How the Man Called Boro-Cop Went from Being a Brawler to a Take-No-Prisoners Tactician

With a shaved head and a gap-toothed grin, Mark Borowiecki cuts an imposing presence. And yet, the 6-foot-2 and 204-pound former player doesn't consider himself as tough as his image might suggest.

"I'll preface it all by saying I never really thought if myself as a true sort of 'enforcer' heavyweight," said the Nashville Predators defenseman in our Saturday afternoon phone conversation. 

It is a surprising statement coming from someone with a reputation for being one of the toughest players in the league — a reputation he spent his early NHL years intentionally cultivating. 

"Breaking into pro, I considered myself kind of a 'middle weight gamer' we called them," Borowiecki said. "Willing to fight absolutely anyone I had to just to make a name for myself and create a bit of a rap sheet and a reputation."

Admittedly, things were a bit different when Borowiecki was drafted in the fifth round of the 2008 NHL Draft. Fighting was a more widely accepted part of the sport and being willing to drop the gloves could be a player's ticket to a roster spot somewhere in the lineup. 

"I was a later round draft pick," the Ottawa native said. "I was kind of a go to offensive guy in college, but we were all go to offensive guys before we got to pros. At the pro level, the skill is so much higher. You can't always be that go to guy, so you've got to find another way to contribute. For me, it was the physical side of the game."

Hockey is a game of hard hits, and many of the times he dropped the gloves in his early career were a result of an opponent taking exception to his physical play. Coaches taught the young defenseman that if he was going to threw big hits, he needed to be ready to protect and defend himself afterwards. 

Borowiecki clearly got the message. 

Over his 12-year NHL career, Borowiecki recorded 51 fights in his nine seasons with the Ottawa Senators and another 17 brawls from 2020-23 playing for the Nashville Predators. The bulk of his 848 penalty minutes were fighting majors.

While he was always a player willing to fight, his success in those battles took a turn when he discovered MMA. 

"I'd had enough of getting beaten up," Borowiecki said, "So I said, you know what? I'm actually going to train for this." 

During his time with the Senators, Borowiecki began training in Muay Thai. 

"I originally got into Thai boxing just for striking purposes and next thing you know, I fought fifteen times that year in Nashville and won at least eleven or twelve of them," he said. "I kind of carved out a nice little system for myself — a method that seemed to bring me a lot of success later in my career. Instead of going out there filled with white hot rage and anxiety saying 'I gotta do this', I became a little more of a tactician."

I asked Borowiecki how often he dropped the gloves as a conscious decision to try and change momentum in a game versus how much was driven by emotion in the moment. 

"Hearing you say those things, I can pick out games where all of those things were factors in me fighting," he said. 

Whether it was his team being down a few goals on home ice or an opponent taking exception to a clean, hard hit, Borowiecki knew he had to be ready. 

It was both blessing and curse to play the role of "enforcer" for Borowiecki. 

"I'd be lying if I said it doesn't feed into your ego a little bit," Borowiecki admitted. "Being one of the toughest guys on the team, you kind of relish that. The charge you get after you do that. The way your teammates look at you. The way guys kind of shake their heads like 'Man, this guy's crazy!' There's something to be said for that feeding into your ego, which all hockey players have. To be a professional athlete you have to have a bit of an ego." 

The flip side is the pressure that comes with being the guy teams know will fight.

"It's tough. It can be pretty thankless at times," Borowiecki said. "A lot of sleepless nights, a lot of anxiety filled days after you've seen a lineup sheet at morning skate with guys you know you're going to have to fight that night. It's a hard job." 

How much of the role fed his ego versus caused that anxiety?

"I'd call it about a 50-50 split, to be honest."

It's also a role that can end up pigeonholing a player. If someone is willing to fight and play that extra physical game, it can limit their opportunity to contribute in other ways. Coaches may rely on an enforcer for that one aspect of their game. That was something Borowiecki had to battle at times in his career and a word of wisdom he hopes to pass along to a new generation of gritty players who embrace a fighting role. 

"You're a skilled hockey player first and foremost. Your focus should always be on playing the game of ice hockey. To me, fighting comes secondary."

"You see guys become that [enforcer] role player in this league who don't give themselves enough credit or don't give themselves the opportunity to contribute in a way that isn't physical," Borowiecki said. 

That's just one lesson the 33-year-old hopes to impress on players in the Predators' development system in his new role as a Pro Development Coach. The opportunity to transition from enforcer to coach was a silver lining after a terrible injury.

In a game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 22, 2022, Borowiecki fell awkwardly  against the boards behind the net. He appeared briefly unconscious and was stretchered off the ice, taken to Vanderbilt Medical Center, and released later that night. The concussion he suffered ended his season with the Predators, and on May 3, 2023 Borowiecki announced his retirement from the NHL.

Contrary to what many assume, the injury wasn't the main reason for retirement. It was a decision that Borowiecki and his wife Tara had discussed earlier. 

"We had our third child, and I decided that there was a pretty strong likelihood that was going to be my last year regardless of my injury status," Borowiecki said. 

As difficult as the injury and rehab process was last season, it provided the veteran with a new opportunity. General Manager David Poile saw the value of having Borowiecki around a team comprised of more and more young players as veterans like Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, and Matt Duchene were out with injuries of their own. 

"They gave me the opportunity to be around the team more," Borowiecki explained. "Just to be a shoulder to lean on for some younger guys, a listening ear, someone to talk to and speak to, and I really started to value and enjoy that." 

On July 2, new General Manager Barry Trotz announced the Predators had hired Borowiecki as a Pro Development Coach working mostly on the development side both on and off the ice.