Get know your Jet: Mario Ferraro

“Give it 110 per cent.” “Get pucks in deep.” “One shift at a time.” “Play our game.” “Keep it simple.”

Hockey has a language all its own. Unfortunately, after hearing the same phrases repeated often enough, that language can start to sound a lot like white noise.

So we’re going to try something different.

The Free Press will occasionally sit down with a Winnipeg Jets player at his locker-room stall for a wide-ranging conversation about the stuff you don’t always hear in a media scrum.

First up: defenceman Mario Ferraro, the 28-year-old from Toronto who signed with the Jets as a free agent this past summer after spending his first seven NHL seasons with the San Jose Sharks.

Q: What’s your very first hockey memory from childhood?

I started playing when I was five. I think the first memory I have was when I was playing for the NobleKing Knights, we had a pre-season sort of camp. The coach organized that. He did a little fitness test kind of thing. An off-ice fitness test, just to kind of see if we were working out during the summer.

Obviously we were very young, I was just like six or seven years old. But it was a fun thing for us to stay busy during the summer, like record how many push-ups and skipping, how many reps we could do of squats, things like that.

And then at the beginning of the year before the season started, we did a little training camp and we did some fitness testing for fun. And if you won, like if you did the most sit-ups or the more push-ups, you’d win a stick.

So I remember getting an Easton Synergy stick. It was orange. I was really happy about it, because I had worked hard that summer in training.

I think, looking back on it, everybody probably got a stick. I think they organized it that way to treat everybody fairly. But in our minds we felt rewarded for working hard and working out in the summer. So that went a long way for me. That was a pretty cool memory.

Q: As a kid growing up in Ontario, who’s one or two NHL players that you idolized?

I would say I looked up to Drew Doughty’s game a lot. And Erik Karlsson, who I played with (in San Jose).

I think I realized it’s pretty hard to get close to the way they play, once I got here. But especially Drew Doughty for a long time, his style of play. I like how he’s physical and aggressive on pucks, but he also produces offence at the same time. He was the guy.

Q: What was your first job?

My very first job was delivering newspapers. I was really young, in my hometown. And then working at Tim Hortons. I was cleaning at first, and then I started making the donuts and stuff like that. A whole lot of everything.

Q: If you weren’t playing professional hockey, what would you be doing to earn a living?

I don’t know if this counts as a job, but I make YouTube videos. I have a channel (Youngest of Plugs).

I’ve always admired people with their own channels who make income that way through entertainment. I think I’d narrow it down to making videos of maybe like fitness challenges. Stuff like that.

That’s something I’ve done before. I feel like that’s something I’d want to do.

Q: We know you’re good at hockey. But what other hidden skills or talents do you have away from the rink?

I used to ride BMX bikes. I was a lot younger. But I like to think I was pretty good at it.

I would go to the King City Skate Park and it had a bunch of half-pipes and stuff like that. I wouldn’t do flips, but got to the point where I got to barspins. With barspins, you’ve got to fall to kind of get better at (it). That’s when I stopped, really. I started to get hurt a little bit so it was like, ‘No, I don’t want to keep this up.’

But BMX riding, that’s a little fun fact. Since I’ve gone pro, I haven’t touched a BMX bike, and I think we’re going to keep it that way. It’s going to get cold here pretty quick so I guess that’s a good way to force me to stay off.

Q: How about something you’re terrible at, despite your best efforts?

A lot of things. We went skeet shooting the other day for team building, and I was pretty terrible at that.

I would say I’m passionate about fishing and hunting, but I’m not very good at that either. The boys in here would probably agree.

Q: You, Mario Ferraro, are made NHL commissioner for one day. What’s the first rule you change?

That’s a hard question. Maybe something about overtime.

I feel like shootout, yeah, it’s fun, but overtime is a little more exciting. So maybe extending overtime. Which is an interesting thing for me because I’m not usually playing in overtime.

Maybe if they extend it, I’d get some opportunities because other guys would get tired.

Q: Is there a story behind your No. 38, which you’ve worn your entire career beginning in San Jose?

It was what was available at the time — and then I stuck with it. I was just sort of assigned it, and it was like, ‘You know what, I like it. I’m going to keep it.’

This was the first number I ever wore in the NHL, so I figured I’d keep it.

Q: A lot of players are extremely particular about the tools of the trade. Tell me about your hockey stick.

I use a Bauer. A 95 flex now. I’m very nonspecific about my sticks. It’s pretty basic what I use. It’s not very custom at all.

I’m definitely not obsessive about it. I don’t even know the specific kind I’m using — I guess I have to talk to my rep. But I like it.

Q: Do you have any superstitions related to hockey?

I’m not really superstitious, but I have to tie my left skate before my right. I guess you could say that’s a little bit of a superstition. It’s more habit than anything.

Q: What is your go-to pre-game meal?

Like a lot of guys, for me it’s pasta. With Alfredo sauce and marinara or meat sauce mixed together. So a little bit of both.

And then some chicken, with some bread to be able to dip in the sauce. And some extra carbs.

And then before the game when I get to the rink, I change it up. Sometimes it’s peanut butter toast, or just a bagel with butter, just to get some more carbs.

Q: Is there a food you absolutely will not touch?

I’m a foodie, so I like to eat everything. I don’t think there’s many things I would never touch, if I’m being honest.

I love olives. Liver, maybe. I haven’t tried that. I’m willing to eat everything. There’s some stuff I don’t prefer. Tripe? I’ve never had that, but I would be game for it.

Q: You’re relatively new to Winnipeg, but is there something about the city you’ve quickly come to enjoy?

I find there’s a lot of good Italian food and a lot of good Italian grocery stores.

I’m from Toronto, so there’s a lot of good food there. It’s the culture I grew up in. I’ve come to be pretty appreciative of that here.

My parents were in town, and we got to have some nice, good home-cooked meals. That couldn’t be done without some supply in Winnipeg, and they do a really good job of that here.

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