Mitch Marner and Zeus

Mitch Marner and Zeus

mitch marner and zeus

Nulo partner, Mitch Marner, is a professional ice hockey player for the Las Vegas Golden Knights who was selected 4th overall in the 2015 NHL draft. After spending his entire career with his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs, Marner made the move to Vegas in the 2025 off-season. A five-time NHL All-Star, he made his debut for the Canadian Junior National Team in 2014 and the senior team in 2017, recently helping lead Team Canada to victory in the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.

Off the ice, Mitch is a devoted family man, spending time with his wife Stephanie and their newborn son Miles. He's also a dog dad to Zeus, a six-year-old chocolate lab, and cat uncle to Burbank, a Ragdoll. Coming from a pet-loving family, Mitch truly understands the special bond between athletes and their pets. He sat down with our team to share how Zeus has become an essential part of his ice hockey journey and mental health.

Tell us about Zeus and how he became a part of your family.

Zeus is my 6-year-old chocolate lab. I grew up with chocolate labs my whole life and I’ve always loved the breed— just what the dogs bring to the energy of a family and the sense of coming home to a dog.

So, my parents found Zeus and took him to their house for the night, and my wife and I made plans to go visit them, but kept the dog a secret from her!

When we got there, Zeus was in the upstairs bedroom, so I snuck away to go grab him and bring him down to her, and he’s been our incredible companion (and playful older brother to our baby boy, Miles!) ever since. 

Zeus and I like to go for family walks around the neighborhood, eat our meals together, cozy up for naps together, and go play in the water. He loves swimming and chasing stuff, so we’ll get a good game of fetch going in the water. 

And he’s a big fan of the Nulo product.  If he’s ever not behaving, I can pull a bag of Nulo out of the pantry, and he turns into an angel!

How do you approach nutrition as a professional athlete, and why do you want the same benefits for Zeus?

Nutrition is huge— the right food can really improve sleep, support recovery, and increase energy levels that we need throughout the day. And it’s been especially important to me and my family in the last couple of years as we have a nutritionist who has created little energy balls for the family. They taste good and they’re good for you. 

And that’s why I like the Nulo product as well. Nulo recipes are full of nutrients that keep Zeus’ energy levels high and that’s what you want out of your dog. I want him to feel the best he can every single day.

The recovery aspect is just as important in making sure that he gets the rest he needs to feel recovered and bounce right back after playing with me. Nutrition is just as important for him as it is for me. 

Tell us more about Burbank and why you choose Nulo for him, too.

Burbank is a funny cat—he’s got a bit of an angry side to him when he doesn’t like you, but he is also a very loving guy when he wants to cuddle up and get cozy with you on the couch. He’s a Ragdoll and a lot of fun to be around.

For both Zeus and Burbank, we feed them Nulo because we want them to have the best nutrients, the best ingredients, and we want them to live the longest life they can. And that’s what Nulo supports at every meal.

Take us through your ice hockey journey from childhood to the NHL.

Yeah, it’s been a long, long ride. My dad got me on skates when I was two years old, and ever since then, I’ve loved it. 

One of my fondest memories growing up was when my mom would be working or cooking and would play goalie for me as I shot mini stick balls at her. And I think both my parents saw the love that I had for the game and sacrificed a lot of their lives to try to give me the best opportunity to play in the NHL. 

I started in the Ontario Minor Association (OMHA), then went to the Greater Hockey Toronto League (GTHL) for 5 years, and was fortunate to be drafted to the London Knights in 2013. In London, I played with some unbelievable players and played under some high-end coaches. And from that point, I just kept building and getting better, and I was grateful and lucky to be drafted fourth overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League (NHL).

And this past summer, I was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights and signed an eight-year deal, so my family is very, very happy about that, and we’re super excited to see what the future holds for us. 

What role does your support system play in your success as a professional athlete?

One key to success is the group around you. You need the on-ice family feeling and everyone is in this together, and off ice is the same. But you also need your outside family group and your family bubble to be tight as well. Hockey can feel like an up-and-down rollercoaster ride, so I try to really lean on people around me and talk about everything on my mind. Mental health is incredibly important to me. 

Why is mental health advocacy important to you, and how do you approach it?

Mental health is incredibly important to me, and over the past couple of years, I've really leaned into trying to help other people out in that aspect.

Letting people know that they’re not in this fight alone. Everyone has different experiences with it, and there are moments where you feel like you're just alone and by yourself, and no one is around to talk to you about it, or you don't want to bring it up to people and make them feel bad about what you're feeling.

But I think there are always people around who want to listen and want to hear how you're doing and how you're feeling. And I think it's helped me a lot as a friend, a father, a husband, by asking nonstop how people are doing and getting into the details versus surface-level responses.

How does Zeus play a role in your mental health and well-being?

Zeus has meant a lot in my mental health battle, especially the last couple of years, especially as he doesn’t have a clue what I do. He just thinks of me as his father, as the guy who wakes up, gives him love, feeds him, takes him for walks, and disappears randomly for three or four days with a suitcase out the door.

So that's always the best— getting home. There are times when you have a tough road trip, you lose three games, you're in a bad spot, you're in the dumps, and you get home at 1:00 or 2:00 AM, and all you hear first is the bark of Zeus. And I’ll give him a couple of Nulo treats every once in a while!

He has no clue what I do. He just loves me for who I am, and that’s why it’s nice to come home to him and just relax together. 

Try Mitch and Zeus's Picks

Each day, Mitch feeds Zeus a mix of these great Nulo foods to fuel his incredible journey with him. Mixing and matching the products keeps things fun and exciting for Zeus, and can for your pet as well.

SEE MORE ABOUT MITCH AND ZEUS ON INSTAGRAM  @MARNER_93
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