Mark Borowiecki (pronounced BOR-vee-ETZ-kee) (born July 12, 1989) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

who is currently playing for the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He is the first

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

native to be drafted by the Senators when he was selected 139th overall in the

2008 NHL Entry Draft The 2008 NHL Entry Draft was the 46th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted by the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, on June 20–21, 2008. The Senators were originally awarded the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, but because of ...

. Borowiecki's physical play has earned him the nickname "Boro Cop" since joining the Senators' organization.

Playing career

Amateur

Borowiecki played two seasons of junior hockey with the

Smiths Falls Bears The Smiths Falls Bears are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Smiths Falls, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Central Canada Hockey League. The team was an original member of the league, but then left Smiths Falls in 1976. The team then re ...

of the Central Junior Hockey League (CJHL) from 2006 until 2008. Borowiecki then chose to go to

Clarkson University Clarkson University is a private research university with its main campus in Potsdam, New York, and additional graduate program and research facilities in the New York Capital Region and Beacon, New York. It was founded in 1896 and has an enr ...

. Borowiecki was selected by the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

in the fifth round (139th overall) of the

. Borowiecki played three seasons with the Golden Knights team in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference, scoring 12 goals and 20 assists. He served as team captain for the 2010–11 season.

Professional

Ottawa Senators

On March 11, 2011, the Ottawa Senators signed Borowiecki to a two-year entry-level contract. He joined the Senators'

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

affiliate, the

Binghamton Senators The Binghamton Senators were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2002 to 2017. Nicknamed the B-Sens, they played in Binghamton, New York, at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. The B-Sens w ...

for the remainder of the 2010-11 season. After playing nine regular season games, Borowiecki contributed two assists and eight penalty minutes in twenty-one playoff games as the Senators won the 2011

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

. On January 17, 2012, Borowiecki was called up by the Senators and joined the team on a western road trip. On January 19, Borowiecki made his NHL debut in a 4-1 Ottawa victory over the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

. He joined

Chris Phillips Chris Phillips (born March 9, 1978) is a Canadian businessman and former professional ice hockey player. Phillips was a member of the Ottawa Senators for his entire career, which began with the 1997–98 season and ended with the 2015–16 seaso ...

on the third pairing. Borowiecki was returned to Binghamton one week later. Following the resolution of the 2012–13 NHL lock-out Borowiecki began the season in Ottawa, replacing the injured

Jared Cowen Jared Nelson Cowen (born January 25, 1991) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Cowen was drafted in the first round, ninth overall, by the Senators ...

in the Ottawa line-up. His strong physical presence kept him in the line-up. GM Bryan Murray stated that the defenceman's willingness to compete is "out of sight". Borowiecki was returned to Binghamton after six games with Ottawa. Borowiecki scored his first NHL goal on November 7, 2013 against

Carey Price Carey Price (born August 16, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is considered to be one of the best goaltenders in the world by many colleagues, fans, ''The ...

of the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

. On August 18, 2014, Borowiecki and the Senators agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension worth about $3.3 million. On October 5, 2017, the Senators re-signed Borowiecki to a two-year, $2.4 million contract extension. On October 23, 2018, Borowiecki elbowed

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

' defenceman Urho Vaakanainen during a scrum in the Senators' crease. He was not penalized on the play, but received a one-game suspension for the incident. In his first game back on October 28 against the

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. Founded in 2017 as an expan ...

, Borowiecki delivered an illegal hit to the head of

Cody Eakin Cody Eakin (born May 24, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing with the SCL Tigers of the National League (NL). He was selected by the Washington Capitals in the third round, 85th overall, of the 2009 NHL E ...

. Borowiecki was issued a five-minute major penalty on the play, and given a three-game suspension.

Nashville Predators

On October 9, 2020, Borowiecki was signed as a free agent to a two-year, $4 million contract with the

Personal life

Borowiecki married his wife Tara on July 4, 2015. Their son, Miles was born on February 12, 2020. In a December 2019 off-ice incident in Vancouver, British Columbia, Borowiecki prevented a theft, and attempted a citizen's arrest, earning him the nickname 'Boro Cop.' Borowiecki was shopping for baby clothes and witnessed a man breaking into a car, stealing a backpack. Borowiecki stopped the suspect, retrieving the pack, but the suspect fled.

Career statistics

Bold indicates led league

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Borowiecki, Mark 1989 births Living people Binghamton Senators players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Clarkson Golden Knights men's ice hockey players Ice hockey people from Ottawa Nashville Predators players Ottawa Senators draft picks Ottawa Senators players