Nico Sturm (born 3 May 1995) is a German professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). He previously played for the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...

, and

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

. He made his NHL debut in 2019 with the Wild, and won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

with the Avalanche in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

. Internationally Sturm has played for the German national team, and won a silver medal at the 2023 World Championships.

Playing career

Amateur

Sturm played as a youth in his native Germany, appearing with

ESV Kaufbeuren ESV Kaufbeuren (ESVK) is a professional ice hockey team based in Kaufbeuren, Germany. They currently play in the DEL2 DEL2 (also known as Deutsche Eishockey Liga 2 or DEL II) is the second tier ice hockey league in Germany Germany, of ...

in the

German Development League The German Development League (German: Deutsche Nachwuchsliga, DNL) is the elite junior league of the German Ice Hockey Federation. It was founded in 2000 in cooperation with the national hockey associations. Its objective is to educate and care for ...

(DNL) from 2011 to 2014. In order to continue his development, Sturm opted to move to North America, playing in the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 50th season of operation in 2024–25. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

with the

Corpus Christi IceRays The Corpus Christi IceRays are a Junior ice hockey#Tier II, Tier II junior ice hockey team playing in the North American Hockey League (NAHL). The IceRays are based in Corpus Christi, Texas, and play in the North American Hockey League's South D ...

and the

Austin Bruins The Austin Bruins are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's Central Division. The Bruins play their home games in the Riverside Arena in Austin, Minnesota. History The Bruins were an expansion team that first pl ...

. Sturm was selected by the

Tri-City Storm The Tri-City Storm is a Tier I junior ice hockey team based in Kearney, Nebraska, that plays in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Its name refers to the three central Nebraskan cities of Kearney, Hastings, and ...

, 72nd overall, in the 2015 USHL Entry Draft. On 30 June 2015, Sturm was announced to have signed with the Storm, while also committing to play collegiate hockey at

Clarkson University Clarkson University is a private research university with its main campus in Potsdam, New York. Clarkson has additional graduate programs and research facilities in the New York Capital District. It was established in 1896 and enrolled over 4 ...

of the ECAC. In the 2015–16 season, Sturm recorded 39 points in 57 games with the Tri-City Storm and added 6 points in 5 playoff games to help Tri-City win the

Clark Cup The United States Hockey League began in 1961 as a semi-professional ice hockey league. Starting with the 1979–80 season, the league became a strictly Amateur league, and began awarding its champion the Clark Cup Trophy. All champions of the USH ...

. Sturm played his freshman season with the Clarkson University Golden Knights in the 2016–17 season, collecting 21 points in 38 games to earn a selection to the ECAC All-Rookie Team. In his second year, Sturm continued to realise his potential, increasing his offensive production with 37 points in 40 games. His solid two-way play was noticed as he led the NCAA with a 61.7% face-off win percentage and was named the 2017–18 ECAC Best Defensive Forward. Returning as co-captain for his junior season with Clarkson in 2018–19, Sturm led the team in scoring and assists with 45 points in 39 games. In his standout season for the top ranked Golden Knights, he was named the ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Forward for the second consecutive season, a Top Ten Hobey Baker Award Finalist, a finalist for the ECAC Hockey Player of the Year Award, named to the 2019 ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Team and an ECAC First-Team All-League selection.

Professional

Minnesota Wild

As an undrafted free agent, Sturm attracted league wide NHL interest following his junior season, opting to forgo his senior year in signing a one-year, entry-level contract for the remainder of the 2018–19 season, with the

on 1 April 2019. He immediately joined the out of contention Wild making his NHL debut in a 3–0 defeat to the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

on 4 April 2019. Sturm mostly played in the Wild's

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) affiliate, the

Iowa Wild The Iowa Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Des Moines, Iowa. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wild play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena. The ...

, in the 2019–20 season. He earned a call-up to the NHL during the season and recorded his first two NHL assists in a six-game stint with the Wild. When the season was suspended due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the Wild were admitted to a play-in round of the playoffs when the NHL resumed. Sturm would play in two games of the Wild's five-game series against the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

, and scored his first NHL goal in Game 4 against

Jacob Markström Jacob Anders Markström (born 31 January 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Florida Panthers in the second round, 31st overall, of the 2008 ...

Colorado Avalanche

On 15 March 2022, he was traded to the

, in exchange for

Tyson Jost Tyson Jost (born March 14, 1998) is a Canadians, Canadian professional ice hockey Forward (ice hockey), forward, currently playing for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). Born in St. Albert, Alberta to a single mothe ...

. On 26 June 2022, Sturm helped the Avalanche claim their first Stanley Cup in 21 years.

San Jose Sharks

On the back of his success with the Avalanche, Sturm as a free agent was signed to a three-year, $6 million contract with the San Jose Sharks on 13 July 2022.

Florida Panthers

During the 2024–25 season, approaching the end of his contract with the Sharks, Sturm was traded to the

on 6 March 2025, alongside a seventh-round draft pick in 2027, in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick in

2026 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 – Bulgaria is expected to adopt the euro and become the 21st member state of the eurozone. * January 6 – The 2025 Jubilee will end on this day. * February 5 – The New START Treat ...

Personal

Sturm is engaged to fellow Clarkson alum and professional hockey player Taylor Turnquist.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sturm, Nico 1995 births Living people AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans Clarkson Golden Knights men's ice hockey players Colorado Avalanche players Florida Panthers players German expatriate ice hockey people German expatriate sportspeople in the United States German ice hockey centres Ice hockey people from Swabia (Bavaria) Iowa Wild players Minnesota Wild players San Jose Sharks players Sportspeople from Augsburg Stanley Cup champions Tri-City Storm players Undrafted National Hockey League players