Article: Charlie Stramel Deserves Another Shot

[Tony Abbott]

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[Imyourhuckleberry]

Always hope for more than a 4th line forward with a 1st round pick, but doesn't always work out. He's young and could still become useful a few years down the road. Hopefully has some drive to develop and succeed with his next team.

[Citizen Strife]

The thing is, if Heidt or Kumpulainen end up better scorers than Stramel, shit happens.  I posted the team stats a few days ago, and their offense wasn't always the main issue.  I'd maintain the Wild need a better defensive structure and team size more than offense to see the team succeed.  Stramel was picked for need.  It's entirely possible he never gets past the AHL.  But if he is what Brackett and Guerin picked him for (a 3rd/4th line power forward or center with size) and uses that size to clear some space for more skilled teammates, I don't see the issue.  If a few people hit big before he does, there's not going to many spots for him other than those lines anyway.

You have to stop other teams somehow.

Edited April 2 by Citizen Strife

[Patrick]

It's way too early to declare him a bust. With his size and skating you would think a Nico Sturm/Brandon Duhaime role should be pretty achievable.  And possibly more.  Look at Jared Spurgeons career. It's pretty crazy to think how many guys don't make it simply due to the lack of opportunities. (The right coach or the right system)

[B1GKappa97]

He's not the future top-6 C with size everyone has been longing for but I don't think he's necessarily a wasted pick. We need size on this team, especially in the bottom-6, and he should be able to provide that. 

 

But yeah, its looking like his ceiling is probably that of a 3rd liner. It sucks but it is what it is. He can still carve out a valuable role on our future team and help provide some physical presence that's sorely lacking from most of the roster aside from Foligno. 

[walt]

The Boldy comparison is apple to oranges. Boldy had over double the production in his last year playing for U18 squad and over double the production his first two years in college plus his one year in the U20 tournament he had seven times the production as stramel.. 

[Will D. Ness]

Physically, the guy is gifted no doubt... but is the work ethic there?  I think that will be the difference.  I can see the issue with the nepotistic coach.  

Change of scenery?

[Protec]

 

38 minutes ago, Patrick said:

It's way too early to declare him a bust. With his size and skating you would think a Nico Sturm/Brandon Duhaime role should be pretty achievable.  And possibly more.  Look at Jared Spurgeons career. It's pretty crazy to think how many guys don't make it simply due to the lack of opportunities. (The right coach or the right system)

Or how some elite Swedes just never go away after they stink twice for MN during two whole seasons and play good for just two months once before the playoffs with one flashy post-season goal.

[Pewterschmidt]

1 hour ago, Citizen Strife said:

But if he is what Brackett and Guerin picked him for (a 3rd/4th line power forward or center with size) and uses that size to clear some space for more skilled teammates

If he was drafted in the 1st round to be a big body pylon I'd argue this player is found in the 3rd round, not the 1st round.  I'd argue that he was drafted to be a top six/middle six offensive contributor.  If he turns out to be James Sheppard 2.0 it's a fail (big body, zero offense, not physical either).  Not unprecedented for a late first rounder to be a dud, but we cannot string together too many years of 1st round duds after the prospect cupboard was left bare.

[Citizen Strife]

Then I will just do what has been subtly suggested as a joke a couple times: reverse the Heidt and Stramel picks and not think too hard until actual shit happens.  It's the same difference either way.  It's just 32 teams (including the Wild) not picking Heidt early).  What a weird way things work out well.

Edited April 2 by Citizen Strife

[Imyourhuckleberry]

1 hour ago, Will D. Ness said:

nepotistic coach.  

It's 3 forwards out of 12, and they are better players. Coaches have an obligation to play their best players to get results for their team. He cannot worry about developmental minutes for a forward that doesn't have the same skill level as the 9+ forwards ahead of him. He hasn't thrived under 2 different coaches now.

If he were really skilled, he would be playing major minutes. It's on him to develop his skillset. Perhaps he will do better once he's removed from the college environment and can focus solely on hockey development.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

1 hour ago, B1GKappa97 said:

But yeah, its looking like his ceiling is probably that of a 3rd liner. It sucks but it is what it is. He can still carve out a valuable role on our future team and help provide some physical presence that's sorely lacking from most of the roster aside from Foligno. 

The thing about that is that David Edstrom is probably a better player for that role. I'm not ready to call Stramel an outright bust, but the expectations are really low.

Quote

Mechanically, David Edstrom has some of the better skating fundamentals in the draft class. He has decent acceleration and keeps his feet moving in all situations. His overall speed is good along with his balance being above average. The balancing gives him an advantage when combined with his size and strength, as he is often using it to protect the puck along the board or apply pressure on the backcheck.

He also is quick to get in on the forecheck and even faster at getting back in his own zone. The only downside is that he needs to get a bit more muscle to fully reach the potential of a 6-foot-3 two-way center. His edges are okay, although nothing to write home about. They are good enough to make him agile enough to move effectively with the puck. However, they also lack a bit of refinement that would give him the ability to become a far more dynamic offensive player. Especially if he is to take the next step and become an effective middle-six center in the NHL.

