Mark Borowiecki to make his NHL debut tonight
Mark Borowiecki (pronounced "Boar-vee-eff-ski"), who you might remember from such films as Borocop and Borocop 2: The Land Before Borocop, will play his first NHL game tonight when he steps into the lineup against the San Jose Sharks.
Borowiecki was a fifth round pick from Ottawa's stellar 2008 NHL Entry Draft, which has now had 2 players become regular NHLers (Erik Karlsson and Zack Smith), one make a brief NHL appearance (Patrick Wiercioch), and another join Borowiecki and the Senators on this roadtrip and is sure to play a game or two (Andre Petersson).
We profiled Borowiecki more extensively in Brian Sullivan's write-up from May 2010, and Borwiecki's come a long way since then. The 22-year old Kanata native completed three years with Clarkson University, serving as team captain in his final year, and was yet another contributor to Binghamton's 2011 Calder Cup winning team. He was voted by his peers as the hardest working player at this year's development camp, and was praised for his competitiveness and work ethic.
Borowiecki is a hard hitting defensive defenseman, perhaps best evidenced by his team photo. His best collegiate year saw him put up 19 points in 35 games, while he's currently sitting at 15 points in 41 in his first AHL season. He's in the line-up to provide strong defense and a physical presence, not dazzle us with his skill.
To be a fifth round pick from 2008 and already seeing NHL action is a huge accomplishment for Borowiecki. Let's hope his development continues at this accelerated rate, and hope for the best in his debut performance.
