Marino Looking Comfortable and Confident in First NHL Postseason

When he gets on the team plane, John Marino sits at the front - same for the team bus. He is also is the first player off the ice for warmups.

"I just try to stay out of everyone's way," he said with a laugh. "You don't want to step on anybody's toes."

Those are about the only giveaways that Marino is a rookie. There is absolutely nothing else to indicate that the 23-year-old defenseman is appearing in his first career Stanley Cup postseason, save for maybe the playoff beard he's attempting to grow.

"It's incredible," Kris Letang said of Marino's postseason play. "He's been a really important part of our team, plays a lot of minutes in a lot of situations. He's a really calm and poised guy. I think he has all the tools that a player can ask for. I think it's just going to get better and better."

Marino was arguably Pittsburgh's best player in their 3-2 overtime loss to Montreal in Game 1 of their Qualifying Round on Saturday, recording one shot, one hit and one block in 25:21 minutes of ice time.

That stood as the second-most minutes ever played by a Penguins rookie defenseman in a single game, behind Michal Rozsival's 45:21 minutes on May 4, 2001 versus Philadelphia. And that game went into five overtimes, so it's hard to compete with that.

Marino followed that up by recording six (!) shots in the Penguins' 3-1 victory in Game 2 on Monday. That tied Zarley Zalapski's record among Penguins rookie defenseman, set twice on April 25 and 29, 1989, also against the Flyers.

"It's been great," Marino said of his first postseason experience. "Each game is still a learning experience, but with the experience on this team, you just kind of try to learn from them and pick their brains. They've been great so far. Each game you kind of just treat as something to build off of."

It's just remarkable to think about how Marino has gone from a relatively unknown prospect to an integral part of the Penguins' blue line since Pittsburgh first acquired him from Edmonton in exchange for a conditional 2021 sixth-round draft pick on July 26, 2019.

It was a trade that didn't make a ton of headlines at the time, but one that Penguins scouts were thrilled about. The coaches and players soon learned why after he reported for his first training camp in September, marveling at his poise, decision-making and ability to read and react to different situations.

Marino went on to make the opening-night roster and finish fourth among all NHL rookie defensemen in scoring with 26 points in 56 games, while tying for first on the team with a plus-17 rating.

When he reported for his second training camp in July, something that stood out to Jack Johnson about his fellow defenseman was Marino's confidence level.

"That's the biggest thing that comes to mind," Johnson said. "You can just tell that he's much more confident than he was back in September. He's grown a lot in that way. The ability was always there, to be able to play in the National Hockey League. Usually with young guys it's the confidence that has to come. That's the biggest thing that has come with him."

And it's showing in his play. Marino's ability to defend has always been evident as he uses his skating, size (6-foot-1, 181 pounds) and reach to make strong reads and anticipate plays.

"He closes in on guys and takes away time and space from an offensive player as good as any defenseman that we have," Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said.

Marino is also showing some growth offensively, which has resulted in him seeing time on the second power-play unit.

"We like how he's improved on his offensive skill," said Penguins assistant coach Jacques Martin, who oversees the defensemen. "How he's joined the rush, his decision-making in the offensive zone, his ability to get the puck to the net and let the forwards do the job in front."

All in all, it's been a unique rookie season for Marino, to say the least.

"It seems like it's kind of been going on forever, you know?" Marino said with a laugh.

For as good as he is anticipating plays on the ice, Marino certainly never anticipated making the team out of training camp and playing close to a full season before the NHL pressed pause, then reporting for a second training camp after three months off and making his playoff debut in August without fans in the building.

But Marino feels that the biggest benefit of all that for him is the amount of time spent with his teammates.

"You've been with the same group of guys for a while now, so you feel a lot more comfortable than you did when you first came in for training camp," he said. "That helps out a lot. The more comfortable you get with the guys over the course of the games, the better you feel playing within the system."

Back in Pittsburgh, Marino lives alone in an apartment by the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. And since a lot of the guys have families, he mostly hangs out with fellow rookie Sam Lafferty away from the rink.

It could be tough for Marino to find ways to manage all of his new-found free time after coming off a regimented schedule and routine at college. Sometimes, he and Lafferty would go to the mall and wouldn't even buy anything; they would just look around to kill time.

But now that the Penguins are all staying together in the bubble, Marino is enjoying the opportunity to get to know his teammates even better and just keep increasing that comfort level. He brought his laptop and his Xbox with him to Toronto, but has barely even used them since the guys have been spending so much time together.

"It's kind of given everyone an opportunity to hang out, get a little closer as a team," Marino said. "We've been finding some activities around the bubble. Just go out to dinner and do those little things."

While Marino enjoys golf, he says he's not great at it, so he hasn't spent much time at the hotel's TopGolf Swing Suite. But he has gotten seriously into ping pong.

"There's been a couple of competitive matches going on, a couple series," Marino said. "Played some cards here and there. It's been a good bonding experience."