Sturm new coach, GM of German men's national team

Marco Sturm, who played 14 seasons in the NHL primarily for the San Jose Sharks and Boston Bruins, was named by the German Ice Hockey Association as coach and general manager of the men's national team, according to the International Ice Hockey Federation's website.

Sturm, who represented Germany as a player in the World Championship, World Cup and the Olympics, signed a two-year contract that will automatically be extended to 2018 if the country qualifies for the Olympics in PyeongChang. The tournament to decide the final qualifiers will be held in Latvia in September 2016.

"I'm very proud that the DEB gives me the huge responsibility and I'm really immensely looking forward to this challenging and exciting task I will work on with huge motivation. Together we want to go the next step with German ice hockey," Sturm told the IIHF website.

Strum will coach Germany at the next two World Championships, including 2017 when Cologne, Germany will serve as co-host along with Paris, France.

"We are glad to have found a very young and internationally renowned personality with Marco Sturm," Franz Reindl, president of the German Ice Hockey Association, said. "He comes from our own ranks, knows the system of the national team, won himself a silver medal at the U18 European Championship in Berlin in 1995 and is close with the players.

"From his signing we hope for an important, emotional impulse for our national team. Marco will assemble his coaching staff himself and in particular with renowned DEL coaches."

Sturm, who turns 37 in September, was the 21st pick in the 1996 NHL Draft by the Sharks and played parts of eight seasons with them before being traded to the Bruins as part of the package for Joe Thornton. Sturm had a career-high 29 goals and 59 points between San Jose and Boston during the 2005-06 season.

Sturm also played for the Los Angeles Kings, Washington Capitals, Vancouver Canucks and Florida Panthers. He had 242 goals and 487 points in 938 regular-season games and nine goals and 22 points in 68 Stanley Cup Playoff games.