Marino: Brother in a Time of Adversity | FEATURE

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.
That's the Bible verse John Marino picked out for him and his fraternal twin brother, Paul III, to get tattooed on their rib cages with their birthday - May 21, 1997 - scripted underneath it in Roman numerals.
It quite literally couldn't be a more fitting quote, because on that spring day in a Boston hospital, Paul came out with bowed legs - meaning the family had a long road ahead when it came to finding a cure. And whenever mom Jen and dad Paul II would take Paul III to the hospital to consult with medical staff, John would accompany them.
Eventually, a doctor told the Marino family they could break Paul's legs to straighten them out, or he could try skating, as the stride with hockey is more of a natural process.
"The doctor said that way, we don't have to break his legs," said John, who was acquired by New Jersey Saturday from Pittsburgh. "So, my dad was like, yeah, of course, let's do that. And then if you put one twin in skates, you've got to put the other one in skates, too (laughs). So that's how it took off. I think we were like 1-and-a-half, 2 years old when we started doing that. I think my dad still has my brother's braces from his legs, too, which is kind of funny. Kind of looks like something from Forrest Gump. It's pretty cool."

What began as a way to fix Paul's deformed legs quickly became the boys' passion, and started them on paths to future professional success in the sport - John as a player for the Devils, and Paul as a statistical analyst for the Los Angeles Kings.
They loved it so much that when the twins were 5, Jen told her husband that they needed to give them a break from the sport. So, they went on a trip to Disney World, staying at a resort and visiting the just-opened Animal Kingdom the second day. That's where Jen learned that the family probably wouldn't be taking many more vacations in the future.
"We went on the safari, and when we were done, I said, 'Wasn't that so much fun?' And John goes, 'Can we go home? I just want to go skate,'" Jen recalled with a laugh. "So, we spent most of the time in the pool at the hotel because they had a great slide there, and I kept having to hear John say, 'I wish I could just go skate. This is not fun.'"
When they returned home to North Easton, Mass., the twins were able to play on the same teams throughout elementary and middle school, and Jen remembers John always being so supportive of his brother. Since he wasn't quite as fast, there were times when John would get down to one end of the ice and then find a way to hold onto the puck until Paul was able to join him.
"He would maybe make a move or go around the net and wait for him, then by the time he did that, Paul would be in front of the net and John would pass it to him," Jen said. "He would do that a lot for him, just so that Paul could score goals, too."
As the twins got older, John moved onto more competitive teams, playing for the South Shore Kings youth hockey organization with other talented players in the area, like Calgary's Noah Hanifin and Ottawa's Colin White. It meant that the family was constantly traveling all year long for hockey, but never for vacations. Jen would try to squeeze in a week at Cape Cod or Myrtle Beach once every few years, and that was just fine with the boys.
"Here, the parents who had kids that weren't playing hockey - even my parents - would say things like, it just seems all encompassing. Is this really the way you want them to grow up?" Jen said. "Now, of course, it's like, oh, you were so committed, that's why they're successful. And it's like, well, we just kind of did what they asked us to do. John didn't want to go away."
He preferred to be at the rink, progressing along his journey that was different from the kids he grew up with, as Marino flew much more under the radar due to his growth spurt not hitting until high school. He spent his senior year in Nebraska playing for the Tri-City Storm, where he helped them win the USHL's Clark Cup championship.
"It wasn't until he went out to the USHL and then over to Harvard that people started saying, well, maybe he does have some talent that could take him further," Jen said.
One of those people was NHL alumni Kevin Stevens, whose son Luke was teammates with John for years. Not only did Stevens coach them for a while; Kevin and Luke would occasionally carpool with Paul II and John to tournaments and USA Hockey select camps in New York.
"He was always just the nicest guy, the best guy ever. You would never even think that this guy was a hockey legend," Marino said of Stevens, who helped the Pittsburgh Penguins capture back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 1991 and '92.
The summer after Marino's freshman year, Stevens was named a special assignment scout with the Penguins, with his role including amateur scouting and the scouting of college free agents. That meant he took even more of an interest in John's career.
"Over the years, whether it was juniors or college, he would always kind of keep an eye on me as a scout, but also as kind of a friend, too," Marino said. "Giving advice and saying what he thinks I'm going to be as a player and what type of player. But he was always honest with me. That's all you could ever ask for."
Stevens lobbied to bring the defenseman to Pittsburgh once it became clear that Marino wasn't going to sign with Edmonton, who had originally drafted him in the sixth round (154th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft.
"I remember my biggest worry was, but what about graduation?" said Jen, who never actually foresaw him turning professional - she just wanted him to get a good education through hockey. "How is he going to get his degree? I remember I just kept questioning my husband, are you sure things could work out? He's putting a lot at stake to leave."
But John was adamant that it was the right decision, and it was his to make. So, his family members - including Paul III, who also attended Harvard and was set to live with his twin their senior year - were supportive. John went on to surprise a lot of people by not only making the Penguins' opening-night roster out of training camp, but quickly developing into a key member of the blue line.
As kids, both John and Paul were big fans of the Boston sports teams, especially the Bruins. The room they shared was painted black and gold, and each twin got to pick a Fathead decal for the room. Paul picked Zdeno Chara, and John picked Sidney Crosby.
"It's still in that room," Paul said with a laugh.
When Jen watched John make his NHL debut on Oct. 8, 2019 alongside the Penguins captain himself - as well as fellow superstars Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang - it was hard to comprehend what she was seeing. That feeling hasn't changed at all as John has progressed along, with him finishing the second year of his six-year contract with an average annual value of $4.4 million this past season.
"You're like, I just can't believe my son is on the ice with these guys," Jen said. "It's so surreal. And then when he started playing regularly, it was just more than I could have ever hoped for him, honestly. I know that there were many times during his hockey career that he felt like he could do it, but he wasn't sure, and it was a struggle for him to think about - what would my life look like if hockey wasn't part of it? So, from that perspective, there are days where I can't even think about it. I just think like, oh my God, I cannot believe he's living this way.
"To think my son is that successful and that happy…I mean honestly, at the end of the day for me, that's what it's about. And this was him being able to achieve the biggest dream he's ever had his whole life. It's amazing."
Those who know John well often joke about how he doesn't seem to have a pulse, and that he isn't fazed by much. The moment is never too much for him, no matter how big it is. Anything that's thrown his way, he handles with maturity and like somebody who has been in this league forever.
That was evident in triple overtime of Game 1 against the New York Rangers last year, when Marino received a pass and calmly backpedaled to the center point before putting a shot on goal. Evgeni Malkin was there to deflect it in and end the fifth-longest game in Penguins' history, giving Pittsburgh the first win of their Round One matchup.
"The play he makes on Geno's goal in overtime, where he scales the blue line to create a lane to the net and delivering that puck to the net, I think that's a high-end play," Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said.
That sort of intangible asset paired with his ability to defend - which is what Sullivan calls his core strength - has helped Marino become a player who can handle top-four minutes. Despite a new team and a new home, moving forward into next season, the 25-year-old would like to keep adding more of an offensive element to his game.
"There's always stuff you can work on," he said. "Offensively, for sure. Working out in the off-season, hoping to put on some extra pounds. You can always find stuff in your game to work on."