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Nico Sturm, Minnesota Wild (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Wild’s Nico Sturm Brings High Hockey I.Q. to Team

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Mariah E. Stark | Last updated Sep 22, 2025 12:40 PM ET

The Minnesota Wild were fairly quiet when it came to acquisitions this past offseason, as they only made two moves of high significance: Vladimir Tarasenko and Nico Sturm. It’s Sturm’s second stint with the Wild; his first was his NHL debut in the 2018-19 season until the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline, when he was dealt to the Colorado Avalanche. He won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche and then signed with the San Jose Sharks, where he spent three seasons before being traded once again, but this time to the Florida Panthers. Sturm went on to win the Stanley Cup for the second time, this time with the Panthers, before signing back with the Wild this offseason.

He’s coming back to the Wild with more experience and has truly proven to be a student of the game with a very high hockey I.Q. He may not be joining the Wild to take a top center position or score a lot of goals, but he’ll make a solid fourth liner with a lot of tips to give out. In this article, we’ll take a look at how Sturm has become a student of the game and will prove valuable to the Wild, starting with his faceoffs.

Sturm Studies Faceoffs

Every player in the NHL has an area they can improve, even the best of the best, and Sturm has spent the majority of his time in the NHL studying and improving his game. He went from 51.5 percent in faceoffs won in his first full season to 62.7 percent of faceoffs won in his final full season with the Sharks. He didn’t play enough games with the Panthers for his percentages to count this past season. He’s worked steadily to get better at faceoffs, and that not only included figuring out how to win them, but how to adjust his technique to make winning them easier.

“I just think that every center has some insight into how they do things and guys that have been around for a long time, have taken a lot of draws and played against a lot of centers so I always like to pick everybody’s brain a little bit, and everybody has different tendencies and what they think against righties, against lefties, against outside. It doesn’t mean that you have to change what you do, like my basis will always be strength, like that’s how I win most of my draws, but I feel like you never stop learning,” said Sturm about how he’s improved his faceoffs.

“..And like I said, it’s just something you never stop learning, and it’s also, I like draws because it’s one-on-one, it’s competition, it’s the first battle of every shift, and you try to win it,” Sturm said about why he enjoys faceoffs.

Sturm Works Penalty Kill

He wasn’t only a student when it came to faceoffs, but he applied the same effort when it came to the penalty kill. As a fourth liner, he knows his role on the penalty kill is crucial, and he’s worked hard to be as effective as he can be as he’s played on many different penalty kill styles, with each of his past teams having a different way to kill off the penalties.

“Actually, I’ve played like four different systems now, so I’ve seen kind of all of it. The first time I was here, we played more of a passive box… and then Colorado was more of a diamond; it was a little more passive. San Jose, we’d play top-down pressure; Florida was like really aggressive diamond. So I’ve seen different ways to do it, which is always helpful. Also, talk to power play guys on what they think of certain penalty kills. Some power play guys, like for example, love playing against top-down pressure because they think it opens up seams more. So, you try to look on the other side…talk to them a little more about what they see when you kill against them, that might help you and then here you know it’s going to be a little different than how we killed in Florida but nothing I can’t adjust to,” Sturm explained when asked about the different systems he’s seen.

“I think it’s going to be more of a box style, stay in the dot lanes type of deal, but yeah, every team does it different. It also depends a little bit on the personnel so like for example, Florida I think one of the things that allowed us to play that really aggressive diamond is that we had really tall and lengthy d-men that could skate really well and you have to anticipate a lot when you play that type of penalty kill so yeah personnel probably plays a little bit of a role…,” Sturm said about what the Wild’s kill will be like.

Sturm’s a Strong Acquisition

While some may be wondering why the Wild brought Sturm back after trading him away, he’s a different player now than he was then. He wasn’t a bad player then either, but he was at the start of his career, and now it’s seven years later, and he’s learned a lot about the game in that time that he’ll be able to help his young teammates with as well.

“Not at all, I think it’s probably talking about differences in my situation compared to last time. It was like, it was my first three years in the league, and you’re trying to find a role for yourself, trying to figure out what kind of player you are, not a lot of ambiguity in terms of that right now. They knew exactly what they were looking for. I know the player that I am, I know what I’m not, and I also know what I’m very good at. So, it just makes your role easier because I know that I don’t have to worry about the power play or anything like that….,” said Sturm on how it was easier to adjust with the Wild now versus his first time with them and he continued, “I want to be an elite 4C that’s great on the kill that’s where I can help the team the most. Be first on the forecheck and be solid in the circle, and anything outside of that is secondary.”

Hopefully, Sturm’s experience over the seasons will help the Wild, and he’s even studied video of the Wild’s play, so he’s ready to adjust and play the styles that they play. He’s a player who is almost constantly studying and preparing for every situation, which is exactly the type of player the Wild need, and hopefully, he will provide invaluable experience as well as play to help get them deep into the postseason.