Article: Charlie Stramel Is Becoming the Center the Wild Hoped For

[Robert Brent]

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[Pewterschmidt]

Do we have a sense of the probability stram-zy elects not to sign and goes full free agent?  50/50?

[Up North Guy]

Getting Stramel to contribute at the NHL level after what everyone feared was a total bust would be a huge win.

[SkolWild73]

39 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Do we have a sense of the probability stram-zy elects not to sign and goes full free agent?  50/50?

I would say a lot lower than that since it does not happen very often.

[Citizen Strife]

SIZE!

 

[Fortis]

1 hour ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Do we have a sense of the probability stram-zy elects not to sign and goes full free agent?  50/50?

He’s from Rosemount. I don’t think his family, friends, or neighbors would allow him to do that 😆

[Kato AK]

2 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Do we have a sense of the probability stram-zy elects not to sign and goes full free agent?  50/50?

I doubt he would do that. Like Fortis said, he is a hometown kid and he would have to hold out until mid August, potentially missing end of season NHL/AHL games and training camps.

[TCMooch]

I still think he projects to a fringe NHL player. If he plays more than 150 games for the Wild I’d take it as a win I guess. He has size so he’ll be in the category of “prove you can’t play in the nhl” instead of proving he can so he’ll get chances just like draft bust Jiricek

[1Brotherbill]

5 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Do we have a sense of the probability stram-zy elects not to sign and goes full free agent?  50/50?

I would say it would be a lot higher with him signing with the Wild.  Going anywhere else I would think he wouldn't get as much interest.  With the Wild he is a lock for a bottom six center.  Anywhere else he might not make it out of the AHL.  

[1Brotherbill]

Everyone talks about Matthew Knies and his future in the league.  I look at Stramel and see the same player.  So, we will just have to wait and see with this guy.  The fact that there is a black hole down the middle with this team he might be in St. Paul at the end of the season.  

[Beast]

Good for Charlie.  Genuinely. I’d rather he be reviving his prospect status for the Gophers, but that’s another conversation.  Hopefully it’s a short postseason for him for multiple reasons.

It was still bad value at that pick.  There were still more highly regarded prospects (on current lists, not draft boards) available that they could’ve taken, along with Stramel later, potentially.  That will always be there.

It can be both.  A reach and a bad pick, and he turns out to be a decent 3rd/4th line center.

Ultimately, not a huge deal.  I’ve said all along it was a bad pick, but I’m not writing Stramel off as a bust.  I don’t think it was as egregious as some, but I think they could’ve gotten better value.  It’s starting to look like recouping some value is pretty safe.  He’s got the size, skating ability, and temperament to have a floor as a 4th liner, I believe.  I’d just prefer to go after more upside.  It’s much harder and more expensive to find volume scorers/playmakers (Perrault, potentially) vs. physical guys for the checking line.

 

[Citizen Strife]

The issue was positional.  They did not have any clue Rossi would become what he is and still could be.  I forget if Yurov had even gotten drafted or not, but he was a winger too.  Rossi struggled out the gate for a year, so they took chances on three centers hoping one of them makes it.  Yurov and Rossi doing what they are doing has helped ease the immediate issue, and getting a winger in a trade might be easier than a center.  Stramel hopefully is ready by the ready Hartman and Sturm's contracts are up.

It doesn't look like Kunpulainen nor Heidt will.

Edited December 2 by Citizen Strife

[MNCountryLife]

The article sounds like they are talking about Ek.  At 6' 3'' and 216 pounds he has a similar build. If Stramel can learn the defensive side of the puck it would be fantastic to have another Ek on the team.

[MNCountryLife]

Ek 6' 2'' ... Stramel 6' 3'' ... Nico Sturm 6' 3'' ... Danila Yurov  6' 1''

That is good size at the center position.  If Jiricek 6'4'' and Stramel can make the transition the Wild may slide from 15th in average height into the top 10 in size.  This team is bigger than it was a few years ago.

 

[MrCheatachu]

I've ragged on StrayDawg a number of times, but I was listening to the Athletic Hockey Show with Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler (Nov 14 - Is it time to worry about Gavin McKenna?) where they talked about the Michigan State/Penn State matchup. 

Basically they were saying that StrayDawg was the best player on the ice by 'a country mile' and that Charlie looked like a stud, even with the stacked rosters both those teams have.   Martone looked like he was benefiting by playing with StrayDawg, rather than StrayDawg picking up easy points a la centering Isaac Howard last season.

I know, small sample size, but I'd rather be hearing this type of coverage vs. 'StrayDawg is playing 4th line wing at a floundering program' like we heard with his time at Wisconsin.

[Pablo]

He had tons of skills as a jr player so it was a good bet that he would continue to develop.  He is still very young and should be a great center for the wild.  Wild fans get a bit too cynical when development of draft picks isn't linear, even tho, its the case with EVERY draft pick. 

[Pewterschmidt]

17 hours ago, SkolWild73 said:

I would say a lot lower than that since it does not happen very often.

McBain?

