NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Minnesota Wild used their No. 21 overall pick to grab a hometown hockey guy from Rosemount in Wednesday night's NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
The Wild selected Charlie Stramel who is a 6' 3" sophomore center at the University of Wisconsin. Last year as a Badger Stramel played in 33 games, scoring 5 goals and 7 assists.
“Charlie is a heavy, strong skating, physical two-way center," Wild Director of Scouting Judd Brackett posted on Twitter. "We are very excited to add him to our organization.”
The Athletic player evaluator Corey Pronman says Stramel's skating and puck skills equate to average when compared to current NHL players, but gives him kudos for a high compete level. Stramel excelled when skating as part of U.S. National Team Development Program, but struggled as a freshman last season with the Badgers, who floundered at the bottom of the Big Ten.
The top Minnesota player in the draft, Oliver Moore from Mounds View, was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks with the 19th pick -- just a couple of spots earlier than Stramel. Moore, a 5' 11" center, is believed to be one of the fastest skaters in this year's draft. He will hopefully one day skate with Connor Bedard, the sharp-shooting center from Canada who was drafted No. 1 overall by the Blackhawks in Music City Wednesday night.
The Wild have six total picks and they are in a good position to make moves because three of the picks are in the top 65. Rounds 2-7 will be played out on Thursday night.
Back in April, the Wild were eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs by the Dallas Stars. Analysts have been united in saying the team needs more big bodies to play April through June, when the run for the cup takes place. Stramel fits that bill.
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.