EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Newly Hired Boston Bruins Head Coach Marco Sturm

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Newly Hired Boston Bruins Head Coach Marco Sturm

bruins coach Marco Sturm I see he’s entered the building against our advice I guess he’s going to go ahead and actually do the interview i I for again I don’t know why last time we tried to talk to Bruins personnel he basically told us to go f ourselves yeah it’s been a while which was Cam Neely i I don’t think we’ve had a a Bruins I don’t think we’ve had a Bruins interview since have we i don’t think so no I don’t think we have and he was about 5 years ago it’s the last time we actually spoke to someone from the Bruins we can bring him in right now he’s joining us here in our Town tire studios marco he’s well dressed hi Marco how are you how are you i was just That’s Big Jim Murray there you go yep have a seat i was just saying Marco the last time we did an official interview one-on-one interview with someone from the Bruins i think he literally told us to go f ourselves he swore on the air and that was it we haven’t talked to Cam Ney cam Lee was the last guy we told like five years ago ask you who was it yeah it was Cam yeah it was Cam i don’t I don’t think he was a fan after a game of No no it was it was just No it was us being us and Okay he told us to f ourselves and that was it i mean if he was sitting where you are right now he might have hit us yeah yeah yeah i can’t say I’d blame him well congratulations on the job yeah thank you very much and thank you for having me it’s been a great day for me and my family and uh I’m glad to be back so why’d you take it why i mean uh I mean know I I was telling the story today you know I got uh got here late from yes uh yesterday from uh from Florida i was coming in late and I drove with my rental car to the to the to the hotel and I was looking around downtown i was like I can’t believe I got the best job in this city so it’s not the easiest one but I I do believe I got the best job here and I I just can’t believe it and for me uh no a dream came uh came true and uh and and again um you know obviously I I want to be a head coach uh it doesn’t matter where we’re at um but this is special so from a hockey I mean from Boston I get it but from a hockey sense it’s not a great roster and they have a recent track record i mean they they’ve won the most games in hockey since 2015 and you’re the third coach so I I could see a coach looking at that and saying well even if I have success I’m going to lose my job like you know so like there’s Do you consider that sort of thing no i mean uh again I I’m first of all I love challenges i think that just makes me even better um but uh it’s all about timing too right i I mean I’m glad selfishly I’m glad they they kind of had a uh you know a season they had last year because otherwise I wouldn’t be here so again uh where we at right now as a team uh yes we need to be better but that’s that’s where my strength came in and that’s why I think I was so attractive to to Don Sweeney but was job security a concern i mean Bruce Cassidy won at a high level they let him go montgomery won at a high level they let him go i mean you ever think like well I can win at a high level they’re going to let me go yeah no you can’t you know what you can’t think that way and uh and uh again that’s something I learned over the course even when I was a player and again I the past is the past uh I have a different I’m a different person than the other guys i’m a different coach i you know it’s a different time right now so again all what I do is looking forward what took so long you were the last of You’re the eighth of eight I think or seventh of seven that’s something uh you might have to ask Don but uh you know but you guys know him too he’s uh he’s a he’s a hardworking guy um he he I can tell you he he can he knows everything about me and I I went through that process uh we started probably six seven weeks ago right so there’s a lot of meetings uh lots of com uh conversations i came up here a few times uh so he knows it all and he just end of the day he just wanted to make sure he’s going to hire the right guy and uh I’m glad you know I finished first on on the end okay new Bruins coach Marco Sturm joining us here in studio mass so uh the identity of the team or the franchise has changed a little bit over the last couple of years they’ve gone from a smaller even faster team now to a bigger more physical team it they bounce back and forth do you have a Do you have a vision for what you want to be what kind of team you want to coach yeah of course but uh you know I’m looking uh I’m looking at the the roster we have right now right uh that’s all that’s the focus right now i’m gonna wait see what happens uh uh free agency or even in the next in the course of the next couple months and then we’ll we’ll see i I do I do I mean I already have my my my plan my system um up here right now i just got to figure it out and I have to wait a little bit who I’m going to get because I’m going to adjust to it not just because I I want to play that way but also need to adjust what kind of players I have all right so again so wait we’ll see um I already did my homework but end of the day I just got to be patient so what does that system look like for a fan if you say I have a system in my head what is it no I I can tell you one thing i the one the one thing I was excited about uh coming back here and even as a player as a coach what I took out of the the Bruins time or the the time I was here is you know the mentality we had had uh uh the defensive mindset all right so that that’s not going to go away all right that’s still going to be in place but we also I know we have to play better offensively and try to score more goals and I think that’s where I kick in now is you know I have a few different ways but I want to I want to I want to have a better transition game like we had in the past i want to play with with pace with and without the puck and in today’s game and you guys follow hockey too is it’s everything is a long game i feel like a lot of long game when I say it’s through the neutron a lot so that changed all right and that’s something again we’ve been personally uh successful u with the rain and