Six months ago, before he had any idea that they’d someday be together with the Bruins, Marco Sturm was thinking about Matěj Blümel.

Sturm was the head coach of the AHL’s Ontario (California) Reign and Blümel, a high-scoring forward for the Texas Stars, was visiting the Los Angeles suburb for a back-to-back in March.

“He’s an interesting guy. We played against him,” Sturm said. “He’s one of those guys. We had to make sure we’re gonna cover this guy because he’s such a good shooter and scorer, especially on the power play.

“He was so dangerous, so we really had to pre-scout him, and whenever he’s on the ice, because he was that dangerous.”

Blümel won the battle the first night with two goals, while Sturm’s Reign shut down the 25-year-old Czechia native the second night.

The goals were two of Blümel’s 39 that led the AHL, just edging Toronto’s Alex Steeves, who also signed with Boston as a free agent.

For all of his AHL success, Blümel couldn’t crack the NHL lineup in Dallas, where the Stars were flush with offensive talent.

So when free agency began, he was hunting for a team with an opportunity, while the Bruins were looking for players with scoring potential.

“I’ve been doing everything I could to get a spot on the team and it didn’t go my way. That’s sometimes how it goes,” he said. “My agents were just looking for a team where I could fit in and where I feel like I have the best chance to get into the NHL and earn a spot on the team.”

After selling at the trade deadline, the Bruins have roles and roster spots available. Sturm didn’t know if Blümel would make the most of his chance, but he was eager to see.

“Playing in the NHL, he doesn’t have that 20 minutes a night. It’s a totally different game. It’s a totally different style,” Sturm said. “It’s not easy, but he was definitely a threat and hopefully, he’s gonna get some opportunities here to feel comfortable and be the player I saw last season with Texas, because he has a lot of good tools.”

Since he arrived, Blümel has been picking the brains of David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha. The chance to play with two well-respected Czechs helped seal his choice of Boston.

“It had an impact on my decision, because last year we haven’t had many Czech guys in the Dallas organization,” he said. “I know Pasta. We have the same agent, so I’ve known him for 6 or 7 years now. I met Pav here. He’s an amazing, amazing guy, really nice guy too. … I stayed for a week with Pav and he showed me around, showed me almost every district here. I really like the city. It’s very close to a European city. It feels very nice to be here and feels very nice to have, some guys who can who can show me around.”

He used his Czech network to scout Sturm too, reaching out to Ontario defenseman Jakub Dvorak to learn what he could about his new coach.

“Great coach. He likes players who work hard and I think I’m a player like that,” he said. “Now I’m here, so I’m very happy for an opportunity from the Bruins and I’m gonna take it and I’m gonna do as best as I can here. This is a chance I’ve been waiting for.”

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