Kai Hospelt's career started in 2002 in the
Deutsche Eishockey Liga for his hometown
Kölner Haie. After his first year in the DEL he was drafted by the
San Jose Sharks in the
2003 NHL Entry Draft. Hospelt never made it to the Sharks squad, but played for five more seasons in Cologne. After six total seasons with the Sharks, he moved onto the
Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg where he spent five seasons and his last two as Captain of the Grizzly Adams until the conclusion of the
2012–13 season. On April 12, 2013, at the conclusion of his contract with Wolfsburg, Hospelt signed a three-year contract with
Adler Mannheim. Following the 2015–16 campaign, he returned to his hometown team
Kölner Haie. Hospelt played a further three seasons with Kölner Haie before leaving the club as a free agent following the
2018–19 season. He agreed to a one-year contract with his fourth DEL club, Krefeld Pinguine, on April 17, 2019. ==International play==