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Ice Lab

Centre · #78

Nico Sturm

Minnesota Wild Colorado Avalanche San Jose Sharks Florida Panthers(traded during the season)
Age
31
Shoots
Left
Height
191 cm
Weight
95 kg
Born
Augsburg, DEU
Draft
Undrafted

Career · 2018–19 to 2026–27

Games
161
Goals
25
Points
47
TOI per game
11:10
xGF% (5v5)
50.4%
Goals above expected
+2.3
ShowAll teamsMinnesota WildColorado AvalancheSan Jose SharksFlorida Panthers

Season by season

The regular-season line for each season, with the total, by team for traded players.

2018–19MIN2000012:4770.0%00.549.0%
2019–20MIN6022+211:5420.0%00.154.3%
2020–21MIN5011617+1010:516417.2%08.356.2%
2021–22MIN539817−511:337312.3%17.448.8%
2021–22COL21033−212:48280.0%02.050.0%
2021–22All teams7491120−711:541018.9%19.349.2%
2022–23SJS74141226−1314:4411911.8%012.847.6%
2023–24SJS635813−2514:40697.2%06.737.8%
2024–25SJS477613−410:083818.4%04.242.9%
2024–25FLA15011−211:18210.0%02.053.2%
2024–25All teams627714−610:255911.9%06.245.1%
2025–26MIN495611010:573713.5%06.246.6%
2026–27MIN1000−110:5610.0%00.234.3%
Total4 teams3815152103−4012:2445911.1%150.446.5%

Form

Rolling averages smooth out single games so the trend shows.

Form, ten-game rolling

Points and individual expected goals per game (left scale), averaged over the previous ten games. Ice time is on the second chart.

Points per gameixG per gameTOI per game (minutes)
00.10.20.30.40.50.620406080100120140160
8m9m10m11m12m13m14m20406080100120140160Game

Player card

Model-based

How 2018–19 to 2026–27 compares with everyone else at the position over the same seasons, and the players with the most similar profile.

Overall rating

4th line

33rd percentile among qualified forwards, blending scoring 40%, play-driving 40%, usage 20%.

  1. 1st line
  2. 2nd line
  3. 3rd line
  4. 4th line
  5. Extra / AHL

Scoring

3rd line
  • Goals /600.6545th pct
  • Assists /600.6626th pct
  • ixG /600.6433rd pct
  • Goals above expected+0.666th pct

Play-driving

4th line
  • xGF% (5v5)46.5%30th pct
  • CF% (5v5)46.2%23rd pct
  • Relative xGF%−1.641st pct
  • Penalty diff /600.1053rd pct

Usage

4th line
  • TOI per game12:2440th pct
  • PP time share4.3%27th pct
  • Offensive zone starts24.6%3rd pct
  • Quality of competition23.8%40th pct

Percentiles among forwards with 200+ minutes at 5-on-5 and 20+ games. Ratings rank each column's average percentile among the same players and read it as a role on a depth chart (how).

Most similar players this season

  1. Casey CizikasNYI0.93
  2. Brandon Dubinsky0.93
  3. Ben MeyersCOL/SEA0.91
  4. Luke GlendeningDAL/TBL/NJD0.90
  5. John BeecherBOS/CGY0.90
  6. Noel AcciariBOS/FLA/STL/PIT0.90

Faceoffs

How often Sturm wins the draw over 2018–19 to 2026–27, against whom and where, and what a win leads to. Ranked among players with 1551+ draws over the same seasons.

Win rate

56.4%

1857–1438 · #12 of 195 regulars, 94th percentile

Against an average centre

56.3%

Opponents won 50.0% of their draws; an average centre would have won 50.0% against them.

Wins above average

+208

Draws won beyond what an average centre facing the same opponents would have won.

Draws per game

9.1

3,295 draws in all.

By dot, attacking to the right

59%626 · +0.662%481 · +2.449%207 · +3.164%87 · +1.340%73 · +1.360%109 · −0.154%74 · 0.062%806 · +2.448%832 · +2.4Attacking zone →← Defending zone

Win rate at each dot; the small numbers are draws and the xG swing (×100) of winning rather than losing there.

