: 3 YEAR(S)     VALUE: $1,962,500     TYPE: ENTRY LEVEL     EXPIRY STATUS: RFA
SEASON	AHL SALARY	NHL SALARY	P. BONUSES	S. BONUS	CAP HIT
2009-10	$65,000	$687,500	$187,500	—	$875,000
2010-11	$65,000	$637,500	$237,500	—	$875,000
2011-12	$65,000	$637,500	$237,500	—	$875,000

Review: 

Mark Katic was, through his sixty-three games with them, the Sound Tiger's best defenseman almost every night. He ended the season with 30 points which led all Bridgeport defensemen, and placed him at the 5th spot on the team overall. Its very impressive that Katic was able to put up those type of numbers while playing on one of the worst offensive team's in the AHL (Sound Tigers). Towards the end of the season, the Isles decided to call-up Katic and give him an opportunity to show the upper-management his game. He did a very good job in his time with the big club. He may have only ended up with one assist and a minus-9 rating (pretty bad for only 11 games), but any hockey fan could tell their was potential there. His skating proved to be a huge asset and was very effective in moving the puck up the ice. Along with his impressive skating, he has a very good first pass. Those two skills made for a unique situation when Katic was breaking the team out of their own zone. The good passes that Katic was capable of distributing caused forecheckers to try and block the passing lanes, then once they would commit to the pass he would turn on the jet's and skate right up the center of the ice, but if they tried to clog the middle of the ice he would just fire a pass up the boards. It made for a very effective break-out which, in my opinion, was my favorite part of his game. But, that wasn't the only good thing that resulted from his good skating. His speed enabled him to get involved all over the offensive zone because once the puck was turned over and the Isles were transitioning back to defense, he was able to skate and hustle his way right back to where he needed to be. All of these parts of his game seem to make for a player that will have an NHL career of some type.

 

Season Grade (A+ to F-): B

He was better than I expected and has led me to believe that he may in fact have an NHL future. His skill-set was impressive and he had some very good moments in his short stint in the NHL but, it definitely seems like he may need one more season in the AHL as he was a bit raw in his own zone.

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