For the second time in franchise history, the Colorado Avalanche have closed out a Stanley Cup victory in the state of Florida. In 1996, now GM, Joe Sakic and the Avs downed the Florida Panthers and last night the Avs captured their third Cup in franchise history, with a 2-1 win in Tampa over the Lightning.
Former Clarkson Golden Knight Captain, Nico Sturm '19, became the 7th Golden Knight to hoist the Cup for the 8th time.
Previous Cup winners have been:
- Colin Patterson - 1989 with the Calgary Flames
- Erik Cole - 2006 with the Carolina Hurricanes
- Kent Huskins - 2007 with the Anaheim Ducks
- Todd Marchant - 2007 with the Anaheim Ducks
- Willie Mitchell - 2012 & 2014 with the Los Angeles Kings
- Dave Taylor - 2019 with the St. Louis Blues as VP of Hockey Operations
Sturm played in 13 of the teams 20 playoff games, notching 2 assists, including the assist when he directed the puck into the net off of Cogliano to tie Game 4 at 2-2 at 2:53 of the third period. The Avs eventually won the game in OT to take a 3-1 series lead. Sturm, the ECAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2019, played that role with Colorado as he was a +2 in the playoffs and helped keep Tampa's Power Play to under 11% in the finals. Nico was hard on pucks on the fore check and was a versatile piece for Bednar as he saw minutes at both Center and Right Wing.
Sturm helped the Golden Knights capture their 6th ECAC Championship in 2019, when he finished in the top 10 for the Hobey Baker Award. Sturm signed with the Wild that spring and played in 2 games at the end of the regular season for the Wild. In the 2019-20 season, Nico saw action in 6 regular season game with the Wild, play most of the year in Iowa in the AHL. In 2020-21 he had a breakout season with Minnesota, playing in 50 games and recording 11 goals and 17 points. This season, Sturm had solidified himself as one of the top 3 centers with the Wild, with 9 goals and 8 assists in 53 games. On March 15th, the Avalanche traded for Sturm, giving up Tyson Jost, to add the defensive grit that Sturm provides for the playoff run. Nico played in 21 regular season games with the Avs adding 3 assists.
Sturm can become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Check out Clarkson Hockey on Instagram and Twitter for more photo's and coverage as Colorado and Denver celebrate the Cup!
