Ten Thousand Men of Harvard want victory today.
For one of those hockey-playing men, an Easton, Mass., native, Nov. 4 was the time and TD Garden was the place when those words from the school’s fight song rang true for a personal victory.
John Marino grew up attending games on Causeway Street as a Boston Bruins fan and, in 2017, helped his Crimson break a 24-year Beanpot title drought during his first of three collegiate seasons. And, on Nov. 4, he returned to the Garden as a rookie defenseman for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and it was a night he won’t soon forget.
“Obviously, you don’t really think about that when you’re younger and coming to games here, rooting for the Bruins,” Marino, 22, said of playing in his first NHL game in Boston. “It’s a pretty cool experience, for sure.”
After entering TD Garden without a goal in his first 12 National Hockey League games, Marino was sprung for a breakaway after serving a tripping penalty and tucked a backhander between the legs of Bruins goalie Jaroslav Halak. His first NHL goal came with just 2.6 seconds left in Pittsburgh’s four-goal second period.
Despite that second period effort, the Penguins lost 6-4 to Boston’s powerful offense, which scored three goals in the final period for the win.
Loss aside, it was a special night for friends and family as well as about a dozen of Marino’s former Crimson teammates scattered throughout the Garden seating bowl.
“When we get to see our teammate again, knowing he has to leave early to go play pro, it's just something really special,” said Harvard senior goaltender Cameron Gornet, a teammate of Marino’s for three years. “For him, you just couldn’t script it any better.”
“John was my D partner last year and one of my really good friends, so it was just kind of surreal to see him out there on a regular shift with guys like [Sidney] Crosby and [Evgeni] Malkin, playing against the Bruins,” said Andover, N.H., native and Crimson junior Reilly Walsh. “It was pretty cool to watch a guy like Johnny playing so well. It was definitely so exciting, and we were just going crazy when he scored.”
Marino is one of six Harvard products to crack a season-opening NHL roster. New York Rangers rookie defenseman Adam Fox joined that group as an early signee this year.
But Marino’s path has been unique.
A former standout in the South Shore Kings junior program, Marino was a 2015 sixth-round draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers and helped the USHL’s Tri-City Storm win a Clark Cup championship the following year. After returning to the Bay State for college, recording seven goals, 42 points and a plus-38 in three seasons, he has taken full advantage of a regular role on the Penguins blue line.
“I know our players and certainly the coaching staff were thrilled for him,” Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan, a Boston University alum and Marshfield, Mass., native said. “That's an exciting moment for any player when he comes back to his hometown.”
Marino’s strong skating and the ability to close on other players have allowed him to enjoy early NHL success, and “he’s getting better with every game he plays,” Sullivan said. He’s also impressed Sullivan and the Pens staff with his breakout passes and another trait that also stood out to Ted Donato, his coach at Harvard and a veteran of nearly 800 NHL games.
“The one thing that John showed up here with as well is just poise,” said Donato, who has watched several Penguins games and saw Marino practice with the Penguins multiple times while scouting at the USHL Fall Classic in Pittsburgh earlier this season. “He’s pretty low-key and low-maintenance, and that’s how he plays. He plays with such poise, whether it’s going back for a puck under pressure or absorbing forecheckers to make a good first pass out of the zone.
“He certainly has a lot of confidence in his abilities, but he’s really low-maintenance from a personal and coaching standpoint, which makes it even more enjoyable to watch him have so much success.”
Seeing a former player debut in the NHL allows Donato to reflect on Marino’s journey.
“You’re happy for his family, his parents and twin brother,” said the Crimson’s 16-year head coach. “You’re happy for his junior coach, Scott Harlow, and all the coaches that worked with him here, whether it’s Paul Pearl, Jim Tortorella or Rob Rassey. It’s enjoyable to see for all the people that played a role in his development. It’s a real proud moment.”
Mere months ago, Marino was suiting up at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center and helping the Crimson appear in the NCAA tournament for the second time in three seasons. So, seeing Marino take a top-six role on a team that includes two of the NHL’s best players has given his old team a great sense of pride. In fact, the Crimson often gather after practices in Colton Kerfoot’s room to watch Marino play.
“I think the biggest thing that impresses us the most is that he's playing 20 or 22 minutes some nights, which is incredible I feel for a rookie defenseman,” Gornet said. “That speaks to how good he is, and I’m glad Pittsburgh is giving him that opportunity.”
This year’s Harvard roster includes nine NHL draft picks, so there will be others to join the program’s handful of pros in the coming years. Walsh is certainly a prime candidate as a former third-round pick of the New Jersey Devils and the current club’s most experienced defenseman after the departures of Fox and Marino.
Even for someone such as established college player Walsh, lessons can be learned by watching a player with a similar level of skill make the jump to the NHL.
“Just his confidence with the puck and his ability to read forecheckers is something that I'm trying to get a lot better at,” Walsh said of Marino. “Playing at a high level, making decisions quickly and just being a rock back there is something that John does very well and something I'd like to do as well.”
From the coach’s perspective, plenty of lessons can be learned by the current Crimson as well.
“I think it’s a great example of dedication and perseverance,” Donato said. “John really enjoyed the whole experience here, so it’s really as much about the whole process to me as it is about him being there. Here’s a kid who was a great classmate and teammate, and he was a very talented guy who was able to reach one of his life’s dreams through hard work.”
