Article: Wild Select Minnesota-Born Charlie Stramel At 21st Overall

[Thomas Williams]

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[Secord Sucks]

Only missed out on Moore by two picks! #!#%#@% Black Hawks.

Excited to see us nab a big physical center in Stramel, but a little concerned that he was valued so much lower by most "experts." Interesting that he was picked in one of Tony's "Dream Scenarios" here at HW, but that was at #53, not #21! Fingers crossed on this one.

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The second round saw Stramel, who started the year as a 17-year-old NCAA freshman, fall to Minnesota at 53. The hope is that he can throw last year in the garbage, as he put up a paltry 12 points in 33 games for an atypically-weak Badgers program. Still, Stramel is a 6'3" center who was nearly a point-per-game player for the US U-18 National Team the year before. He even has four points in 8 games as a depth player on Team USA's U-20 World Junior teams. We'll roll the dice here.

 

[Secord Sucks]

His nickname is "Big Rig." I really liked Jordan Greenway, but let's hope this Big Rig has a little more drive in him than the last one. 

Edited June 29, 2023 by Secord Sucks

[Secord Sucks]

[jgodwin17]

12 minutes ago, Secord Sucks said:

His nickname is "Big Rig." I really liked Jordan Greenway, but let's hope this Big Rig has a little more drive in him than the last one. 

It would be really hard to be as big and powerful as Jordan Greenway and make so little use of it.

[Ice Nation]

Seems like a reach based on his college production. Especially when Perreault was still on the board...oof. Might look back at this in 5 years and say what the heck were we thinking. Hope I am wrong!

[B1GKappa97]

32 minutes ago, Secord Sucks said:

Only missed out on Moore by two picks! #!#%#@% Black Hawks.

Excited to see us nab a big physical center in Stramel, but a little concerned that he was valued so much lower by most "experts." Interesting that he was picked in one of Tony's "Dream Scenarios" here at HW, but that was at #53, not #21! Fingers crossed on this one.

 

He was usually gone to the Rangers a couple picks after us from what I saw. 

Given his size, I dug into a lot of scouting reports about him. He sounds like a middle-6 guy, not super flashy (or offensively flashy at all..) but he plays to his size and can win faceoffs. 

If they want to eventually recreate the GREEF line, Stramel will be a key part of that. 

[Beast]

“Known for being a physical presence on the ice more than individual puck skill or skating.”

Great.

[Protec]

1 minute ago, Beast said:

“Known for being a physical presence on the ice more than individual puck skill or skating.”

Great.

I read that his size and speed were both strengths. He'll be close by and easy to keep an eye on. Hopefully, it works out that he can join the Wild in a couple years when having a big young center will fit nicely with a newly signed free agent center like Draisaitl.😁

[Secord Sucks]

Yes, please.

 

[Protec]

That's how we do it in North America. That's what ya call getting "Stramel'd"...

[jgodwin17]

Holy crap that was a hit, just absolutely leveled the guy. Maybe that's what Guerin was after.

[Pewterschmidt]

28 minutes ago, Secord Sucks said:

Yes, please.

 

He’s already playing ice hockey like a grown ass man at 18

[mnfaninnc]

I was very disappointed that we didn't move up to get Moore as he slid down the board, especially at 17. I was also disappointed with the Strammel selection at 21 with Calum Ritchie on the board.

ESPN listed Strammel as 6'3" 222. I know little about him. He wasn't even on my radar.  To me, Shooter made this pick, not Bracket. If he doesn't make it at center, he'll be a nice RW. We got a big bodied forward with an RHS. 

I mentioned that Oliver Moore should have been the most scouted player by the Wild in this draft, being that he was from their own backyard. It sucks he went to the Blackhawks, but it would be epic if he played all his college years and then didn't sign with them!

Strammel is the same sort of player that should have been heavily scouted by this franchise. Wisconsin isn't that far away, but he played in St. Paul. I certainly hope they know something we don't know. So, maybe he just had a bad year in college? Also, when looking at him walk up to the podium, he looks like a guy who did not take gym days off. He also looked stronger than kids coming out of jr. 

I don't care where he was ranked, as long as he pans out. He has the size to play in the NHL now. It can be argued he played in a better league too. We've got plenty of good wings to carry the puck, all he needs to do is win faceoffs, make a good pass to the wings and show up on time down the slot to bang in a rebound.

[mnfaninnc]

So, after reading about him, and like a newby spelling his name wrong above, I think I like his game.

He reminds me of Alex Tuch and a young Joel Eriksson Ek. I wish he'd transfer into a better college hockey program, though.

[AKwildkraken]

Like an NCHC school!

[Secord Sucks]

29 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

So, after reading about him, and like a newby spelling his name wrong above, I think I like his game.

He reminds me of Alex Tuch and a young Joel Eriksson Ek. I wish he'd transfer into a better college hockey program, though.

I had the same reaction, a little bit of "WTF?" after see him projected so much later. But the more I read, the more I like it. We've all been talking about needing size, and  he was the heaviest player taken tonight. Stramel was tabbed as a top ten pick before the season, but fell because his lack of scoring was seen as a disappointment. But to be fair, he was a freshman centering Wisconsin's top line-- a tough task for an 18 year old.

Fun fact: Stramel was tossed in a game against the Gophers for headbutting none other than our very own Brock Faber (although Faber did sort of pull him into it).

