The Minnesota Wild have been aggressive this offseason and that means no prospect is safe. Less than a year after trading Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren and Zeev Buium for Quinn Hughes, Bill Guerin has shown he’s willing to trade anyone to get a deal done and the next prospect on the move could be Charlie Stramel.
The 21st overall pick in the 2023 draft, Stramel has rejuvenated his stock with two strong years at Michigan State. But Wild fans and even executives have remained skeptical over the pick as a player that may only have bottom six upside. While a recent 2023 redraft by The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler had Stramel going nine spots later to the Carolina Hurricanes, he also painted a picture where it could work out whether it’s for the Wild or someone else.
“Stramel’s young career has had some ups and downs, but he’s on a positive upswing coming out of Michigan State and looks again like a future bottom-six center with size,” Wheeler wrote. “I think my reservations were the right ones ahead of the draft though.”
Charlie Stramel has the skills to help the Wild at the NHL level
If you watched Stramel’s two years with the Spartans, you could be talked into him making an impact in the NHL. After reuniting with his USNTDP coach Adam Nightengale in East Lansing, Stramel’s numbers jumped from nine goals and 27 points during the 2024-25 season to 19 goals and 44 points last season. The Rosemount, Minn. native also was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award and may have made his NHL debut late last season if he didn’t suffer a broken ankle during the NCAA Tournament.
Stramel’s performance at Michigan State signals that he has a solid floor. But the problem is whether he had the upside of a first-round pick.
Wheeler had Stramel 37th on his big board entering the 2023 draft and many believed the Wild should have taken winger Gabe Perrault instead even with center being a big need. While Stramel has the size and ability to be a contributor, Wheeler wondered if he would be the type of impact player Minnesota has been looking for down the middle.
“Scouts are fascinated by his power forward package and size down the middle [following a move to center from the wing as a 16-year-old]. I have questions about his talent level, though.” Wheeler wrote in his pre-draft scouting report. “He too often looks like the third guy on his line. It’s not that he plays poorly [he rarely does] but I don’t see enough playmaking to warrant a top-20 slotting and he’s a little sluggish from a standstill through his first few strides [once he gets moving, his stride actually has good power and he’s a decent skater for his size on the whole].
“When he’s around it, he can be a handful. But getting around it consistently enough at higher paces has proven to be a bit of a challenge and his decision-making can look a little slow. He may become a darn good, hard and heavy bottom-six player at the next level in time, but he’ll have to show me more to warrant a projection higher than that [a projection some others do still believe in].”
Wheeler’s report may as well have cited Guerin by name as he took Stramel in the first round. But even if he only becomes a young, bottom six forward, that’s something the Wild could use.
Charlie Stramel has a range of outcomes in first season with Wild
Guerin has done a lot of things well during his tenure but a drawback has been overcommitting to bottom-six forwards. Yakov Trenin and Nico Sturm are two players that have been placed on the trade block with no takers due to their big contracts this summer and another six-year deal was handed out to Michael McCarron this summer after acquiring him at the trade deadline.
With Joel Eriksson Ek, Ryan Hartman and Danila Yurov also on the team, having Stramel fight his way into a top-six role may not be a logical ending. But it could pay off if they need to send any of those three in a trade for a top-line center.
If Stramel can step in and provide third-line value, that could be enough to justify his draft pick and perhaps even boost his trade value if needed. The same goes for if he has a strong performance at Iowa, where he is likely to start the season and become a better trade chip as he gains experience in professional hockey.
It may not be the impact Perrault would have had as a player who was slotted in seventh in Wheeler’s re-draft. But it may be enough to salvage the pick if Stramel cracks the roster or improves enough to become a valuable trade chip.
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