also with the Kings organization you know so that helped a lot too is that a heavy forcheing system like you would see you see Florida the way they play with a heavy forch check everything off the four check I think maybe when you played towards the end with Clo it was more sort of sit back yeah and protect the house you know is there for the layman is there a way to describe which you would prefer yeah no I mean uh the forche is part of it but but also I have to let you know that that you know the way the Panthers play it’s it’s all out all right i don’t think we’re there yet all right and again they they they have the players for it all right so think about that so you know uh I I just I just went through it with the Kings and and things change when you have better players so again that’s why it’s so important for me i got to be patient and I got to wait who we got fin uh end of the day uh in uh on on our roster you’re expecting a different roster than what we’re looking at right now no I mean I’m okay if we start right right now like that i’m okay actually i really do you can say whatever you want but I’d say you’re in trouble if that’s what you’re starting with yeah no it’s it Hey that’s what it is and uh again I think when we and everyone is healthy I think we’re we we still have a strong core uh do we need some players absolutely and I’m not going to lie but again I I’m I’m excited about that i talked to my core guys already you know they’re very upset what happened in the past and uh and I can tell they they’re hungry for more well let me ask some specifics have you talked to the goalie absolutely okay gold was a big problem last year you know Swayman signed that big contract he was statistically just about the worst starting goalender in hockey so what what’ you say to him what did he say to you what’s your expectation there and uh you got to remember like this guy went through a lot you know and I I think as a player you always you want to be a training camp that’s the biggest thing and I I don’t care about if it’s a it’s in hockey or basketball or whatever it is right you you you got to be there and because otherwise you’re just going to chase all right and that’s what happened to him and again everyone could see it coming unfortunately he came through and he never really recovered but he’s he’s an outstanding goalie and he could see it right now he’s in a good spot because he just got back from the Worlds all right i think that was really important you know now the coaching changed so again he’s very excited and I see I’m going to we we have a great two goalies right so and I I’m expect a lot out of him and but he knows it too do you expect him to carry the load that he did last year last year was a first year he was really more of he was a not he didn’t platoon you know it didn’t look like he reacted well to that either is that the plan to go back to him whatever 55 you know 60 games something like that or do you see more of a split you know strict platoon i’m not going to I I know myself the numbers wise how many games and how we going to do it but I can tell you this that uh it doesn’t matter if it’s a goalie or player the player always dictates always uh how many minutes he’s going to play how many games he going to play if he’s going to get scratched or not the player dictates right it’s easy on me if he doesn’t play well then hey we have another another player or another goalie whatever it is so so that’s that’s how I am um and if he plays great then hey um he’s going to be our goalie okay who do you see at center Marco again maros Sturm joining us here in studio you’ve got a bunch of guys that have played both throughout their career okay so you tell me do do you have an ideal top three you know one two three at center and who do you got i mean I can see it on your list already so like I I have it here too cuz I’m you know I’m just trying to Yeah no and uh and those are the guys right now that Do you see middle stat at center that’s what you have to see you know and maybe not uh but that’s something I I think that’s the nice part about being a player you got a new coach coming in now so you actually you can show what he got right so that’s what I’m going to tell the players but when you saw So when you saw him out west right you must have run into him quite a bit being in LA yes did you you know just do you have a do you have a thought knowing the player just being on the other side that’s a center that’s a W you know what I mean like him specifically but you see Zaka Lindome Middlestat do you see those your top three centers i I think Zacher is a is a good um is is a solid um sentiment uh who can play against the top line right of course he needs some help we got Lindholm uh you know he’s he finished really strong another guy you should be very familiar with absolutely and I loved him you know especially I even told him that you know he he he he kicked our butts when he was in Calgary right we hated we hated him and and Johnny Hockey those two were really impressive right so now we got to get him back to that that that that that game uh and that style of uh yeah of hockey um middle stat we we’ll see you know um we we’ll see he again he’s going to dictate uh I got to talk to him i didn’t talk to him yet so I don’t know uh what we’re going to do but uh we expect him and we need him you know saying he needs to be better too that’s just the bottom line and uh so uh yeah there will be a guy I definitely on my list I I want to I want to work with i want to get him better because because of those reasons so uh I’m guessing that when you interviewed you you probably did a lot of roster assessment right did you go through any of that with Don Sweeney and looking at the roster and how and the reason I ask you is there’s a been a lot invested in the defensive core and yet that group I would argue underachieved the most last year they had a lot of money invested there and the defense did not play well why not like what if did you get into that at all in terms of what happened and why it didn’t work defensively for the Bruins last year yeah no we you know what we didn’t actually we didn’t talk a lot about last year right and uh do we talk about roster yes but not not as deep I would say uh because it was more about it was more more about