Marco Sturm’s start to life as an NHL coach may not have gotten off to the most ideal start, but the Boston Bruins still won 3-1 against the Washington Capitals in their season-opener. The Bruins were under stern pressure from the Capitals throughout as Jeremy Swayman produced 35 saves to hold down the win.
Sturm, the first-ever German-born head coach to take the reins of an NHL team, had some big words for his team post-game.
“It feels great. I’m exhausted. It’s the moment I was waiting for and to grab a win on the road at a tough place like here, it’s even better. And on top of it, for the most part, they played exactly what we worked on, they played exactly how I wanted them to play,” he said, evidently delighted with his team, per NHL.com.
Sturm is the sixth-ever European coach in league history and the first-ever for the Bruins. He was brought in to replace interim head coach Joe Sacco after Jim Montgomery was fired back in November 2024.
Sturm’s coaching career took off in 2015 when he was appointed as the head coach and general manager of the German men’s national team. Under his leadership, Germany won the 2015 Deutschland Cup, reached the World Championship quarterfinals in both 2016 and 2017, and qualified for the 2018 Winter Olympics, where they went on to capture a historic silver medal.
The success eventually led to the NHL, where Sturm was initially appointed as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Kings back in November 2018. He was then made the head coach of the Kings’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, ahead of the 2022-23 season.
Sturm’s teams rely on a strong defensive foundation and a rigid possession-based system. He was brought in after the Bruins missed the playoffs last year and will be delighted to start off on a winning note.
