Sturm, 25, recorded 32 points (12-20=32), 18 penalty minutes (PIM) and a plus-9 rating in 55 games with the Iowa Wild in the American Hockey League (AHL) in 2019-20. He ranked second on the team with four game-winning goals, fifth in scoring and T-5th in plus/minus rating. The 6-foot-3, 206-pound native of Augsburg, Germany, led team rookies in goals and scoring and ranked T-11th in goals and T-12th in scoring amongst AHL rookies. Sturm also notched two assists in six regular season games with Minnesota. He made his season debut on Dec. 17 at Vegas and recorded his first career NHL point with an assist at Arizona on Dec. 19. Sturm made his Stanley Cup Playoff debut in Game 3 of the Qualifying Round series against Vancouver on August 6 and tallied his first career NHL goal in Game 4 on August 7 to become the second player in franchise history to record his first career NHL goal in the playoffs (Jordan Greenway).
He led Clarkson University in scoring and assists with 45 points (14-31=45) in 39 games and won 392-of-677 face-offs taken (57.9%) as a junior in 2018-19. Sturm was named the ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Forward for the second consecutive season, a Top Ten Hobey Baker Award Finalist, a finalist for the ECAC Hockey Player of the Year Award, to the 2019 ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Team and an ECAC First-Team All-League selection in 2018-19. He collected 103 points (36-67=103) and was a plus-47 in 118 games during three seasons at Clarkson University (2016-19).
Sturm has collected two assists in eight career NHL games with the Wild. He signed as a free agent with Minnesota on April 1, 2019, and made his NHL debut on April 4, 2019 vs. Boston.
