‘A straight shooter:’ What Marco Sturm’s AHL players say Boston Bruins are getting

Marco Sturm laced up his skates for 1,006 NHL games.

He coached Germany to a silver medal at the 2018 Olympics, spent four seasons as an assistant in Los Angeles, and the last three behind the bench for the Ontario Reign.

There’s not much Sturm hasn’t seen on a sheet of ice. That been-there-before coolness translates to his coaching. Now in his mid-40s, Sturm still thrives off competition away from the rink, too.

“He kicked all of our asses at Pickleball,” Reign forward Taylor Ward laughed.

Players from Sturm’s AHL team painted the picture of a smiling coach who is demanding, yet not overbearing. Meticulous in his planning, Sturm knows how he wants to win games and what he needs from his players. His expectations are high, but not unrealistic, because he’s personally done it before.

That’s what they said Bruins are getting in their next coach.

“He’s a calm coach,” said Ward, who spent three seasons playing right wing for Sturm in Ontario. “He’s a straight shooter. He’ll tell you how it is. He’ll tell you what he’s thinking. That’s really all you want as a player, to know where your coach stands in terms of how the team is doing, how you’re doing individually. He’ll let you know, good or bad, which you appreciate as a player.”

Away from the rink, Sturm is a believer in culture. He wants his team to know and care about one another. He jokes with his players, who enjoy shooting the breeze with him.

“That’s a big part of what he does — builds the camaraderie,” said goalie Pheonix Copley, who like Sturm’s new goaltender, is an Alaska native.

‘Trust yourself’

Around Christmas last season, the Reign were white hot. Ontario went on a 9-0-1 stretch and climbed the Pacific Division standings.

Copley was one of the goalies backstopping that run. Since 2014, the 33-year-old has started games for the Reign, Hershey Bears and Chicago Wolves at the AHL level, and St. Louis Blues, Washington Capitals, and Los Angeles Kings in the NHL.

With that resume, Copley is well-versed in locker room dynamics. He believes it’s been easier for the Reign to rip off runs like last December’s because of Sturm’s presence.

“We went on a lot of really good stretches of hockey,” Copley said. “On some teams I’ve been on, when things are going well, it’s almost like (coaches) try to do too much or try to change things. He lets the team do its thing.

“You can tell that he’s been around and that’s why I think he’s good at understanding the team and the players, because he’s been there. He knows when guys need to be pushed or when he needs to step off the gas and let guys rest. It’s his experience that shines through.”

On the flip side, when things weren’t going well, Sturm tried to rebuild his players’ confidence. Hockey players — especially young ones — are prone to trying to do too much amidst a skid, and Sturm reminded them to believe in themselves and what they were doing.

“He would be like, ‘You’ve gotta trust yourself, trust each other,’” Copley said.

The Reign made the AHL playoffs all three seasons with Sturm at the helm.

‘I’m a much, much better player’

Some hockey coaches yell as if screaming is its own sport on the bench, but Sturm isn’t wired that way. He’s not likely to give a rah-rah pump-up speech. That’s delegated to his team’s leaders, but when Sturm does have a pointed message to deliver, players listen.

“Like any good coach, they have to come into the room sometimes and kick you in the ass and wake you up or yell at you sometimes, but not a whole bunch,” Ward said. “He approaches it a little differently than just yelling and screaming at guys all the time. So when he does come in with some emotion, I think it lands a bit more just because you don’t see it a whole bunch from him.”

The Bruins were looking for a defensively responsible coach and Sturm checks that box. Coaching in Los Angeles’ system, defense was a priority. During his time in Boston, Sturm was a responsible 200-foot player, and he’s tried to mold his own players in the same fashion.

“He takes it very seriously,” Ward said. “It’s a big key to the success we’ve had the last few years in Ontario. He’s very dialed in on the defensive side, which translates into offense. But a big focus for our team the last few years was the defensive side of the puck and playing smart away from the puck.

“I’m a much, much better player after three years with Marco than before I showed up,” said Ward, who earned his first NHL call-up in April. “That’s for sure.”

Copley raved about the structure Sturm brought to practices without being a helicopter coach. He’s knowledgeable, but Sturm also knows what he doesn’t know, which is helpful when it comes to goalies.

“He has a really good understanding of his players,” Copley said. “He has a good feel for how to set up practices. I felt like we were never doing pointless stuff at practice. It feels like he has a good plan.

“From a goalie standpoint, his communication is good. I know what he expects out of me. He trusts his goalies and stays out of our way,” Copley added. “As a goalie, that’s what you want. You want to have your space to work with the goalie coach and work on the things you need to work on without worrying about the head coach being too controlling in that aspect.”

‘The best part’

The Reign play in Ontario, California — just outside of Los Angeles — not the Canadian province.

As such, going to the beach is far easier, and Sturm often organized full team trips accordingly. There would be volleyball days and tennis days at the beach, and of course Pickleball day. Ontario went to Top Golf as a team, and amidst all these trips away from the rink, Sturm’s message was simple: “Get tight as a group.”

“He was always big on, ‘Make sure we enjoy each other’s company and make sure we spend time with each other and get to know each other,’” Copley said. “Not every team has that. I think having Marco preach that helped forge that, where otherwise it wouldn’t have been there.”

The Reign had a full team outing before the start of every season and gathered everyone together for a Christmas meal. As a German native who played thousands of miles away from home in the NHL, it’s easy to see why Sturm felt that important.

“He just likes to get the guys together, and especially the families,” Ward said. “He likes to include the families as well. He likes to have the kids around. Guys bring their kids to the rink all the time. He thinks that’s a very important part of a team. So I think that was the best part.”

Now an NHL coach for the first time, Sturm has a lofty challenge ahead. When he steps foot into Boston’s dressing room, it may be an unfamiliar role, but it won’t be unfamiliar territory.

“He’s always got a good attitude,” Copley said. “When I think about Marco, I just think of him always smiling and bringing good energy to the rink and to the locker room.”

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