Just Who Is John Marino?

Easton, Massachusetts is a nice little town not far from where I reside outside of beautiful Boston. The town of Easton is also home to one of the newest Edmonton Oiler prospects, defender John Marino. The team picked Marino with the 154th overall pick in June’s annual entry draft.

Marino played the 2014-15 season in the USPHL, suiting up in 49 games for the South Shore Kings. His USHL rights are currently held by the Chicago Steel, the team he is expected to suit up for this season. He’s also committed to Harvard University, and he’s expected to join them for the 2016-17 season according to ESPN Boston’s Scott Barboza.

So….Who Is He?:

Marino was ranked 63rd overall on the North American skaters list by NHL’s Central Scouting in advance of the draft, meaning he’s a solid prospect who could have a future in the world’s best hockey league. He posted 28 points in 49 games last year for the South Shore Knights, pretty solid production for a young player.

Marino is regarded as a good skater who also possesses good vision and confidence with the puck on his stick. Edmonton doesn’t have many players who fit that description at the NHL level currently.

In addition to that, Marino is described as a player who does a nice job of bringing the puck out of his own zone and who is an asset on zone entries at the other end of the rink.

His biggest question mark? Like most offensive defenders, Marino’s defensive game has been questioned since his high school days, but it’s an area that Jeff Cox of SBnation’s college hockey blog says has improved in a big way.

So, what kind of player is he? He’s a mobile offensive defender with some coverage issues. He’s also possibly a player who is five years away from turning pro. There’s some talent here and a lot of time to work with it, that’s something in Marino’s favor.

What Can We Expect:

Marino will play in the USHL this season and further develop before jumping up to the NCAA level in the fall of 2016. There, he will have four seasons to develop and learn on a strong Crimson team that has started to develop some real NHL talent.

As a raw puck moving defender with defensive issues, this is probably the best route. Without doubt, Marino is a project of a prospect who will need to be brought along slowly. At most, he has five more years to develop before he turns pro. I’ll suggest that he uses at least four of them.

This is a player who perfectly fits the draft-and-follow method that the Oilers fell in love with during the Steve Tambellini era. It’s certainly not a bad problem to have, however.

Will He Be a Long Term Oiler?:

Well, I can promise you one thing, he’ll be a long term Oiler prospect. Like I’ve said, Marino is a draft-and-follow pick, so it’s going to be awhile before he reaches the professional level, let alone the NHL one.

He’s got talent however, he can move the puck and he’s a mobile player. That has value in today’s NHL, enough so that as long as he doesn’t implode, he should get some sort of chance in the organization.

Things change, but right now Marino looks like a player that could be of interest a few years down the line. He’s got a good skill set and has kept improving year over year, that’s a good sign.

Hey, you can never go wrong with a Massachusetts boy!