No. 3 Mario Ferraro: Defenseman at his peak?

It’s hard to believe considering how many times we’ve heard Mario Ferraro’s name called on an NHL broadcast over the years, but the defenseman is still young enough to qualify for our Top 25 Sharks Under 25 list. The line we drew was Sept. 1, 2023 and Ferraro just made the cut by 16 days. He turned 25 on Sept. 17.

Position: Defense
Height: 6-foot-0
Weight: 209 lbs.
Age: 25
Date of Birth: September 17, 1998
Draft Year: 2017, 49th overall by the San Jose Sharks
Shoots: Left
2023-24 Team: San Jose Sharks

Ferraro has logged 252 NHL games. That’s thousands of minutes in a Sharks uniform. He played his first NHL game on Oct. 2, 2019 and hasn’t looked back since, becoming a consistent mainstay in the Sharks lineup.

That’s why Ferraro comes in at number three on this list. You cannot discount the NHL experience. Virtually all of the other players on Fear the Fin’s Top 25 Under 25 are projected to become NHL players, the keyword being projected. Ferraro has already done that. He has proven that he can play at the league’s highest level, lead at the highest level and be successful at the highest level.

Fear the Fin broke down Ferraro’s game at the end of last season. What we found is that Ferraro spent a lot of time on the ice without a consistent defensive partner. When he caught the eye of Sharks’ fans in 2020-21, he played the majority of his time (more than 800 minutes) with the same partner – Brent Burns.

However, this past season, there wasn’t a single Sharks player that he played alongside for more than 410 minutes. He had a rotating set of partners and it’s hard to find a rhythm if you’re constantly trying to get used to the guy on the other side of the ice.

As a result, Ferraro had just 11 points (4 G, 7 A) last season and was a minus-31.

What we like

Despite the down season, there are still some things to like about Ferraro’s game.

Ferraro is defensively sound. His work on the penalty kill and in his own defensive zone is an asset to the team. He blocks shots. He had the most blocked shots out of any player on the Sharks last season. Ferraro also gets sticks into lanes and he has no problem playing the body.

He makes sound hockey decisions and is an asset on defense.

Areas of improvement

The trouble for Ferraro is that he really wants to contribute offensively, so much so that it allows his defensive game to fall by the wayside. Part of this may be attributed to the time he spent alongside Brent Burns in his formative NHL years. It’s a heady feeling to be on the ice for all those goals.

Ferraro’s best season of hockey was 2020-21 when he played a majority of his minutes alongside Burns. His goals above replacement (GAR) that season was 4.6 but not because of what he did offensively. It was because Ferraro was the stay-at-home defenseman while Burns roamed the ice, shooting at will and charging the net.

That’s what Ferraro’s role needs to be with the Sharks moving forward. He will never be an offensive defenseman. He may contribute on the scoreboard occasionally, but he’s not going to be the guy the Sharks turn to when the team pulls its goalie with seconds left on the clock. Ferraro is the guy who’s out there on the penalty kill blocking shots and keeping the opponent to the outside.

And that’s okay.

Ferraro needs to understand that his defense is what’s going to fuel his offense. The Sharks coaching staff needs to put him into situations where that’s the case.

This year’s Sharks defense is not going to bury another team on the scoreboard. If the team does well, it will be because the defense held the opposing team off the scoreboard. Ferraro will be a key piece in making that happen.

Highlight

Throwing it back to Ferraro’s first NHL goal.

First NHL goal for everyone’s favorite YouTube star!

Mario Ferraro makes it 1-0 for the #SJSharks

📺: NBCS-CA
📲: https://t.co/VWbAkamH7b pic.twitter.com/RsBeCIMXU0

— Brodie Brazil (@BrodieNBCS) December 29, 2019