Colorado had previously kicked the Edmonton Oilers out of the semifinals with a four-to-zero win. So it is not Edmonton’s superstar Leon Draisaitl who is playing for the coveted Stanley Cup, but the much less well-known Nico Sturm. The 27-year-old attacker is not related and not related by marriage to the famous namesake and former national coach Marco from Landshut, after whom an ice rink is even named.
Via Augsburg, Kaufbeuren and Landsberg to North America
Nico is the second “storm” in the world’s largest ice hockey league, the very first from Augsburg. “In the beginning it’s a bit of a wow factor to sit next to the people in the dressing room that you otherwise only know from TV or Playstation, but then they were just teammates, as you usually have them,” said Sturm almost three years ago.
At that time, the boy from Neubergheim on the outskirts of Augsburg had already come a long way: via Augsburg, Kaufbeuren and Landsberg to North America to college and finally to the Minnesota Wild – his first stop in the NHL. Just this March he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche. Now he’s even in the final. However, he has never been on the ice for the German national team.
Path to success through discipline
His brother Timo knows why the middle of the three Sturm brothers made it to the ice hockey pro. “He’s just the most disciplined of us. You can admit that. It wasn’t enough for me, but I can always watch now,” says Timo. Even if Nico as a role player may only get a little ice time.
The final series of a maximum of seven games for the Stanley Cup, the largest and most coveted trophy in the ice hockey world, begins on Wednesday.
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