NHL professional Nico Sturm is taking the German national ice hockey team to a new level at the World Cup in the Czech Republic. He underlines his importance on and off the ice.
Achiever, leader and improver: Nico Sturm is Germany’s difference player at the Ice Hockey World Cup. His teammates rave about the NHL professional, and national coach Harold Kreis is also very impressed.
Sturm takes the national team to a new level, as in the 8-1 gala against Latvia. “He is an absolute professional. In the dressing room and on the ice he is a leader, absolutely,” said Kreis, describing his most important player alongside captain Moritz Müller.
Sturm is one of those ice hockey players that every coach would love to have on his team. He is a so-called two-way striker who has his strengths both defensively and offensively. He is a player who is on the ice in the crucial phases of a game. “You know exactly that when the situation is critical and Nico is on the ice, he will make the right decision,” said NHL colleague JJ Peterka from the Buffalo Sabres.
Desire for responsibility
The San Jose Sharks professional can live and deal with responsibility very well. “That’s what I’m aiming for,” he said. Sturm knows about his status. He doesn’t push the role away – on the contrary. “I hope that I can give the boys self-confidence when I’m on the ice. They should think: He’s outside, he’s doing it,” said Sturm. “That’s my job in San Jose too. I think I do it very well too.”
“He gives us a lot of stability,” noted Peterka. “We have that in mind and that gives confidence to the troops.” This justifies Storm on the Ice. He was involved in the first two goals in the 8-1 win against World Cup third place Latvia on Wednesday. The North American professional then scored the eighth goal himself. “It was a lot of fun,” said the national player.
Sturm has now become an integral part of the German Ice Hockey Association’s selection. Almost twelve months ago he played an important role in the silver coup at the World Cup in Tampere, Finland. He is currently leading the German team towards the quarterfinals again, even if the tournament got off to a somewhat bumpy start.
Sturm missed two World Cup games due to an injury, and the national team had to pay the lesson twice against the NHL stars of the USA (1:6) and Sweden (1:6). A discussion after the two bankruptcies with the coach, but especially within the team, quickly had an impact and was a factor. The storm return against Latvia is another.
“It’s not for nothing that he plays in the NHL, the best league in the world,” said Berlin defender Kai Wissmann about the team leader and named another storm strength. “He wins a lot of face-offs for us,” emphasized the Berlin champion captain. “This allows us to start with the puck and not chase the opponent for 20 seconds. He is a very important player, clearly.”
On course for the quarterfinals
Sturm should set the pace again in the remaining three preliminary round games. On Friday (4:20 p.m./Pro Sieben and MagentaSport) we face Kazakhstan. Then Poland follows a day later and France at the end of the group phase on Tuesday.
With two wins and two defeats, the DEB selection is currently in a good position. The district team could even afford a defeat against the outsiders. The minimum goal of the quarterfinals seems to be just a formality. “We are on track,” said Sturm.
Source: Stern
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