 

[DennisIN]

I haven't had the chance to do a lot of research on prospects. However, only grading talents according to their offensive production in their draft year is difficult. There is so much more that needs to happen during the development process. There are things that you cannot teach which Stramel brings to the table. In my opinion, he is a save pick which will at least end up playing 4th line minutes. But if everything goes right he might move up the roster. If he had a solid season in Wisconsin we wouldn't have been available at pick number 21. It'll really be interesting to see how he sophomore season pans out. Pairing him with Rossi for training in the off-season might actually be beneficial for both prospects.

[B1GKappa97]

6 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

So, after reading about him, and like a newby spelling his name wrong above, I think I like his game.

He reminds me of Alex Tuch and a young Joel Eriksson Ek. I wish he'd transfer into a better college hockey program, though.

I don't know about an Alex Tuch. I mean they're both big but Tuch definitely had much more offense to his game. Ek is a closer comparison, though it should be noted that Joel also had higher upside than Stramel heading into his draft class. I don't think we'll see Stramel turn into an offensive threat too soon but he definitely has the heft to be that net-front presence that we often have missed in the post-season and we all are well aware that the greasy goals count just as much as the pretty ones.

This pick is pretty much the embodiment of 'grit first.' Which didn't do him well in prospect rankings but makes him an excellent fit for the culture they want to create here. And the size is undeniable and badly needed by this club. Especially if some of our projected Euro-centers like Rossi or Khusnutdinov end up being moved out to wing where their size should be less of an impediment.

I can see him and Oghren pairing together on a line down the road to help recreate a new version of the GREEF line, likely with Beckman. Stramel's not exactly the high-upside pick that people were hoping for, but his size should add some oomph to a lineup that will likely still be on the small-ish side in the top-6 when he makes it to the NHL. 

[TCMooch]

This is a big yikes pick. Jesus what a reach.

[Protec]

9 hours ago, Ice Nation said:

Seems like a reach based on his college production. Especially when Perreault was still on the board...oof. Might look back at this in 5 years and say what the heck were we thinking. Hope I am wrong!

This is exactly what I was thinking. 

I expected Brackett/MN to get one of the elite Swedes. I did not think they would go off the board and leave Perreault after his year & numbers. That was the biggest surprise. If he's gun-shy from taking a falling player who's little with Rossi, this is the anti-little guy with big numbers.

I don't even think Perreault is that small. Fiala size isn't the worst especially if you're Canadian or American.

Stramel, to me is a big swing. He's big and you can't teach that. So I'm with that line of thinking. However, in a few years if Perreault is getting 90 points and Stramel is Foligno'n guys and chipping in 21pts in 80 games, ya gotta expect me to rip on Brackett again.

[Protec]

And I don't wanna hear no lurkey-post from random user pop on to tell us Brackett had no say and the GM over-rules. 

I wanted a big NA center and we like the MN guys. We did say quite plainly we wanted to take the best guy available.i guess depending on how you define that is what we're talking about. Perreault sure looks like offensively, he's legit. 

It's weird cause we got the kind of player we wanted by consensus but one where the memories of 2018 & 2020 are still fresh. The Wild's history and Brackett's history of trying to over-prove guruism or whatever one-time lurk-posters characterize it as, there are some immediate doubts swirling.

Ya can't teach/develop size though...

[B1GKappa97]

1 hour ago, TCMooch said:

This is a big yikes pick. Jesus what a reach.

Not that big of a reach. Guarantee you if we didn't get him at #21, he wasn't lasting until #53. A lot of the mock drafts I saw had him going shortly after our selection at #21. Some had him in the 2nd round, but he never lasted very long past #32 and I don't think I saw a single mock that had him picked beyond the mid-30s. 

You just don't find 6'3'' Centers who already have NHL size very often, so teams overvalue them. The Wild included. And we NEED centers with size, especially ones who can win a damn faceoff. Stramel will have a role to play on future Wild teams, for sure. 

Is that a top-6 role? Probably not, but we have Kaprizov/Boldy/Ek already taking up 3 of those spots for the long-term (hopefully in Kap's case anyway), with some combo of Yurov/Rossi/Khusnutdinov likely filling out the other 3 positions over the next few seasons. 

Personally, I'm sick and tired of watching us get outmuscled/outsized in the post-season year after year. Losing Ek this season only illustrated our lack of physicality at the C positions outside of him, and Stramel will definitely remedy that issue. 

[B1GKappa97]

49 minutes ago, Protec said:

However, in a few years if Perreault is getting 90 points and Stramel is Foligno'n guys and chipping in 21pts in 80 games, ya gotta expect me to rip on Brackett again.

We've forgotten all about Yurov? He's your future Perreault. With better size. 

Stramel already has about 50 lbs on Perreault, btw! He's not exciting offensively but he's a physical presence who plays good defense and can attack the front of the net, which is exactly what this team needs in the playoffs imo. It can't only be Ek willing to do that and none of our other potential top-9 Cs (ie Rossi and Khusnutdinov) have the size to post-up net-front and get greasy goals. 

[Protec]

Yes. It’s good that MN did something to balance their Rossi pick where the quality was all in just a couple offensive categories.

Also a good point you make is how the Wild were in a weird spot at 21st. I said this a couple weeks ago but the top tier of centers wasn’t gonna get to MN. Moore was the last guy at 19th so at that point, the Wild had to look at the next group of available centers who didn’t necessarily get top-six projections.

That’s kinda why I expected the Wild to reach a little bit, but I thought it would be Edstrom with his similarities to Ek. Drafts are fun but a little weird cause you can’t formulate the final opinion for awhile.