me how I see um the team how I want to play so do we talk about a little bit yes but I really I I can’t answer that I know there was a lot of injuries uh there was a lot of things happening whatever reason it doesn’t matter right But if I look at if I if I look at the the D core group right now you know we just have to stay healthy but we we we might going to add another guy or two whatever it is and I think we will be we’ll be solid i think the forward side of it I think that’s something we we have to address well on defense did you do you know what Mason Lorai’s plus minus was last year not good minus 43 yeah yeah i I just I I didn’t know the total i know uh I I saw something the last uh or since the deadline or something like that i saw something he was minus 25 but again we need more out of him too do you think he can be a you know the offensive skill there is obvious do you think he’s has what it takes to have both sides of the game we’ll see and again he’s going to dictate that i think what I liked about him uh I liked him and uh um uh uh Makavoy actually they there were for uh uh for a short time amount of games there there were actually a pretty good pair so we’ll see that so maybe maybe he needs a partner like that but again end of the day he he needs to get better right and it’s another year i think he hopefully learn from it and uh and and that you know with me coming in it’s going to be a fresh start for him as well and uh I love working with young guys too so so hopefully we can get him to the next level okay so we were told two segments you want to do another one or you about done with it okay one more okay the the grilling will continue after the Sure the door’s over there it’s unlocked it doesn’t lock from the outside marco Stern Bruins coach joins us here on Felg we’re back right after this marco have you thought about a captain for the team they need one yes are you going to pick it you know if the players pick it i never believe in all my years covering sports when they say they throw throw it open to a a team vote I never believe that they stick to it that the coach picks who you know so what are you going to do on that do you have to have one can you go without one you can you can it’s a It’s a possibility I would say i I think uh uh um you know I think I just we talked about it a little first of all we talked about a little bit uh I think that that will come up again uh um in the next few months but again the the one thing I I I told them though I I yes I know the past I I know um the Lindome and the Makoy yes I seen him play but I don’t know him as a person so I actually would like to get to know him First I want to see it i want to feel it uh when I work with them every day and then and then maybe we’re going to say I don’t know yet it’s just that’s something again we just have to address do you feel you have to have one uh no no um I really don’t i really don’t i think um if you’re boss brewing I think it’s a it’s a big deal you know and if if if you’re not 100 100% sure uh is it just me or whatever it is then no you don’t so um so we’ll see so when you say you want to get to know him that suggests to me that you want to have a significant say in it i mean we’re we’re we’re I’m part of it right i’m a coach and I’m not going to say I’m going to make that decision alone i don’t want to because it’s a it’s different it’s a it’s again it’s the Boston Bruins and and and it is a big deal so again that’s something we going to we’re going to talk about it uh and but we both have to agree right uh that this is the right guy and we will we will but I don’t know when are you a believer Marco in analytics in hockey um I I had first of all I had to learn right uh because it it it’s part of it that’s just the way that’s just the way it is so um you know we us in in LA um you know we had a great staff analytic staff uh they really teach me how to use it more uh especially the last three years when I was in Ontario so can you give me an example like as as best you can a specific stat or an analytic they would give you that you would apply yeah know I I I like to use it for first of all for prescope all right so when I go through all the clips uh and I have a 100 clips to say we going to play the New York Rangers tomorrow so I’m going to look at all the clips but I I actually uh I want to I want to see numbers too so what numbers what what number do you look for first uh Corsy Fenwick expected go like what what’s your what’s the stat you look at first yeah I know uh uh is there one mention goals i know could be uh the offensive zone like could be a slot thing all right what a slot slot thing meaning what where do they get the the goals and chances from all right that’s that’s a big thing because I I got to know do I do they get it from the outside do they get it you know inside the slot the inner slot or where do what do we what do they get the chances from right um so stuff like that I look for i also look at line combination for example or individual players right there’s a lot you can get out of that uh special teams um you know so there’s a few things and then uh and then postame too okay uh where do we struggle um again in in different zones we got three zones um we kind of looked at that a little bit um so I got to know it a little bit better i think there’s more to it um do you believe in the expected goals that sort of thing yeah that’s the tricky part thank you sometimes yeah no it’s tricky i’m I’m you know sometimes I look at like are you kidding me right and I I still trust my eyes um that’s why I like to see both right and I’m still that of course I have i’m going to have a look and and see what’s your coaching style in terms of accountability i mean you’ve talked high expectations for guys like Swayman and Lynholm so say they’re not reaching that are you a yeller do you express quiet disappointment like how do you No I mean uh again I I think the the one thing I I learned from the best coaches I had and that’s Cloud Julian and uh and and Daryl Stutter being very direct but you have to be honest so I think that’s you know that’s the way I am uh and maybe it’s the German in me i don’t know but uh you know I’m trying to be very honest even if they like it or not I think it made me a better player and a better person and that’s