Reign head coach Marco Sturm is having success in the AHL while using the Kings system and style of play

Ontario Reign head coach Marco Sturm has spent two and a half years at his current post, guiding the Kings’ top affiliate in the American Hockey League. While he’s admitted there was a bit of a learning curve at first as someone who had never played or coached in a minor league before, the Reign and Kings are both starting to see the fruits of his labor and coaching style pay off.

The Kings have a clear objective for their AHL club: develop players for the NHL in a competitive environment as one of the top teams in the league.

While the Reign certainly hasn’t been the most successful team, Sturm has his group competing in the league’s upper echelon. Ontario’s record during 2024 showcased that, with the team closing out the calendar year with an 8-1-0-1 mark in December. In 69 games during 2024, the Reign went 44-21-0-4, giving them a points percentage of 0.666.

In other words, Ontario effectively won two out of every three games they competed in. Sturm believes that no matter the roster turnover, injuries, or any other obstacles they may face, they’ll win games as long as they’re ‘playing the right way’. And that’s his goal for each individual on the roster, to play each night in a way that will yield results for both the team and themselves.

“What I learned in the past as a coach is the game management part of it, the puck management, is very important,” Sturm said. Maybe a lot of coaches don’t address it as much as I do, but I was like that as a player and I kind of carried it over as a coach as well, I’m a big believer in that.”

The former left-winger who played 938 games during a 14-year NHL career, also said that he believes in structure and sometimes it takes time to install that when a coach takes over a new team, but players must buy in for it to work.

“I think for sure at the start I’d say there were some doubts, but at the end of the day, it worked,” Sturm said. “I feel like now they really buy into that. They can see it; they can feel that if you play the right way, the way I’m asking for, it will give them success. There will be times that other teams will be better, and that’s okay too, but as long as we play our game the way I want to see them play and the way we are capable, I think they will be fine.”

Ontario benefits from a unique organizational structure that sees the Reign’s players and hockey operations staff live in the South Bay and practice at Toyota Sports Performance Center, the same facility as the Kings. It allows players from both teams to stay close off the ice, especially those who may be up and down throughout the season.

When players get an opportunity with the Kings, there’s a whole room of familiar faces they are comfortable with. But they can still do things away from the rink with their friends from down the hall in the Reign locker room, with players forming tight bonds no matter the roster they’re playing for on any given day.

“The whole organization does a great job, starting at the top with Rob Blake and his staff,” Sturm said. “I think what we have here is very unique. You have one of the best places in the league to play, the best organization, the way we live, and the way the guys hang out off the ice really close by the practice rink.”

Sturm spent four seasons as an Assistant Coach with the Kings under Todd McLellan before joining the Reign and was able to take that experience with him now that he’s in the AHL. The logical path for many is to work their way up, but he’s glad he got to do it the other way around.

“I kind of went backward, but I think it really helped me,” Sturm said. “Because I remember so many times when Todd was going nuts about certain players. We have to make sure in the minors, us coaches as a coaching staff, that we’re going to do the right thing, we’re going to teach them the right way so that when they get called up there’s no questions. They should fill in and play the game because they know everything already. I think I took a lot of things out of that, and it really helped me over here on this side to help, not just the players but also all the Kings coaching staff as well.”

With all that in mind, Sturm’s goal is to make sure that it’s not just their peers players are familiar with when they earn the chance to play in the NHL, but also the systems and the way the Kings play.

“I wanted to translate what we have off the ice so that’s why we’re very similar, the style we play, the system we play, both the Reign and Kings,” Sturm said. “And I wanted to continue that because of the interaction we have with the players and just try to make it as easy as possible for them. I wanted to give the guys the best opportunity I can and that’s playing almost the same way as the Kings. I’m a big believer in that and so far, I think it’s worked pretty well.”

Sturm’s way of playing helped the Reign win two playoff rounds last spring, with the team advancing to the Pacific Division Final where they were bested by Coachella Valley, the eventual Western Conference champion.

And the list of players contributing to the Kings lineup on a nightly basis who were trained and mentored by Sturm is growing weekly. A glance at LA’s lineup on Wednesday night against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers featured eight dressed individuals who played under Sturm with the Reign before becoming full-time NHLers, not to mention the four others who have appeared in NHL games with the Kings this season.

