A hockey player missing teeth is synonymous with the sport. The Sharks had Brent Burns for years play with a gap in his smile, and now that the team's longtime defenseman has left San Jose, it appears as though Mario Ferraro will carry that look for the team.
On Wednesday, Ferraro spoke with NBC Sports California's Brodie Brazil on his YouTube channel and discussed what he intends to do with his missing front teeth after losing three in one game last season.
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Ferraro does have the temporary solution of wearing a dental flipper. However, the 23-year-old stated to Brazil that he's not a fan of the partial denture, considering it affects his everyday living.
"I had the flipper, okay, but I have an even worse lisp," Ferraro said. "I'm spitting even more with that thing; I can't even eat with it. I'll have to be at the table and pull it out before I eat, and I'm always eating ... So I just leave them out."
Furthermore, the Sharks blueliner added that his long-term solution would be to get implants, but since Ferraro is early into his hockey career, there is the chance he could lose them again. As a result, Ferraro plans to wait to fix the issue permanently.
Brazil then asked the San Jose defenseman his initial reaction to looking in the mirror and realizing that three front teeth were missing. Rather than having a look of horror, Ferrero became a fan of the new look.
San Jose Sharks
"I was like, you know what? It's kind of badass," Ferraro said. "I take a little pride in it. It's what I do for a living. I'm okay with it. If I lost it because they rotted and my teeth fell out that way ... then that's a little bit different. But I'm actually okay with this."
RELATED: Why Mario Ferraro's Sharks contract extension wasn't an easy negotiation
Ferraro signed a four-year contract extension with an Annual Average Value of $3.25 million last week to remain with the Sharks, so fans will have time to get used to the new look from their defenseman.