One of the most impressive abilities of David Edstrom’s game has to be his competitive level in the defensive zone. He works harder than most on the backcheck and along the boards he is able to put a stop to many attacks.

Edstrom is playing in a much better league with full grown men(average age for his team is over 25) and producing a bit more than Stramel. Even for that player type, I think Stramel was a reach, and he almost certainly will never be the point producer that some of the others available could develop into at the NHL level.

While it would be nice for Stramel to develop into a better player than Greenway, that's kind of looking like an optimal outcome given where he is at today.

[Pewterschmidt]

2 hours ago, Patrick said:

Nico Sturm/Brandon Duhaime role should be pretty achievable. 

If we spent a 1st on Brandon Duhaime or Sturm Brackett should be walked out in hand cuffs

[Pewterschmidt]

2 hours ago, Patrick said:

Look at Jared Spurgeons career. It's pretty crazy to think how many guys don't make it simply due to the lack of opportunities. (The right coach or the right system)

God not this argument again.  Rossi wasn't being given the right opportunities, until what changed??? Marco Rossi's play changed.  Rossi created his opportunity by playing at a level that was above any of coaches other options.  Thing that's concerning about Stramel is that he's shitting the bed in a league where half of the league (or less) will play in the NHL.  Past performance is best indicator of future results.  Rossi tore it up in juniors, then took some time to adapt to NHL.  Now he's adapted.  Stramel is still trying to figure out how to get over on a bunch of competition that'll be driving a tractor for a job a few years from now.

#hotstrameltakereadyfortable13

[Pewterschmidt]

40 minutes ago, Citizen Strife said:

It's the same difference either way.

It's not the same difference because the Boston's of the world use 1st round Stramel pick for a player that's contributing in NHL in couple years

[Will D. Ness]

2 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

It's 3 forwards out of 12, and they are better players. Coaches have an obligation to play their best players to get results for their team. He cannot worry about developmental minutes for a forward that doesn't have the same skill level as the 9+ forwards ahead of him. He hasn't thrived under 2 different coaches now.

If he were really skilled, he would be playing major minutes. It's on him to develop his skillset. Perhaps he will do better once he's removed from the college environment and can focus solely on hockey development.

I don't know any details.  It is pretty clear though that he needs to find greener pastures.

Edited April 2 by Will D. Ness

[Protec]

Brackett picked Juolevi instead of Matthew Tkachuk. 

That by itself makes me question pretty much everything Brackett does. I've heard that was on the GM of the time. Okay. Pretty weird though. Stramel has a lot of things that can't be taught or manufactured. 

[Dis-allowed display name]

Stramel needs to get out of Wisconsin and go play in Iowa and get coaching and opportunity.  I would rather he get 70+ games of development in a season instead of 30+.

 

He is young, big, and has some freakish physical traits, but when he was picked I thought "Who?"   I think he would have been on the board in the next round after his bad freshman season.  He still has a few years before he can be declared a bust.

[Burnt Toast]

3 hours ago, Will D. Ness said:

work ethic

Not going to be a problem. Big, strong, aggressive and tenacious. Gotta see him up close and in board battles. He’s going to be a fan favorite. I absolutely loved this pick and player. There’s always a place for what he can bring to a team. These players are hard to trade for. Can’t wait to see him playing a role the Wild desperately need. I don’t think we’re going to be waiting as long as people think.Ceiling? 3rd line and affordable.

[FredJohnson]

6 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Always hope for more than a 4th line forward with a 1st round pick

Hope doesn't overcome a bad pick, though. CoughPhilipJohanssonCough

[TCMooch]

Pretty sure he’ll be transferring schools to get better playing time. Hope he comes to Mankato !!! lol yeah right

[Need4speed99]

Didn't like the pick from the get go. It was a reach because billy was so hung up about getting big.

That's not to say stramel is or will be a bust, still very young, I just thought this was a move made based on size and I don't like that. 

I get you can't have a tiny lineup all the way through but passing higher end skill for large size isn't a recipe for success.

Hopefully stramel can turn it around but I don't ever see him being a top 6 player. 

[Dean]

Judd passed on Matt Thachuk ?  I didn’t know that. Definitely changes my opinion of him. I get missing on random kids but someone of his pedigree, size and skill is crazy. Especially when his father was such a stud . I don’t like Matt’s antics but I love his game. He is playoff hockey ! Reminds me of Chris  Drury. . Playoff specialist . The wild need players like that , not regular season darlings. 

[Dean]

Fred g the new face of the wild. With his 4 goals the future is bright 

[Citizen Strife]

"passing higher end skill for large size isn't a recipe for success."

Tell that to Nashville, which always seemed to truck the Wild more often than not.  Trying to score goals is great until a big player comes along and always clogs up passing lanes or pushes people off the puck.