After spending five years in the skill-driven Eastern Conference, the Massachusetts native is making a switch to the down-and-dirty West -- and bringing an edge with him.
John Marino began his career with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in Pittsburgh, then found himself teammates with two no. 1 overall picks in Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier in New Jersey.
Now he finds himself with the youngest, deepest, and possibly most talented pool of forwards in the league in the Utah Hockey Club.
The 27-year old blue-liner, traded for a second- and 2025 fifth-round pick in Saturday's Upper Deck NHL Draft, spoke Wednesday on Zoom about how each star tandem helped his development, both on- and off-ice.
Thanks to that leadership, Marino has become one of the rising young defensive defencemen in the league, blocking the fifth-most shots for New Jersey in 2023-24 with 89, after having 81 denials the previous season, which was also fifth-most on the team.
Those shot-blocking abilities will be necessary in a conference where the gritty, edgy style of play tends to wear down opponents, unlike the fast-paced, up-tempo Eastern Conference, where Marino has spent virtually his entire career since signing an entry-level deal out of Harvard in 2019.
"Throughout the season, you have a game plan for each team; the only matter is how often you play them," he said. "You kind of get a gist for what it's going to be like, but I'm hoping to carry that experience over to this year."
And after playing his first five years with the likes of Crosby and Malkin, and Hughes and Hischier, now Marino will have his chance to be a leader for the first time.
"The skill level on these young guys is incredible," Marino stated. "They just trust themselves, trust in that skill, and the rest takes care of itself."