what I uh that’s what I try to do and but also I also um you know have that relationship and that communication with those kind of players also it’s important to follow up with them right and stay on top of them so so I can be both you know and it’s sometimes it’s just a certain situation you know I hey I got to be loud uh or there’s there’s time uh hey I got to sit him down and let’s talk about it right go that way so again it’s it’s different every every time but uh that’s the beauty about coaching do you think you you have to be different now with kids than you were when you were a player uh yes yeah softer the kids have got the kids gotten soft uh I don’t know soft is the right word i don’t want to say that but I can see my kids i don’t know if you guys It’s Yeah it’s different right let’s put it that way and you have to explain and they uh they ask why and Okay and you got to sit them down and and explain so nothing changed in hockey too right and there’s still few guys out there you you tell them and and and and what to do and and they do it they get the job done because when the Claw Julian telling me “Hey this and this and that and that’s it you better get a job done.” I was like “Okay coach.” Now they ask “Why?” Yeah and can you show it to me can you show it to me oh yeah he that that part it’s been different right and you got to show it on video you got to And again that’s why it’s not just me as a huh as a head coach but also the assistant right now they they they they spent a lot of time on just doing that all right because every team gets uh younger and look at the in the league right now how many how many teams are hiring coaches like me now right that’s part of it that’s part of it because the communication to you know with those kind of especially young players it’s just different what what do you think the biggest difference is now in the league from the time you played it in other words the style of play is it is it different and if so how much and yeah it is and I when I said before the long game I think it’s it’s it’s it’s more a skating game now a open game right it used to be a tough grinding game all the time even during the season not just playoffs all right but now during the season I feel like it’s there’s more skating involved young kids are skilled they all can skate you know uh but can they play the right way marco that’s where I can get sorry Marco joining us here in studio how do you feel about fighting in the game i like it i think it’s still should be part of it and it’s still part of it and if you look at we just talked about the game last night how that was what about that was how is that yeah it’s getting out of control but it’s part that’s why hockey is the greatest sport on earth right and that I think that’s just part of it and that’s why I know so many people and they don’t even know anything about hockey but they go in there because they love well not just that but I I mean don’t you think there is a tactical I mean not always but sometimes you can change momentum or send them like obviously like we all know this that there’s a real tangible actual benefit to it do you think every team there’s some teams that you know a lot of teams don’t have a guy yeah like do you do you always want to have a guy that can do it absolutely i I again I just been through it in Ontario we had a really tough guy and he changes a lot of games just by being there right he doesn’t have to score or even fight but he changes everything and and again going back to yesterday it it changed the whole thing too so I think that part of the game it’s still there and I love it okay well I was just looking did you ever fight i did i did just do a quick Google marco Sturm i got I got I got Tim Brent i got Tim Brent versus Marco Sturm january 10th 2011 do you remember this yeah I remember i never had uh That was a cheap shot right there that’s why is that what is that is that what started it i jumped I jumped in there so there you go yeah it was more a wrestling that’s a little more of a Yeah yeah but again I was just protecting one of one of my guys that’s all and but it’s you still believe in it as being part of Absolutely absolutely and that’s that part I want to see from my guys protecting each other you know going through war each other look at this guy got hurt and I don’t want I want to I want to see a reaction you know and and that’s a big part okay um what else do I have have you been watching the finals uh yes i mean living in Florida right now and uh Pandas are doing a really good job so it’s fun to watch is there a team in the league that you emulate that you want to be and I’m I’m just talking about the success level but how they play you know like I think Florida sort of projects as what a Bruins fan would say is that’s that’s kind of how we want our the Bruins to play yeah yeah i don’t know if we we can play the same style and and whatever but I definitely for the last couple years I look at the Panthers and there’s a lot more other coaches because you always look at the best and I think in a lot lots of different areas in the game they they do it really really well so yes I look at bunch of different areas in their game and because they’re that good you’ll get you’ll get to see a lot of them yeah yeah hopefully in a good way but but no it will be a challenge and now they figure out how to win right so they they got that part they well coached and now look at how calm they are right uh look at how how calm they can’t even be down two three goals no problem because they know they can win those kind of hockey games but they had to learn too they had to go through the process and then here they are um fun to watch very fun to watch marco Sturm thanks for coming by we appreciate you good luck to you this year you are going to need it thank you again if you like that clip check out more videos from Felgar and Maz here for more Bruins analysis and opinion hit this playlist and for all the latest from the sports hub download the app at 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On Tuesday’s edition of Felger & Mazz, the Boston Bruins’ new head coach Marco Sturm joined the show. In the nearly 30-minute interview Sturm and the guys discussed his future vision for the B’s.
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