WINNIPEG - Mario Ferraro has been in Winnipeg for only a few days, but his new teammates are already raving about him.
And, perhaps fittingly, they're mostly talking about his energy.
“You guys are going to love him,” Dylan DeMelo said to the media. “A lot of energy. You’ll probably hear him before you see him, a lot like Schmitty when he was here.”
Adam Lowry had a similar first impression.
“I think with Mario, his energy kind of reminds me of Schmitty,” Lowry said. “So, it's good to have guys like that in the room that you know bring the positivity.”
That comparison to former Jets defenceman Nate Schmidt isn't one Ferraro is likely to mind.
Schmidt was known around Winnipeg for his personality, infectious enthusiasm and ability to keep things loose in the dressing room.
One of the Jets key free agent signings wasn’t ready to fully pat himself on the back.
“Ah, it's hard to speak for myself, but yeah, I think so. I like to think I'm a pretty outgoing person,” said Ferraro.
“There are some familiar faces in here that have made it easier to open up early, I guess. But yeah, I'm just being myself.”
Those familiar faces include DeMelo, whom he met at former Sharks captain Logan Couture’s wedding, as well as Cole Perfetti and Gabriel Vilardi, who were teammates of Ferraro’s with Canada at the World Hockey Championships.
While Ferraro has fit in early on as a member of the Jets, these informal skates with his new teammates are beneficial before training camp gets underway next week, especially with camps being shorter and fewer preseason games being played than in years past.
“Yeah, for sure. Obviously, there's events going on and some things that we take care of before leading up to camp and stuff, and even throughout camp, some bonding stuff that that goes on. So, no stress about us being comfortable enough by the time October 2 comes,” said Ferraro.
“I already feel like this is a veteran group and they got a lot of guys that have been here for a long time, and it shows, and yeah, like I said, it's a good group, and I'm excited to get to get to know them even more.”
Ferraro is excited about the chance to help the Jets get back to the defensive form that they showed in 2023-24 and 2024-25, that’s when they were the stingiest team in the NHL, helping Connor Hellebuyck win back-to-back William Jennings Trophy’s.
“That's obviously, like I said, something that's important to me. I take a lot of pride in my game, is helping keep the puck out of our net. I think that good defence leads to good offence,” Ferraro said.
“I think good defensive teams win championships, so I'm excited to hopefully add to that to this group and continue to improve my game defensively and help us out in that area.”
Ferraro experienced a little bit of everything during his time in northern California with the Sharks. Unfortunately, the 27-year-old never got the chance to step on the ice for a postseason game. San Jose made some huge strides in 2025-26 but missed the playoffs by four points.
Now he lands in a market that is ready to bring back the Whiteout in the spring at Canada Life Centre.
“I’m super, super excited. It’s a Canadian fan base. I'm pumped up. Every time we come here, at least, I remember it being buzzing in the crowd and a very passionate fan base. Obviously, Sharks fans were so good to me over the last seven years, and they were amazing and they had a great fan base as well,” said Ferraro.
“They treated all the players with respect and they're extremely loyal. I love them and I'll remember them forever, but I'm excited to get to know a new fan base and hopefully become a fan of theirs out there in the way that I play. So, I'm excited. I'm excited to build that relationship with them.”
