The San Jose Sharks activated 23-year-old top-pairing defenseman Mario Ferraro off injured reserve today, as the team announced on Twitter.
Prior to the injury, Ferraro was in the midst of a solid follow-up to his pseudo-breakout campaign in 2020-21. San Jose’s 49th-overall selection in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Ferraro had two goals, nine assists, 11 points, a -7 rating, and an average time on ice of 23:19.
Ferraro sustained a leg injury on February 26th that was expected to keep him out of the lineup for six weeks, meaning his return to the lineup comes ahead of schedule. Ferraro played just 13 shifts in that night’s game against Boston before suffering the injury, landing on the injured reserve list two days later.
The Sharks went 6-7-2 with Ferraro out of the lineup, but their goals against per games played average was 3.27 during that timeframe, up from the team’s season-long mark thus far of 3.15. Ferraro has continuously been thrown to the wolves the past two years, commonly playing alongside Brent Burns, but the young defenseman has held his own despite seeing some of the toughest minutes in the league.
Ferraro could return tonight when the Sharks host the Dallas Stars.