The Boston Bruins named former player Marco Sturm as head coach, representing a new era as the team has already begun to retool. With the seventh overall pick, the Bruins will be adding a top talent to their prospect pipeline, and nailing the pick will be crucial to the future of the team. Sturm, meanwhile, will be charged with enacting more immediate change to the Bruins. Let’s take a look at Sturm’s coaching career to see how he might change the Bruins fortunes next season and beyond.

Coaching history

Sturm will be a first time NHL head coach, though his ascent to this point has not been surprising. For the past couple seasons there were thoughts that Sturm might one day take over the bench of one of his former teams, often the Los Angeles Kings or San Jose Sharks. Sturm spent four years as Germany’s head coach on the international stage, four years as an assistant coach for the Kings, and finally three seasons as the head coach of the Kings AHL affiliate Ontario Reign.

It should be no surprise that Sturm has impressed over his coaching journey, as the past decade he has enjoyed growing success. He helped take the Kings and the Reign from outside the playoffs, turning both into stronger regular season teams. With relatively new coaches in place, the Kings and Sharks were not options this summer, but the Bruins were ready for a new voice. In all this seems to have all the makings of a great selection by the Bruins.

Style

As a player, Sturm was a fairly productive middle-six checking winger. While he certainly possessed the strength and physical edge to be effective in such a role, he also showed a good deal of cerebral and responsible play, as well as enough skill to produce.

When Sturm describes his coaching style, the traits he showed as a player are evident. First, Sturm puts an emphasis on “playing the right way”, as most coaches do. A deeper insight is that he values puck possession. The same defensive responsibility that helped define Sturm as a player defines his expectation as a team. The emphasis on possession shows some strategy beyond the intensity and competitiveness that is requisite.

Moreover, Sturm has seen a number of young players succeed in the NHL or graduate from his AHL program, proof that he can help as a teacher. The Kings had a tough time integrating prospects during the Rob Blake era, but most of their best work came with the help of Sturm. The combination of experience, success, defensive focus, development, and rising stock make Sturm a solid choice at this time.

For the Bruins

No doubt that Sturm’s apparent ability to coach young players up is vital to his work with the Bruins. Beyond their top pick this season, the Bruins have some young centres that might represent the quickest path back to playoff relevance. The Bruins still have a number of quality players to work with, but their path lies through rejuvenating their centre group. The weak point of the team, both Matthew Poitras and Fraser Minten might be poised for breakout seasons. If both take a step forward next season the Bruins will be a force to be reckoned with.

Of course, there are other paths, as the Bruins took some chances on some skilled reclamation projects in Marat Khusnutdinov and Casey Mittelstadt. Clearly these player are a shift from the size and ruggedness brought by Charlie Coyle, Trent Frederic, and Justin Brazeau. Perhaps Sturm’s emphasis on puck control will have more space for these skilled players to find a role.

Another worthy comparison might be between Brandt Clarke and Mason Lohrei. Sturm was able to help Clarke transition to the NHL, and could help Lohrei stabilize. A dazzling offensive talent, Lohrei needs to continue to make strides in rounding out his game. The potential is there, and Sturm helping him to new heights would be a huge development for the Bruins.

It is worth noting that Sturm has often been drawn to consistency with his lines and pairings. During his time with the Reign he acknowledged that his system can take time to soak in for players, but so far they have been implemented with consistent success. While line changes will occur for one reason or another, expect Sturm to stick with the combinations he devises.

Next steps

With perennial all-stars like David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy on the team, not to mention other strong players like Jeremy Swayman and Hampus Lindholm, the Bruins should expect a better performance next season. There might be continued efforts to rebuild the team, or rather to offload some veterans, but the Bruins have a lot to work with.

It is likely that the Bruins will miss out on centres Michael Misa, James Hagens, and Anton Frondell, but their centre ice position could get a huge boost from Caleb Desnoyers, Roger McQueen, Jake O’Brien, or Brady Martin. The Bruins might not need a true superstar centre to contend, but between Poitras, Minten, and whoever they might select in the draft they have a lot of hope down the middle.

Instead of judging Sturm off of making the playoffs in his first season, the important indicators will be improvements from these players, as well as the team as a whole, as the season progresses. Naturally some draft lottery luck in the future would he beneficial, but there is hardly a guarantee that the Bruins might be back in the playoffs before they pick in the top ten again.