John Marino Making Debut For Utah Hockey Club Against Montreal

The wait is over for all Utah fans.

After being sidelined due to back surgery, Utah's defenseman John Marino will play his first minutes as a player for Utah Hockey Club.

Originally on the New Jersey Devils, Utah traded for him on Day 2 of the 2024 NHL Draft just after trading for defenseman Mikhail Sergachev from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

With Sergachev currently having the second most time on the ice throughout the entire league, Utah will be happy to have more help on defense. Especially since Utah's other defenseman, Sean Durzi and Robert Bortuzzo, are still out with its own injuries.

Durzi has missed 38 games and Bortuzzo has missed 13 games.

Utah can certainly use the help because Dylan Guenther, the team leader in leads goals, recently went out with a lower body injury and got placed on injury reserve right before Utah's game against the Canadiens.

With both Marino and goalie Connor Ingram becoming available in recent games, Utah can feel more secure on defense as it tries to figure out its offense without such a key player like Guenther.

Do you think that Marino will make an immediate impact for Utah? Or will he need some to adjust? Let me know down below what you think about Marino.