Mario Ferraro has had a pretty big year off the ice.
The San Jose Sharks defenseman, 27, got married and he’s now a father of daughter Solenne.
Ferraro said on Thursday that maybe he’ll bring some newfound dad strength to the Sharks as he enters his seventh year in the NHL.
The pending UFA also spoke about his new fatherhood, the upcoming season for the San Jose Sharks, and getting a call from Logan Couture’s dad.
On his busy summer, featuring a newborn…
I enjoyed my summer. I don’t think I had to like battle through anything. My foot healed pretty quickly, that was no issue at all. I was in Florida for some of the summer. Enjoyed the very warm weather, but before it got extremely warm. And then I was back here in July. Obviously, my wife was pregnant and due in a month from July, so in mid-August, we had to be here early because can’t fly after four weeks. Then I had a baby, which was really exciting, best thing in the world. I’m enjoying it, and we’re very blessed at home. Everyone’s healthy. And it was my birthday yesterday, so there was a lot going on, but it’s been very exciting. I have a child now to play for, so I’m even more motivated to be out there. There’s no issue with my preparation and being ready for the season.
On being the longest-tenured San Jose Sharks player at camp…
Feels crazy. Time flies by. I keep getting told that as a parent, your time is going to fly by, enjoy the young years of your child’s life. Same thing I’ve been told when I came into the league here, it’s going to go by fast, so enjoy it. It’s like any job in the world, it’s stressful. It’s stressful because you care about it and as a player, I have some stress coming to the rink, because I want to perform, and I want to be the best that I can be for my teammates and for the staff and for this whole organization. But I never want to let that take away from my enjoyment of the game, and I’ve tried not to do that, and I’ve tried to enjoy it as best I can. That’s crazy how time flies, and I just want to make sure I’m soaking it all in and taking advantage of this time that I have here.
On being a pending free agent…
I’m a Shark, and that’s my mindset. I’d love to stay a Shark, but I’m just focused on the season, and that’s all I control. That other stuff I can’t really, it’s not up to me. So what is up to me is how I come out and compete every night and I’m going to do that. We’re on the route to try and win as many games as we can this year and get closer to playoff spot. So that’s my goal individually.
On whether there’s been talk of a contract extension…
Currently no. I signed four years. I’ve got another year left. So right now, mid camp, I’m just getting ready to to rock and roll here. And I’m getting excited for the season, so I’m patient. I’m just trying to get ready here. How I perform is most important for myself as an individual entering the season. I’m a leader on this team. I’ve got to be here for my teammates, and be the best that I can be, so we can win more games this year.
On Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith’s second season…
Our younger guys like Smitty and Mack, coming into the season, having played a year in the league, that does a lot. I felt it my second year, I came in a lot more confident. So I can only imagine their confidence growing as well, which is going to be big for us. And then there’s always adversity that comes throughout the season that maybe these young guys haven’t faced before, and that’s why we got vets in the mix now to to be there and to help us fight through adversity, stay positive and keep going.
On renovations to the facilities at Sharks Ice…
There’s a lot of great things. The
room that we’re in is awesome. We never had a dedicated video room, so this is pretty special that we have this. It’s a privilege to get all the nice things that we have. Every day playing in the NHL, you get all these great things. You get the most food in the world. And it’s awesome. So to come here this year and see the new renovations that they did – hot tubs, cold tubs, and just brand new facilities, more lounge areas – it adds to the benefit for us to be able to spend more time together at the rink, which is really good. So we had it good before, we have it better now, can’t complain.
On whether he’d like to stay with the San Jose Sharks…
I’d love to sign long-term here. I want to win here. But it’s not up to me. Whatever happens, it’s life, and it’s the profession that we’re in. So I accept whatever is going to happen the future, but I’m going to play it out and make the most of this opportunity that I have in this year, because it’s a big year for me, and it’s big year for this team and this organization.
On which Sharks he goes to for dad advice…
I take any advice that I can get, the more the merrier. You’re learning every day. I’m pretty close with Logan [Couture], so he’s been kind to reach out and just saying stuff like, ‘Enjoy it. It goes by fast.’ Even his dad reached out to me, which I greatly appreciate. I don’t even have his number, so shout out to Chet. Great guy, great family. I look up to to Logan a lot in that regard.
On what he wants to see from the defense this season…
We got better as a group last year in being more competitive in games. But now we’ve got to start taking over games and putting some wins on our record, having better third periods, closing out games better, just growing our game, being more mature and knowing how to keep leads, or build on leads to eventually win games. So we want to take a step forward in that category, and ultimately, we want to move up in the standings.
On his favorite thing about being a dad…
That’s a tough question. There’s so many good things. Going home and she’s not smiling much yet, she’s still early, but when you get that little smile, it really makes you happy. And going home, even if you had a tough day or whatever it is, and just seeing her peaceful and chilling and eyes wide open, she’s pretty alert already, so it’s fun to see, it’s fun to talk to her, even though she might not know what I’m saying.
Watch the full interview here