Preview/Lines #17: Sturm Says Koivu, Staal Were Big Wild Influences

Nico Sturm is coming back to Minnesota a new man.

Sturm, signed out of Clarkson University by the Minnesota Wild in 2019, established himself as an NHL’er in the State of Hockey before getting dealt to the Colorado Avalanche last March for Tyson Jost.

Sturm came back to Minnesota twice in the regular season last year to take on his former mates, but today, he returns as a Stanley Cup champion.

The 27-year-old center though, inked by the San Jose Sharks to a three-year, $6 million dollar contract this off-season, wasn’t thinking about that though this weekend.

Instead, he spent yesterday in Minnesota with girlfriend Taylor Turnquist, her family, and their dogs.

He did reflect on the Wild veterans who helped get him to a championship level and gain some “security” in San Jose.

“Mikko [Koivu] was, obviously, when I first came in out of college, a guy that’s been in the league forever, defensively strong centerman. So really, a guy I could model my game after. So was Eric Staal when he was still here,” Sturm recalled. “Mikko especially, seeing them off the ice as well, and how they prepared every day for practices and games, those [were] certainly two really good guys to see early on in my career.”

San Jose Sharks (4-9-3)

Head coach David Quinn says it’s the same line-up tonight as against the Dallas Stars, including James Reimer in net.

In that case, look for…

Meier-Hertl-Labanc
Nieto-Couture-Barabanov
Bonino-Sturm-Kunin
Lindblom-Lorentz-Svechnikov

Megna-Karlsson
Vlasic-Benning
Ferraro-Simek

Reimer

Minnesota Wild (7-6-1)

Per Jessi Pierce:

Kirill Kaprizov — Frederick Gaudreau — Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Foligno — Joel Eriksson Ek — Matt Boldy
Connor Dewar — Marco Rossi — Mason Shaw
Adam Beckman — Sam Steel — Joseph Cramarossa

Jacob Middleton — Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin — Matt Dumba
Jon Merrill — Calen Addison

Filip Gustavsson

Where to Watch

The San Jose Sharks will take on the Minnesota Wild at 3 PM PST at Xcel Energy Center. Watch it live on NBC Sports California. Listen to it on the Sharks Audio Network.