Sturm touched on a number of those players who have cracked the Kings roster below –

On forward Alex Turcotte, who has become an important part of LA’s nightly lineup
Turc was a guy we always felt for because of his injuries in the past, but he’s developed really well since I’ve been here. He’s handled his game management way better than in the past. He’s a very energetic guy who brings it in the game but you know what, there were other guys better than him playing-wise last year and he always found a way to respond in certain games, certain areas. That’s why I’m not really surprised at all that he’s making such a big impact in the NHL. Good for him, he stayed with it through tough times and it’s nice to see.

On Brandt Clarke, who played 63 games with Ontario in the regular season and playoffs
Clarke is a totally different type of player, different personality, and I think he’s different than all the other prospects we have and we knew that, everyone knew that. We wanted to clean up his defensive play and he played a lot of minutes. Even when he was tired, we wanted him to play good defensive hockey, because the offensive side, he has it. There’s so many things you can’t teach with this kid but on the other side he just had to learn a few more things and I thought he was better and better every month. This year I think he fit right in, he was very lucky and fortunate that without Doughty in the lineup he’s playing a lot of minutes and also he’s done the things we were touching on last year on the good things, he carried it over with the Kings. He’ll just keep learning and even when Doughty comes back he’s going to learn even more with No. 8 in the lineup.

I think in general, every player is a little different so I’ve got to approach every guy a little differently but Clarkie’s so smart and he reminds me of Dewey because they’re both so smart on the ice it’s not even funny. And that’s why they’re one of the best and that’s why they’re different. They’re very competitive, they want to be the best every time, not just in every game, but in every drill, they’re so competitive. For Clarke, not only on the defensive side, even offensively, he wanted to be the best. There were areas that we wanted him to play a little bit faster like on the power play with the puck movement, the puck speed, there’s a lot of things he has to improve on too and I think he’s still going through that process right now with the Kings.

On Jacob Moverare, who has earned his spot playing with another former Reign blueliner, Jordan Spence
Tuna is always a coach’s favorite for us because you always know what you’re going to get out of him. I think it just took Jimmy and DJ a little bit longer because they didn’t really know him, but now they know the real Mo, who is reliable every night, who is steady, who can play against big guys, can play against grinders, you name it. But he will give you an honest effort every night and we all love him as a person, he’s a very humble guy and he’s definitely nice to have in the locker room.

The toughest thing for a young kid going up is they’re afraid of some veterans and older guys because they’ve been there. You want to be perfect, you want to do everything right and there’s times when you play with someone you already know like for Spenny with Mo, if you know that player, there’s almost a pressure release a little bit and now they just play hockey. I think that’s huge, just to play with that in the back of your mind thinking ‘oh I have to do everything right’. At the end of the day we just want them to play the game and have fun and I think Spenny is definitely having more fun with Mo because of their past. Them playing together in the past is definitely helping them right now.

On Akil Thomas, who has made the jump to being a full-time NHLer this season
For me it’s so nice to see because I felt like after his injury, he had to start all over again and I went through that process with him on his road to the NHL. It’s just great to see the strides he made with us, the playoffs, and now with the Kings. He should be a role model for a lot of young players in this organization and he’s a very driven, hard-working kid who has worked himself up the big league and I give him a lot of credit.

On rookie forwards Samuel Helenius and Andre Lee
These guys had a really good season last year, especially the playoffs, they took it to another level. In the summer I thought maybe we’d have another big year for them, maybe on their way to the Kings, but both of them came out on fire at training camp and that for me was the biggest surprise I would say. I knew they were capable, but I didn’t know they would be capable to play at a high level that fast. I think my job is not just developing those young players, what I’m always looking for is that I always want them to play the right way. If there’s anything I think that’s something the players learn from me, it’s that playing the right way will give you the most success no matter what league you’re in.

Although the Reign haven’t been as hot in January as they were the month prior in December, the team recently earned a 6-1 win over Calgary, the top team in the Pacific Division, on Tuesday night. Through 37 games this year, which is just past the halfway mark of the regular season, Ontario is 22-13-1-1 and holds a tie for third place in the standings.

The Reign resume their schedule on Friday night in Bakersfield before returning home to Ontario for a battle with the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Saturday evening.