NHL next?: Former Shark Marco Sturm has surprising Germany in the semifials.
GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA
» Marco Sturm wants to coach in the NHL.
The former Sharks firstround draft pick is having quite the audition coaching Germany at the Olympics.
Sturm has the underdog Germans in the semifinals, where he faces heavily favored Canada today. At just 39, Sturm is the biggest reason Germany has exceeded expectations at the Olympics. He said he is constantly improving along with his team.
“As a coach — and especially me, because I’m very young and (in) only my third year coaching — I learned so much,” Sturm said Thursday. “It only helps in tournaments and it always helps playing against top teams also. ... You learn sometimes from your mistakes and on the other side what do you do good and what you think helps the team to be successful.”
After 15 NHL seasons as a player on six different teams— he started with the Sharks, selected 21st overall in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft and then spent eightand- a- half seasons with the Sharks before he was traded to the Boston Bruins as part of a package deal for Joe Thornton in November 2005 — Sturm is now enjoying some success in coaching.
He’s six years removed from his last NHL game but already looks like he has a bright future behind the bench.
“He’s still really, really young,” veteran Germany defenseman Christian Ehrhoff said. “He’s only going to grow from all these experiences. I think one day, why not? Why should he not be a coach on the highest level?”
Sturm makes no secret of his interest in getting back to North America to coach. He’s currently living in Germany and coaching the national team full-time but could parlay his current work into a gig as an assistant in the NHL or maybe even a head job in the American Hockey League.
The Olympics— where he will see former teammate Wojtek Wolski on the ice for Canada — are evidence of what he can do. Canada’s players, some of whom played against Sturm, won’t understate his impact.
“He’s done a tremendous job with that program,” Canada captain Chris Kelly said. “I think results speak and for them to be where they’re at and deserve to be where they’re at speaks volumes to him as a coach.”
Sturm has volumes of NHL connections after playing for the Sharks, Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, Washington Capitals, Vancouver Canucks and Florida Panthers from 1997-2012. If he’s being scouted like some players at the Olympics, his opportunity could come as soon as next season, and he said he is ready for it.
“I want to learn each year,” Sturm said. “It’s a great opportunity for me with the German hockey, but when this is done, I think I’m trying and I’m looking forward to maybe a next challenge and that will be the States and I think that’s my goal.”
First, though, Sturm is tasked with continuing to play at a tournament where few expected Germany to advance this far. Germany didn’t qualify for the Olympics in Sochi, and even Sturm didn’t expect this.