Brian Dumoulin has been skating alongside Kris Letang for years now, and that pairing is unquestionably the anchor of Pittsburgh's blue line. But during the offseason, Dumoulin partnered with another member of the Penguins' defensive corps: John Marino.
Dumoulin and Marino "Pushed Each Other Hard" This Summer
The Penguins defensemen trained together in Boston
© Pittsburgh Penguins
Dumoulin invited his fellow New England native to train with him all summer, both on and off the ice, back in Boston. They would skate together before working out at the gym Dumoulin had built in the garage of his home in Charlestown, about 10-15 minutes from where Marino lived in the Seaport District.
"Obviously it was nice having someone else there with me, because during COVID I was by myself," Dumoulin said. "So it was nice that he joined me and I mean, it was perfect for the both of us. We pushed each other pretty hard."
It was a particularly beneficial experience for Marino, as the 24-year-old defenseman is looking to find another level to his game entering his third NHL season after first making the team as a rookie out of training camp in 2019. Both he and the Penguins feel like there is untapped potential that could help solidify the blue line, and when it comes to discovering that untapped potential, there is really no one better to learn from than Dumoulin.
Dumoulin, who turned 30 on Sept. 6 and has been a regular in Pittsburgh's lineup since the 2015-16 season, is as reliable as it gets on the ice. Penguins general manager Ron Hextall called Dumoulin a "tower of strength," which is an apt description for the stabilizing presence he provides. And the way Dumoulin helped show Marino the ropes this summer is yet another example of the incredible team leader that he's grown into.
"He's one of the most disciplined guys on the team," Marino said. "He's been around it forever, obviously winning a couple Cups and everything. So to have him take you under his wing or treat you like any other guy is pretty special. You just kind of follow his lead a little bit."
Dumoulin and Marino would get to work around lunchtime, where they would skate with a group of NHLers at a rink in Braintree, Mass. Right after they finished, the two of them would head over to Dumoulin's house and work out there from about 2:30-4:30 PM.
"It was a good little routine," Dumoulin said.
Pittsburgh's strength and conditioning staff had helped Dumoulin order the proper equipment to train from home when the NHL first pressed pause last March, including a wall mounted squat rack, specialty hex bar, bands and other accessories, and gym flooring.
"It wasn't a big space, but it all fit and we had everything that we needed, so it was fun," Dumoulin said.
If they wanted to get outside and get some fresh air, there was a track nearby. And if they really wanted to switch it up, there was also a basketball court - where, at one point, Dumoulin posted a story to his Instagram account of Marino shooting hoops - and a tennis court. They worked with Penguins strength and conditioning coaches Alex Trinca and Alexi Pianosi to modify their program when needed.
"Me and Johnny would just feed off each other, honestly," Dumoulin said. "We communicate pretty well, so we'd talk to each other and tell each other how we were feeling. Every day we'd walk in and be like, how's the body feeling? It was nice because we could go at our pace and we could communicate with each other and see what hurt, what didn't, and what we wanted to work on the most."
For Marino, there was certainly a focus on trying to add a little more weight and muscle to his 6-foot-1, 181-pound frame, which meant he was eating more. He would make a shake and have some eggs before training, and once they finished, he'd get a salad from a chain like Sweetgreen before finding a restaurant for dinner.
It's a good thing that Boston has plenty of options to choose from, because although Dumoulin loves to cook, he didn't whip up any meals for Marino (though he did pass along some good wine tips).
"I didn't make him any dinners," Dumoulin said. "He's a big boy now, he can do his own dinners (laughs). That's the thing in Boston, though. You can get pretty much anything."
Now that they're back in Pittsburgh and in the midst of training camp, Marino is focused on becoming a more consistent professional entering a full 82-game season. And when it comes to that aforementioned untapped potential, Dumoulin said it all starts with Marino's two-way ability.
"I think that's one thing that is amazing about him," Dumoulin said. "He can get up in the play, he's strong, he can skate. Makes really good decisions, and he can defend really well. He's got a good stick. He's deceptive. So a lot of it is just little plays that he makes that make it easy on other guys.
"If you need him to play the power play, he can play the power play. If you need him to play on the penalty kill and in the D zone, he's really reliable at that. So I think just his two-way overall game is really, really steady."
