OHL Prospect Report – Mark Popovic

By Bob Chery
The 2000-01 season was one of challenges and responsibilities for the St. Michael’s Majors’ Mark Popovic. Without a doubt it made him a better all-around player, although it did not necessarily provide him with the ideal conditions to best display his considerable talents.

The first responsibility hoisted upon his shoulders came in the off-season when he was named team Captain, an honour not often bestowed on young players who are in their NHL draft-eligible year. New coach Dave Cameron made it clear that he did not think a major overhaul of the roster was necessary, but rather the style of play employed by the club would have to be altered. Step one in that process was to have Popovic lead the way in buying into the new system.

Although Mark was tied with Ottawa’s Jon Zion for the league-lead in scoring among OHL defencemen six weeks into the season, Cameron’s philosophy of defence, defence, and more defence would make that result impossible to maintain as the season wore on.

In looking at the St. Mike’s roster, it would appear that the coach had little choice. There were only two NHL draftees on the roster, forwards Adam DeLeeuw, a 6th-round pick of the Red Wings in ‘98 and Darryl Bootland, an 8th-round pick of the Avalanche in 2000. The absence of 1st-round talent like a Spezza/Ott or Boyes/Alexeev combo would ensure that the Majors would have trouble scoring goals.

On the blue-line, Popovic along with 19 year-old Chris Boucher would be the only 3rd-year players until an early season acquisition of stay-at-homer TJ Reynolds added some valuable experience to the mix. Reynolds and Boucher would become regular partners, leaving Popovic to be paired with one of two rookies, Drew Fata or Kevin Klein. Rather than having some degree of offensive licence by being paired with a veteran such as a Foster or a Carkner, Mark would often have to play conservative and trouble-shoot when the rookies encountered some distress in their own zone.

The goaltending also lacked experience, being entrusted to a pair of NHL draft-eligibles, Peter Budaj and Andy Chiodo, further entrenching the defence-first philosophy that was to be employed throughout the year.

Mark took some time off from the team in mid-December and early January as he cracked Canada’s blue-line for the World Junior Championships. As a WJC rookie he may have benefitted from being partnered with one of the returning veterans, Barrett Jackman or Steve McCarthy, but they were paired with youngsters Jay Bouwmeester and Dan Hamhuis instead. Popovic and Nick Schultz were left to hold the fort as the 3rd defence pair, and did a solid if unspectacular job.

After a trip to Montreal in January for the OHL/QMJHL All-Star Game, February saw Popovic attend the Prospects Game in Calgary where his individual abilities were highlighted in the Skills Competition: 
3rd in the puck-control
1st in the 60-foot dash
6th in the 150-foot dash
3rd in the full-lap
7th hardest shot
With all of the extra-curricular games and tournaments out of the way, focus now shifted to the regular-season stretch run and the playoffs. St. Mike’s would battle for Conference supremacy right down to the last week of the season, where they would ultimately finish 3rd, two points behind champion Belleville and one point behind runner-up Sudbury. The Majors’ significant improvement from 18 wins and 42 points last season to 35 wins and 80 points this season should’ve garnered Coach-of-the-Year considerations for Cameron. The improved fortunes of the club can be traced to the 93-goal reduction in goals against from the previous year. Offensively the team realized a modest ten goal jump in productivity, but in the 20-team OHL that offensive output exceeded only the four teams that failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Despite the modest offensive numbers of the team, Popovic factored in 22% of the club’s goals, a percentage better than all of the other top draft-eligible defencemen in the OHL including Gleason (20.3%), Krajicek (17.7%), Colaiacovo (16.2%) and Bell (15.7%) To illustrate one contrast, if Popovic maintains that percentage while playing for a loaded Erie line-up, he scores 53 points in the 62 games that it took Colaiacovo to net 39. If Colaiacovo maintains his percentage while playing for the offensively challenged Majors, he scores 31 points in the 61 games that it took Popovic to net 42.

The playoffs were an extension of the regular season for St. Mike’s. They won two hard-fought, seven game series’ against both the Peterborough Petes and the Sudbury Wolves, relying on team defence and especially timely goaltending. Offensively they barely mustered 2.5 goals per game (37 in total for the 14 games.) By the time the Conference Finals rolled around, 90 games of heavy ice-time at even-strength, penalty-killing, and power-plays didn’t leave much in the tank for Popovic, and the Majors were quickly dispatched by the Ottawa 67’s in four straight games.

Mark provided yeoman’s work for the Majors throughout the season. He put team goals ahead of individual ones, providing full value for the captain-C adorning his jersey. He got his nose dirty, willingly did the grunt work, but it was like watching a Scott Niedermayer being asked to play like a Scott Stevens.

Next on the agenda is the NHL Draft, and NHL teams have some serious questions to ask themselves.

In junior hockey it is the coach’s job to win games. Dave Cameron did his job with flying colours. Winning hockey games translates into more revenues for the team’s owners.

Down the list of considerations for junior teams, but of primary importance to NHL teams is player development. Nobody combines winning hockey and revenue-generation in the OHL better than the Ottawa 67’s. Brian Kilrea does his job and Jeff Hunt must be delighted with the box-office receipts, but NHL teams that draft a Boynton, Zultek, or a Mark Bell in the 1st-round are perhaps less than enthused.

As a one-shot deal, the year was a good one for Popovic. First and foremost an offensive talent, the other areas of his game that required improvement, namely his defensive zone work were upgraded. He still has some rough edges, but he’s not nearly the adventure that he was last year while playing in his own end of the rink.

But NHL scouts have to look forward. The two remaining years of junior eligibility are very important. A player can strengthen his game under ideal circumstances that are not available at the NHL or even the minor-league level. He can take some chances against competition that is smaller, slower, and less experienced than what he will encounter as he moves on up the ladder. This is the level at which one can refine and enhance one’s game.

If offensive defencemen are the runners while the defensive defencemen are the strongmen, junior hockey is the six-minute mile and the 300-pound bench-press, the AHL the five-minute mile and the 400-pound press, the NHL the four-minute mile and the 500-pound press.

While a Tim Gleason will have licence to work on his stronger attributes in Windsor, skating and carrying the puck, leading and joining the rush (in addition to tending to his defensive responsibilities) will Popovic enjoy the same ideal conditions with St. Mike’s? Or will his appreciable offensive skills take a back-seat to more defensive zone responsibilities, producing a player without an upper-echelon dimension, but rather two average ones? A player that is neither a four-minute miler, or a 500-pound bench-presser?

These are the questions that NHL teams should be asking themselves, and perhaps asking the St. Michael’s Majors organization. The answers they come up with will impact their decisions on draft day.

NEXT ARTICLE: My final OHL rankings.