Mario Ferraro is entering a precarious year for his San Jose Sharks career.
The defenseman is staring free agency right in the face for the first time in his NHL career. The assistant captain hasn’t been to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the team that drafted him in the second round.
The Sharks brought in a wealth of leadership and experience to the blue line, which Ferraro hopes to continue learning from.
“It’s just a lead-by-example kind of thing. They’ve been in the league a long time. They’ve gone through the experiences of a professional hockey player,” Ferraro told SHD. “That speaks for itself. Leadership by example is just as impactful as being verbally active.”
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Ferraro has been routinely partnered with Timothy Liljegren during Sharks training camp. With Liljegren playing in tonight’s preseason game, Ferraro got to play with Dmitry Orlov in practice.
Another #SJSharks lines drill:
Musty-Celebrini-Smith
Skinner-Wennberg-Graf/Lund (2nd)
Eklund-Misa-Toffoli
Goodrow-Huntington-Reaves
Grundstrom-Bystedt-Chernyshov
Ferraro-Orlov
Leddy-Klingberg
Dickinson-Thompson
Furlong— Max Miller (@Real_Max_Miller) September 29, 2025
As I get to know them more, I’ll see how they are in the room. There’s a reason why they were brought here. They’re gonna be just fine,” Ferraro said. “I don’t think I have any doubts in them being great leaders.”
Ferraro would be honored, but not worrying about potentially being named captain
Ferraro is in the running to become the new captain of the San Jose Sharks. Carl Grundstrom told the Mercury News that there isn’t a rush to name the next C of the Sharks.
“I think when the time is here, we’re going to have a captain,” Grundstrom said Thursday. “Hard to say, but we’ll see. Probably there will be a captain here pretty soon, I would guess.”
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Until this season, Logan Couture has been the captain of the San Jose Sharks. The centerman has officially stepped away from Hockey due to injury. Couture had only played six games from 2023 to 2025 before stepping away, so an on-ice leader hasn’t really been there for the Sharks.
“That’s a conversation that’s out of my hands. Obviously, I’d be honored to be the captain of any professional team,” Ferraro said, “That’s above my pay grade.”
A humble answer from a humble player, who is about to embark on arguably the biggest season of his NHL career.
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