The Minnesota Wild entered the 2026 offseason knowing that upgrading at center had to be at the top of their to-do list. The Wild eliminated the Dallas Stars in the first round of the playoffs, but their lack of depth down the middle proved costly in the second round against the Colorado Avalanche. Vincent Trocheck seemed like the obvious fit, and then Dylan Larkin when he made his intention to leave the Detroit Red Wings known.
Trocheck ended up with the Utah Mammoth when the Wild conceivably couldn't give the New York Rangers what they wanted in a trade, and Trocheck wasn't the only ask the Wild couldn't reach, as there doesn't seem to be much movement on the Larkin front, either. It's possible that both the Rangers and Red Wings wanted a young center in return, and the Wild may not be willing to part with a center that could solve some of their depth issues himself.
2023 first-round draft pick Charlie Stramel signed with the Wild after four years in the NCAA. He spent the last two seasons at Michigan State, where his senior season was the breakout campaign that Minnesota was waiting for. After recording 40 points in 104 games over his first three college seasons, he exploded for 44 points in 37 games, finishing as a Hobey Baker finalist in his last NCAA season.
Is Charlie Stramel the answer to the Wild's center issues?
Stramel's emergence last season is a great sign for the growth of his game, but that doesn't mean the 21-year-old is ready to play a massive role for Minnesota. Minnesota's four centers currently look like Danila Yurov, Joel Eriksson Ek, Ryan Hartman, and Michael McCarron, and it's entirely possible that Stramel still isn't ready to overtake any of those veterans.
Eriksson Ek isn't leaving the top six unless some of his past injury issues continue to pop up, and Yurov centering Kirill Kaprizov and Maxim Shabanov for an All-Russian line makes a ton of sense for Bill Guerin's roster. Stramel could push Hartman to the wing and take some sheltered minutes on the third line, but there still have to be some concerns about whether that is an upgrade at this point in the rookie's career.
If the Wild can get a healthy season out of Eriksson Ek and continued growth from Yurov, then Guerin could look like a genius for not selling the farm to get Trocheck or Larkin. However, if those players falter early and some combination of Hartman, McCarron, or Stramel has to play top-six minutes, it could be a rude awakening for Minnesota.
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