[Pewterschmidt]

12 hours ago, TCMooch said:

I still think he projects to a fringe NHL player. If he plays more than 150 games for the Wild I’d take it as a win I guess. He has size so he’ll be in the category of “prove you can’t play in the nhl” instead of proving he can so he’ll get chances just like draft bust Jiricek

Why you hate’n on The Jiri Project™️?  

[SkolWild73]

28 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

McBain?

Yes, a third rounder from 2018 that did not want to sign.  Like I said, it does not happen very often, which is why I say the odds are way less than 50/50.

[mnfaninnc]

13 hours ago, 1Brotherbill said:

I would say it would be a lot higher with him signing with the Wild.  Going anywhere else I would think he wouldn't get as much interest.  With the Wild he is a lock for a bottom six center.  Anywhere else he might not make it out of the AHL.

I think if you look at the Wild timeline, things line up for him with a year in the A. He will need to be very physical and develop a mean streak. He projects to be a pounder like Trenzy and Folzy (for Pewter). In fact, if they are still on the team, he might center them both. 

[mnfaninnc]

12 hours ago, Beast said:

 I’d just prefer to go after more upside.  It’s much harder and more expensive to find volume scorers/playmakers (Perrault, potentially) vs. physical guys for the checking line.

Outside of the writers, I think you're one of the few Perrault backers on the site. I could be wrong, but when the writers bring him up, very few people agree in the comments section. Perhaps they just nod but don't write anything?

[Imyourhuckleberry]

1 hour ago, MrCheatachu said:

I was listening to the Athletic Hockey Show with Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler (Nov 14 - Is it time to worry about Gavin McKenna?) where they talked about the Michigan State/Penn State matchup. 

Basically they were saying that StrayDawg was the best player on the ice by 'a country mile' and that Charlie looked like a stud, even with the stacked rosters both those teams have.   Martone looked like he was benefiting by playing with StrayDawg, rather than StrayDawg picking up easy points a la centering Isaac Howard last season.

That's very interesting, but quite possibly overstated due to just one series being discussed. He might have looked solid in those games, but Martone(#6 overall) is a much better prospect than Stramel, and is 4 goals ahead of everyone else on the team.

Stramel has a solid chance to develop into a Nico Sturm type of player if he can improve his faceoffs, but I wouldn't bet on a high end skill player.

Nico Sturm posted 1.15 points per game in his 3rd season at Clarkson before going pro, and this is Stramel's 4th season. He wasn't all that close to finishing above a point per game prior to this year(while Sturm was close in year 2) and he has a lot of talent around him at Michigan State, with Martone and Ryker Lee(26th pick in 1st round of 2025), as well as a couple of 2nd round defensemen and a couple later round defensemen.

The team success is also aided by a top goalie. Stamel has had a solid start to the season, but we'll see how things play out. Michigan(15-3, while averaging just 2 goals against per game) will be a big test this weekend. Michigan has a very promising top line C in Michael Hage(1.44 PPG). If Stramel can shut him down, that could be a nice sign.

 

[MrCheatachu]

54 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

McBain?

McBain looked at JEEk, Rossi, Hartzy, and FreddyG and didnt see a path he would get playing time in MN.

Can you imagine looking at that stable of studs and saying 'yep, those guys are going to beat the pants off of me for playing time'

StrayDawg is going to have to look at JEEK, Rossi, Yurov, Hartzy/Sturminator and think he can beat one of those guys out for ice time if he's going to get NHL time.

Frankly, with the game StrayDawg has been playing, I could see him signing at the end of the college season and getting some looks for an oft-injured JEEk, a fellow rookie Yurov or even get some time as a 'energy' player for Sturminator.  After this one Sturm/Hartzy are on expiring contracts so depending on what Yurov/Rossi do there might be some wiggle room for a seat at the table.

[mnfaninnc]

30 minutes ago, SkolWild73 said:

Yes, a third rounder from 2018 that did not want to sign.  Like I said, it does not happen very often, which is why I say the odds are way less than 50/50.

Plus he wasn't a local kid. I assume he grew up cheering for the Wild and dreaming about them. I could be wrong since he went to WI and then on to MSU (but his old coach was enticing for that move). 

McBain had no ties to the area, he just didn't want to go to the A.

[mnfaninnc]

4 minutes ago, MrCheatachu said:

StrayDawg is going to have to look at JEEK, Rossi, Yurov, Hartzy/Sturminator and think he can beat one of those guys out for ice time if he's going to get NHL time.

Frankly, with the game StrayDawg has been playing, I could see him signing at the end of the college season and getting some looks for an oft-injured JEEk, a fellow rookie Yurov or even get some time as a 'energy' player for Sturminator.  After this one Sturm/Hartzy are on expiring contracts so depending on what Yurov/Rossi do there might be some wiggle room for a seat at the table.

I was thinking they may start him out on wing and he progresses to center. Or, he could go between Trenin and Foligno. I would like the 2nd one better since Foligno probably takes him under his wing and teaches him what he has to do to be effective. That could be one line nobody wants to play against!