John Marino #6 of the New Jersey Devils on bench against the Carolina Hurricanes prior to the first period of Eastern Conference Game Five of the Second Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PNC Arena on May 11, 2023 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Jaylynn Nash/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jaylynn Nash/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – After experiencing of plethora of injuries on the blue line this season, the Utah Hockey Club is about to catch a break as defenseman John Marino is finally ready to make his highly anticipated debut.
According to Head Coach Andre Tourigny, Marino is now officially considered day-to-day and will make his debut at some point over the next week.
Per Tourigny,
John Marino is now considered day to day and will make his debut at some point during the home stand.
In terms of it potentially being tomorrow, he said “We’ll see.”#UtahHC
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) January 13, 2025
Despite an original anticipated return date of February 1, Marino has made a lot of progress over the past few weeks and is now ahead of schedule.
John Marino is no longer in a non-contact jersey and the Utah Hockey Club has returned for 7 straight at home.#UtahHC pic.twitter.com/H3jBtl2TEq
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) January 6, 2025
After shedding his non-contact jersey in early January, Marino joined the team on their previous road trip, has been a full participant in practice and was recently paired with Juuso Valimaki.
Marino and Valimaki have been paired together at practice today.
Marino has looked good. Doesn’t seem to be holding back and has played with a lot of physicality.
Utah needs him back.
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) January 13, 2025
“He’s day to day now,” Tourigny said. “He’s getting right there.”
With four games left on the home stand, Marino could make his debut at any point, but it appears that it will be sooner rather than later.
In addition to a full effort at practice this morning, being paired with a consistently rostered defenseman like Valimaki is an indicator that he’s very close.
Alongside Mikhail Sergachev, Marino was another big acquisition for the Utah Hockey Club this past offseason as they made an effort to bolster their D-core.
At 6-foot-1, Marino brings a good amount of size and physicality to the ice.
He’s also very confident with the puck, skates well and can make a sizable impact offensively as he’s registered 18 goals and 89 assists in five seasons at the NHL level.
While Marino’s return is certainly coming at the right time for Utah and he’ll eventually play a major role for the club, it will take a few games for him to settle in and get back up to speed.
“We have big plans for him,” General Manager Bill Armstrong said. “He’s a top four defenseman for us that can impact the second-unit PP and the number one PK.”
“If we can bring him in the right way and not overload him with minutes or situational play, it’ll help him grow and get comfortable.”
Marino’s first potential opportunity to play will be on Tuesday night against the Montreal Canadiens as the team looks to consistently pick up points over the back half of the home stand.
The Utah Hockey Club will host the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night. The game can be viewed on SEG+. Fans can also tune in on air on the KSL Sports APP or on 97.5 and 1280 The Zone. Click here for the full schedule.
