Back With The Bruins, New Head Coach Marco Sturm Sets Vision For Team’s Future

BOSTON — Marco Sturm’s introductory press conference as the new head coach as the Boston Bruins on Tuesday was about many things.

What about him stood out to general manager Don Sweeney during interviews?

How will he integrate more youth into the Bruins’ lineup?

What are his plans for fixing the power play?

How does he plan to work with the team’s core players in David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, and Jeremy Swayman?

All are important questions.

But for Sturm himself, the day, his day no less, was about one thing and one thing only.

“Our mindset is about winning hockey games, not just going into hockey games and playing a game,” Sturm declared. “No, we actually want to win.”

READ MORE: How Marco Sturm Can Improve Bruins In First Season As Head Coach

Sturm, 46, was officially introduced as the 30th head coach in the franchise’s history inside its front office suite high above TD Garden. He spent five years with the Bruins as a player from 2005-10, and is being tasked with leading them through what is expected to be a multi-year transitional process back to championship contention in his first head coaching job at the NHL level.

That starts with re-establishing the Bruins’ defensive identity that was first put in place during Sturm’s playing days and seemed to completely vanish during a dreadful 2024-25 campaign that saw Boston finish with the fifth-worst record in the league and miss the postseason for the first time in nine years.

But as much as he wants to uphold long held organizational standards, Sturm knows the Bruins must evolve with the times if they’re ever going to be competitive in today’s high-scoring NHL.

“We want to score more goals, but scoring more goals is not just about the offensive zone,” Sturm said. “That’s where the puck has to end up, but it all starts with how are we going to get there. 

“It’s coming out with the puck. We want to have the puck more. We got to have better entries, and not turn pucks over” he continued. “We’ve got to put that structure in place, and we also got to be more hungry. We got to have a better mindset. There’s not just one thing. Overall, there’ are a bunch of other things that I think we have to get better at. I want them to have that offensive mindset and the mentality when we have the puck.” 

Those words will surely be pleasing to the organization’s crop of prospects.

Developing young players has been a challenge for the Bruins over the last number of years. It hasn’t helped that they haven’t had many first-round draft picks in that time, and neither has the fact that the ones they have had have usually fallen later on in the round.

CHECK OUT: 3 Important Facts To Know About New Bruins Head Coach Marco Sturm

Nevertheless, Sturm plans on giving the prospects in the Bruins’ system as many chances as possible to progress and become lineup regulars in Boston. All he asks in return is that they don’t waste them.

“We all make mistakes, old, young, it doesn’t matter,” said Sturm. “You’re going to support them, but you’re also going to be honest with them. You got to work with them, and they also have to learn. I feel like they’re going to learn from our core group, from the older guys. That’s why the whole thing is so important. It’s not just me, it’s the team. They got to see it every day in practice. They got to see how guys practice every day. There shouldn’t be any excuses. It’s an easy way out, and a lot of guys take that route. I’m just not one of them.” 

Regardless, whether it be with the Bruins’ prospects or veterans, Sturm will make sure his expectations for everyone will be easy to understand.

“I’m very clear” Sturm said. “I would say, in the meetings I have, the messages I’m going to deliver, it could be system wise, it could be anything, it’s very, very clear. There will be no gray area. We are all going to work together. I want to push those guys forward. I hate losing, and I’m very competitive on and off the ice.”

Sturm will develop the Bruins’ prospects.

He plans to hire a new assistant coach to oversee the power play, and has already had conversations with his veteran leaders.

But none of that will matter if the Bruins don’t win.

At the end of the day, that’s all he cares about.

“It’s not about me. I know today will be, and that’s fine. Maybe tomorrow, too. But to be honest, I can’t wait to just go to the locker room and just work with my guys,” said Sturm. “That’s what I love to do. That’s what I want to do. I can’t wait for day one to see the Bruins pushing to the next level.”

FOLLOW ANDREW FANTUCCHIO ON 𝕏: @A_FANTUCCHIO

FOLLOW BOSTON HOCKEY NOW ON 𝕏 AND FACEBOOK