By zone

  • Offensive zone58.3% 401–287
  • Neutral zone57.5% 557–412
  • Defensive zone54.9% 899–739

By strength

  • Even strength57.2% 1561–1168
  • Power play61.3% 38–24
  • Shorthanded51.2% 258–246

What a win leads to

Shot attempts in the next 20 seconds, for minus against, per 100 draws: +12 after a win, −25 after a loss. Each win was worth 2.0 expected goals per 100 draws more than a loss.

Most-faced opponents

Season by season

SeasonDrawsWin rateAgainst average
2018–191729.4%29.7%
2019–204953.1%52.6%
2020–2113451.5%51.1%
2021–2258953.0%53.6%
2022–2388055.8%55.2%
2023–2482760.1%60.2%
2024–2542258.8%58.7%
2025–2637255.1%55.2%
2026–27580.0%78.1%

Finishing

Model-based

Did the goals match the chances?

Goals against expected goals

Cumulative goals (solid) and individual xG (dashed) through the season. The gap is finishing: above the dashed line, the player scored more than an average shooter would from the same chances.

+2.3 goals above expected

051015202520406080100120140160Game

Goals above expected, everyone at the same position with 20+ games

−500+50+100

Speed and tracking

From the NHL's EDGE tracking system (2021–22 on): skating speed, shot speed, distance and zone time, for the selected seasons and then every tracked season, to show improvement or decline.

Tracking data (NHL EDGE)

Values from the NHL's puck and player tracking, with the NHL's own league percentile for each. Missing values mean the player wasn't tracked enough.

Tracking

  • Top skating speed32.9 km/h15th pct
  • Speed bursts over 20 mph17th pct
  • Hardest shot15.8 km/h1st pct
  • Distance skated3 km4th pct
  • Offensive-zone time32.1%0th pct
Tracking, season by season

Each season against the other forwards that season with 20+ games. A season in progress appears once half its games are played, as provisional: season bests only grow. Bursts and distance are per 60 minutes of ice time, so seasons with fewer games still compare. Percentiles are on these rates, so they can differ from the NHL's, which are on season totals.

This playerMedian forwardMiddle half (25th–75th percentile)Hollow dot: too few games to rank, or a season in progress (*, dashed). Dotted line: no NHL games that season.

Top skating speed

36.0 km/h46th pct

▼ −0.1 km/h since 2024–25

3535.53636.53737.521–2222–2323–2424–2525–262021–22: 36.8 km/h, 79th percentile (74 games)2022–23: 36.7 km/h, 77th percentile (74 games)2023–24: 36.3 km/h, 65th percentile (63 games)2024–25: 36.1 km/h, 47th percentile (62 games)2025–26: 36.0 km/h, 46th percentile (49 games)

Bursts over 20 mph per 60

4.946th pct

▼ −3.0 since 2024–25

2468101221–2222–2323–2424–2525–262021–22: 8.0, 75th percentile (74 games)2022–23: 10.0, 87th percentile (74 games)2023–24: 6.5, 65th percentile (63 games)2024–25: 7.9, 74th percentile (62 games)2025–26: 4.9, 46th percentile (49 games)

Distance skated per 60

14.8 km14th pct

▼ −0.8 km since 2024–25

14.51515.51616.521–2222–2323–2424–2525–262021–22: 15.1 km, 23rd percentile (74 games)2022–23: 15.4 km, 48th percentile (74 games)2023–24: 15.1 km, 23rd percentile (63 games)2024–25: 15.7 km, 53rd percentile (62 games)2025–26: 14.8 km, 14th percentile (49 games)

Hardest shot

135.0 km/h32nd pct

▼ −5.7 km/h since 2024–25

13013514014515015521–2222–2323–2424–2525–262021–22: 151.0 km/h, 80th percentile (74 games)2022–23: 140.2 km/h, 36th percentile (74 games)2023–24: 137.1 km/h, 27th percentile (63 games)2024–25: 140.7 km/h, 54th percentile (62 games)2025–26: 135.0 km/h, 32nd percentile (49 games)

Offensive-zone time

36.6%2nd pct

▼ −2.5 points since 2024–25

34%36%38%40%42%44%46%21–2222–2323–2424–2525–262021–22: 37.4%, 4th percentile (74 games)2022–23: 37.7%, 7th percentile (74 games)2023–24: 35.4%, 1st percentile (63 games)2024–25: 39.1%, 16th percentile (62 games)2025–26: 36.6%, 2nd percentile (49 games)