After a huge first season with the New Jersey Devils, John Marino blew away fans with his phenomenal skills on the blue line for his first time with a new team.
During the 2017 NHL draft, Marino was picked sixth-round, pick 154 by the Edmonton Oilers in 2015. Then, going into college, Marino went to play hockey for Harvard University for three years. During his freshman year with Harvard, he totaled three assists and eight goals to make 11 points for him. In his sophomore season, he had two goals and 14 assists, which totaled 16 points. Including this, he was one of the few finalists for the ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Defenseman, including a plus-21 rating. In his last year for the Harvard hockey team, he again achieved 11 points (three goals and eight assists).
Marino never played a game for the Oilers as they decided to trade him to the Pittsburgh Penguins. In return, the Oilers received a conditional 2021 sixth-round draft pick in 2019 after finishing his third and final season with Harvard.
The Pittsburgh Penguin fans feel like they basically got Marino for free, comparing it to the trade. In the 2019-20 season, Marino played 56 games finishing with six goals and 20 assists totaling 26 points, and reached 17 plus/minus points. In the 2020-21 season, he had three assists and 10 goals, having 13 points in 52 games having 5 plus/minus.
In his last season with the Penguins, playing 81 games having one goal and 24 assists adding up to 25 points and ending with 1 plus/minus point. During his three seasons with the Penguins, he showed many strengths on the ice while being on the younger side of the team and could play 21+ minutes with important players like Kris Letang.
On July 16th, 2022, the New Jersey Devils acquired Marino from the Penguins in exchange for Ty Smith and a third-round pick in 2023. His contract is a four-year contract for 4.4 million dollars, joining the team as a 25-year-old has a competitive blue liner who strengthens the back end.
When in control of the puck, Marino is able to stake it up the ice from the blue line to help our forward group and have a helping hand. Marino helps our team more on the defense side helping the younger side of the team by always keeping the puck out of the Devil's zone. He ended his first season as a Devil having four goals and 14 assists combined to 18 points having a 21 plus/minus with an average ice time on 21 minutes.
- Devils in Disguise: New Jersey's promising year going down in flames - March 4, 2024
- Devils' Defense Has Helped Spark Strong Run Post All-Star Break - February 14, 2024
- Playoff race starts now for New Jersey Devils - February 10, 2024
