Boston Bruins fans will be happy to know that their appreciation of new head coach Marco Sturm is reciprocated.
Sturm was hired after the Bruins finished in dead last place in the Atlantic Division and missed the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons.
Since taking over, Sturm has piloted the Bruins to a 90-point season as their push for the playoffs continues with just eight games left in the regular season.
Sturm’s journey to earning his first career NHL head coaching job did not come easy, however. He was forced to make sacrifices every step of the way. Belle Fraser shared the story on BostonBruins.com.
“My family waited for this moment for a long, long time,” Strum told reporters on Saturday night. “It was fine at first because I was chasing a dream. Thanks to my wife and my kids – we found a way, and they let me do my job chasing my dream.”
Sturm has spent time in Ontario coaching in the AHL, as well as on the West Coast as a member of the Los Angeles Kings staff. All the while, his wife and two children were in Florida before being sprinkled around New England when it was time to enroll in college.
“My family is so happy. My kids are so happy. Being away from my family the last seven years was not easy,” Sturm said.
“After year five or so, I could tell. I’m a family person, so it was getting time. Times were getting tougher and tougher without my family. Kids were getting older, too. It was just a hard stretch. But we knew we had to do it.”
Sturm is now reunited with his wife in Boston, while his son plays hockey at Bowdoin College in Maine, and his daughter plays basketball for UMass Boston.
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