“I think my mind-set will be the same as a year ago,” mused Kastelic, reached via telephone at his dessert home in recent days. “Just try to earn the coach’s trust, prove what kind of player I am and what I can bring to the team, try to earn everything out on the ice and just be hungry, as always.” That attitude, particularly given roster needs in the wake of general manager Don Sweeney’s wheelings and dealings around the March trade deadline, could lead to expanded playing opportunities for the hard-nosed “Nasty Kasty.” The strapping (6 feet 4 inches, 225 pounds), right-shot forward proved last season to be a strong, dependable, and valued force in the bottom six. Prior to suffering a late-season concussion, he showed impressive flashes of speed, abundant willingness to play a contact game, and an old-time Bruins penchant for fisticuffs (total: 10 bouts). The 2025-26 Bruins not only need Kastelic, they need more like him, from the top six on down. One potential area of opportunity for Kastelic, one that neither Jim Montgomery nor Joe Sacco explored in his first season in Boston, could be the power play. Framed another way, after seeing how the Bruins struggled on the advantage last season, why not give the big beast a try? Tell him to park that frame at the top of the blue paint and don’t come back till that red light starts flashing like a five-alarm fire. For the record, the power play would not be a novel role for Kastelic. He played a lot of net-front PP in his latter junior days with WHL Calgary. He scored 95 goals across his last two seasons with the Hitmen, a total beefed up by his work on the advantage. Granted, playing roles in junior often don’t translate to the NHL, especially at the skill spots, but there’s no denying he has the size, will, and reach to be, at the very least, a worthy candidate. Kastelic also would be the last guy to knock on Sturm’s door and even so much as suggest it. “I don’t think I’ve ever asked for a lot of things in my life, and my career,” he said. “I think my mind-set is just to earn everything I get, whether that’s power-play time or penalty-kill time, or just more ice time. If something’s not going well, or I want more, I just try to prove by my action that I want more, or just being early in the rink, just showing that I care. That’s my approach. “Obviously, I’d love an opportunity on the power play, and I have that confidence in me — even in the junior and minor league level, I feel I had success at that. It’s just a matter of getting an opportunity then hopefully have success.” Now feeling “100 percent” recovered from lingering concussion symptoms that led to his season getting cut short, Kastelic remained in the Hub until just after Memorial Day. He worked out frequently at Warrior Arena, crediting Kevin Neeld (director of performance) and Tim Lebbossiere (assistant performance director) for their guidance, and enjoyed exploring the city, particularly around his Seaport neighborhood. Kastelic said he enjoyed frequent visits with Rip , his golden retriever, to a local dog park, though they had yet to bump into Seaport neighbor Charlie McAvoy and Otto , the defenseman’s celebrity dog about town. Among the fittest members of the Black and Gold, Kastelic spends long hours training in the summer. Though he didn’t share roster time with Zdeno Chara here, Kastelic has a Z-like work ethic. He said he often logs two off-ice workouts a day in the weight room and sometimes incorporates outdoor track work as a third session. “So when September comes,” he said, “and it’s two sessions — one skating, one lifting — it feels easy by comparison.” Prior to leaving for junior hockey 10 years ago, his eyes fixed on making it to the top of the hockey hill, Kastelic often trained on “water tower hill” near his former Desert Vista High School in Ahwatukee, Ariz. The big tower sits atop a sharp slope, he said, of some 200-250 meters. He would challenge himself with flat-out sprints to the top, or mark off different lengths for shorter bursts. “Something I’ve been doing for 15 years now,” he said. “Every summer I go there to run, do sprints, and some longer runs. It’s kind of a bonding thing, too, my mom and dad will come and it’s kind of a family affair. We’ll all work out together.” His mother, Susan , and father, ex-NHLer Ed Kastelic , the 61–year-old former Whaler, don’t sign on the full sprint to the top. “Uh, yeah,” said their ready-to-run-through-a-wall son. “I mean, everyone has their own levels, but . . . ” In about 10 weeks, Kastelic will fly back to Boston for Year 2 as a Bruin, his first under a new deal to pay a total $4.7 million across the next three seasons. As for his role, and how a new coach envisions what he can do, perhaps there is another level here for Kastelic. Clean slate. Fresh start. For everyone.
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