Sturm returned from a leg injury Jan. 30, and despite the nagging injury, he was cleared to play for Germany as well. Sturm was excited to be going to Vancouver, where he is captaining the German team, but he is still realistic about his country’s chances for a medal.
“It’s a short tournament so you never know, and I think we can surprise some people, but we know we’re longshots,” Sturm told NESN.com before he left. “We’re just going to go there and do our best and have some fun.”
Germany played a suffocating defensive game in its first match against Sweden on Wednesday, but lost 2-0. Sturm said prior to leaving that he expected the European teams, maybe with the exception of Russia, to play similar to the NHL style since the games are in the smaller NHL and North American rinks.
“I think you’ll see more defensive games than you’d expect because of the smaller rinks,” Sturm said. “There’s going to be physical play as well, and we need to be ready for that.”
Sturm’s predictions have been right on target, as favorites like Canada and Russia have found themselves in tight, low-scoring games. For this reason, Sturm predicted that Team USA would do a lot better than many expected.
“I see a USA-Canada final, not Russia-Canada like they’re all saying,” Sturm said with a smile. “I think with these Americans growing up playing in these rinks and then in the NHL, too, they have more of an advantage than people give them credit for. They’re a fast and big team, too, so I see them doing well.”
As for Germany, Sturm is honored to be wearing his country’s colors and will do his best to score some goals so he can show the “Sturmy” face to the rest the world.
“I hope so, we’ll see,” he said with his trademark grin. “We’re going to have some fun and we’ll see.”
