The Penguins didn't waste much time making John Marino an official member of their organization.
He signed a two-year, two-way contract on Thursday, less than two weeks after the Penguins acquired his rights from Edmonton for a sixth-round draft choice in 2021.
The entry-level deal runs through the 2020-21 season
Marino, 22, is a 6-foot-1, 181-pound defenseman who spent the past three seasons with Harvard.
He had three goals and eight assists in 33 games for the Crimson last season, pushing his collegiate totals to seven goals and 35 assists in 101 games.
Marino was the Oilers' sixth-round draft choice in 2015, when he was the No. 154 selection overall, but never signed with the Oilers.
He is expected to compete for a job with the Penguins' Wilkes-Barre/Scranton AHL affiliate during the coming season, and gives the Penguins another prospect at a position where few players appear to project as potential contributors in the NHL in the foreseeable future.
"Adding a young defenseman like John to our organization will be very helpful," Jim Rutherford said. "His development was accelerated last year and he became a top-10 defenseman in college hockey, giving himself a chance to play at the NHL level."
Marino is from North Easton, Mass., and had his most productive season at Harvard as a sophomore, when he put up two goals and 14 assists in 33 games. He had a plus-minus rating of plus-21 that season.
Before joining the Crimson, Marino played one season with Tri-City in the USHL. He recorded five goals and 25 assists in 56 regular-season games with the Storm in 2015-16, then added two assists in 11 playoff games as Tri-City won the Clark Cup championship.
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