New Bruins coach Marco Sturm and his family feel back at home in Boston
Marco Sturm was smiling ear to ear throughout Tuesday's press conference introducing him as the new head coach of the Boston Bruins. Not only was he elated to be announced as an NHL head coach for the first time, Sturm was happy he and his family are back in a place they consider home.
Sturm spent five years with the Bruins as a player after arriving in 2005 as part of the package Boston received in the controversial Joe Thornton trade. He had some special moments in a Bruins sweater, including a game-winning goal against the rival Montreal Canadiens in the 2008 postseason and his famous game-winner in the 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway Park.
While Sturm was enjoying his time on the ice with the Bruins, his wife Astrid and two young children were loving their life in Boston. Immediately upon his arrival 20 years ago, the native of Dingolfing, Germany, felt Boston shared a lot of similarities with European cities. And even when Sturm's playing career brought him to four other cities -- and his jump into coaching sent him to Germany, Los Angeles, and Ontario -- the Sturm family always considered Boston their home.
Sturm revealed Tuesday he spent the last seven years living away from his family while he was on the coaching staff of the Los Angeles Kings and the team's AHL affiliate in Ontario, California.
"It was very, very hard. But I chased my dream and did it the hard way," said Sturm. "Thanks to my family and my wife, they allowed me to do that. That's just the icing on the cake that we reunite here right now."
It took Sturm 15 years to return to Boston. But now that's he's back and together with his family again, those home sweet home feelings have reached a new level.
"Can't write a better script," Sturm told WBZ-TV's Steve Burton inside TD Garden. "My kids grew up here and their memories from when they were little were so good. They always told me, 'Dad, I want to go back to Boston one day.'"
Sturm's kids, Mason and Kaydie, were already back in the region anyways. Both are attending colleges in New England, with one at UMass Boston and the other at Bowdoin College in Maine.
Another former player becomes a coach in Boston
Sturm is now the 14th Bruins head coach who also played for the club. That has has been a trend in Boston sports as of late.
Alex Cora played for the Red Sox from 2005-08, and has been the team's skipper since 2018. He won a World Series as both a player and a manager in Boston.
Mike Vrabel is now the head honcho of the Patriots, after he won three Super Bowls over his eight seasons mucking things up on the Patriots defense. He replaced Jerod Mayo, who also played linebacker for the Patriots.
"Hopefully we're all going to do good too," joked Sturm.
Sturm got to meet up with Cora on Wednesday when he was at Fenway Park, and hopes to chat with Vrabel soon. He's already heard from his roommate at TD Garden, as Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla reached out to Sturm after he got the Bruins job.
"He was very nice. I don't know those guys, but I want to connect with them. I'd like to pick their brains from a different sports," said Sturm. "Coaching-wise, there is always something I can learn.
"That's what is nice about here; it's a sports town. I can just go next door and communicate and exchange some ideas with some other coaches in different sports," Sturm added. "That's what I'm looking forward to."
