Utah Hockey Club defender John Marino will miss tonight’s game against the Kraken due to an illness, per Brogan Houston of Desert News Sports. Houston adds that there is an illness circulating through the locker room, so it will be interesting to monitor if additional players are impacted to the point of missed time. Just yesterday head coach Andre Tourigny noted Marino would be day-to-day with an upper body injury after taking a puck to the head in Saturday’s contest against the Jets, also per Houston.
In 34 games on the year, Marino has recorded one goal and 14 points. It’s been a tough first season with the franchise for Marino, as he sustained an injury in training camp that eventually resulted in surgery in October. Marino didn’t appear in a game until January.
Utah acquired Marino, 27, from the Devils during the 2024 draft in exchange for a second-round pick. Marino burst onto the scene as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who then signed him to a six-year, $26.4MM contract in 2021. The Penguins then dealt the defender to the New Jersey Devils, where he established himself as an anchor on their back end, and Marino has slowly taken on that responsibility for Utah during the second half of this season. Although he’s missed more than half of the team’s games this season, his current average of 21:10 of ice time per night represents the highest average of his six-year career. While the club is all but assured to miss the playoffs this season, Marino will be a key piece for Utah moving forward.
Tourigny also provided an updated on injured forward Liam O’Brien, noting “there’s a chance” he returns before the end of the season, per Belle Fraser of the Salt Lake Tribune. The enforcer sustained a lower-body during a March 13 contest against Seattle, and the team announced his recovery time would be four-plus weeks, putting his return in question.
On the season, O’Brien has two points and 50 penalty minutes in 27 games. After recording a career-high 14 points and league-leading 153 PIMs in 75 games for the Coyotes last season, Utah signed O’Brien to a three-year, $3MM extension in June.