ST. PAUL, Minn. - Charlie Stramel keeps showing the kind of traits the Wild want to see, and now comes the hard part: doing it when the real roster fight begins.
At Friday’s prospect camp practice, the 21-year-old center went right at former University of Wisconsin roommate Ben Dexheimer in a drill built around speed, board work and finishing the play. AHL Iowa coach Stu Bickel sent the puck to the wall, Stramel beat Dexheimer to it, used his 6-foot-3 frame to win position, knocked the 5-10 defenseman down and then drove in to score. The other prospects noticed.
For a player trying to force his way into a crowded NHL picture, that was the kind of sequence that stands out. Stramel played with pace.
He played with contact. He played with some bite.
“He’s right there,” said Brad Bombardir, the Wild director of player development. “We’ve always told our guys, if you want to come in and make an impression and try to make an impact early, it’s up to you.
We’ll do everything we possibly can to give you that opportunity. But once you get on the ice with those NHL guys it’s up to you.
“Because the National Hockey League is a monster, right?”
Stramel is the organization’s top prospect, but his path onto the roster is a steep one. The Wild already have a lot of veteran centers under contract, which means prospects such as Stramel and Hunter Haight will have to turn heads in a hurry if they want to break through.
Stramel says he’s ready for that challenge. He’s fully recovered from the broken ankle he suffered in his last college game, on March 28 against Dexheimer and Wisconsin. He knows the camp window is short, and he knows first impressions matter.
“That’s for sure a goal of mine - I’ve got to bring it in camp and hopefully show them what I’m capable of,” Stramel said. “But at the end of the day, if (making the team) doesn’t happen right away, it doesn’t happen right away. I just want to make the most of my opportunity and be ready to go.”
Those around him say the confidence is obvious. Bombardir pointed to Stramel’s “exceptional strength” away from the ice, while former Wild center and current color analyst Wes Walz came away impressed after spending time with him at one of his hockey camps this summer.
“He’s ready,” Walz said. “I asked him about his ankle and he said, ‘I’m doing everything I did before, and feel stronger than I did.’ He has that twinkle in his eye that he wants to come in and make the team.”
That optimism is a long way from where Stramel’s college career started. After transferring from Wisconsin, he struggled through his first two seasons and, by his own admission, lost confidence and drifted away from his identity as a player.
Michigan State changed that. Reunited with former USNTDP coach Adam Nightingale, Stramel got his game back.
Last season, skating on a line with prized Philadelphia Flyers prospect Porter Martone, he scored 19 goals, which was more than he had managed in his first three college seasons combined, when he had 17.
“Confidence is huge,” Stramel said. “There were points in my career, especially early in college, where I didn’t have a lot of it and it hindered my game.
I regained that at Michigan State and was bringing it every night. Hopefully that’s something I can bring here.”
Bombardir sees the change, too.
“He’s a different player, a different person than he was.”
Stramel spent most of the summer in Minnesota, rehabbing the ankle and training. He later skated for three weeks back at Michigan State before joining the Wild’s captains’ practice sessions over the past couple of weeks. Bombardir said Stramel likely would have gotten into an AHL or NHL game in the spring if not for the injury, so every chance to be around the NHL group matters.
The key, Bombardir said, is to keep using what Stramel already does well. His straight-ahead speed stands out, and the Wild want him to lean into that along with his size, especially by attacking on the forecheck and forcing mistakes.
“He’s moving faster, there’s more confidence,” Bombardir said. “He’s always been able to skate, especially straight-ahead speed is phenomenal.
He should use that to his advantage. That’s going to be a big key to have an impact early.
He should be using that speed and that size, getting in on guys, forcing plays, being hard on the forecheck just to build the rest of his game.”
Stramel said that style fits him.
“I think that makes me a better player when I play with an edge and play kind of mean almost. I’m going to bring that as much as I can - I feel like it helps me.”
Walz has also talked to Stramel about faceoffs and other details that can help extend a career. If the rookie starts in AHL Iowa, Walz doesn’t see that as a setback.
“just show them how good you are.”
That opportunity will come against a roster full of established names at center, including Ryan Hartman, Joel Eriksson Ek, Danila Yurov, Michael McCarron, Nico Sturm and Nick Foligno. Bombardir said that’s exactly why main camp will be such a tough test.
“NHL main camp is a different animal,” Bombardir said. “The NHLers show up, and they’re not giving you their jobs.
There’s so much at stake for them. It’ll be a good test (for Stramel) and the rest of the guys.”
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