An important piece of the Minnesota Wild’s future offense is officially under contract as of Monday night.
The team announced that Rosemount native Charlie Stramel is an employee of the Wild, after signing a three-year entry level contract reportedly worth $3.2 million with his home state NHL team.
Stramel, 21, was the Wild’s first round pick, 21st overall, in the 2023 NHL Draft and has played the past two seasons at Michigan State. Although he suffered a broken ankle early in Michigan State’s overtime loss to Wisconsin in the regional final and is not expected to be available for the Wild this season.
After playing youth hockey in Rosemount and skating for Rosemount High School as a sophomore, Stramel spent his final two seasons of junior hockey with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program in Michigan. He began his college career at Wisconsin and was a Badger for two uneven seasons before transferring to Michigan State. He had played for Spartans coach Adam Nightingale when they were both with USA Hockey and Stramel’s game took off with the Spartans.
“To me, he grew up. Body maturity and trusting that it’s not a rat race. Just because you were a first round pick doesn’t mean you have to jump to the NHL at 19 years old,” said Paul Caponigri, a Big Ten Network and ESPN hockey analyst who played at Ohio State. “He trusted Nightingale to help him. Last year he built confidence, and this year he was like, ‘I’m the big dog,’ and became a Type A kind of guy.”
As a senior for the Spartans, he posted 44 points in 37 games. An All-Big Ten first team selection and a top 10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, Stramel played a key role in the Spartans winning the last two conference titles. Attending development camp in St. Paul during the summer of 2024, Stramel spoke of how patient and encouraging the Wild organization had been as he worked to find his game in college.
“They’ve been super supportive,” Stramel said after a skate at TRIA Rink. “Every step of the way – player development, management – they’ve been super supportive getting me back to the player they drafted and the player I want to be at the next level.”
Stramel also skated for Team USA in the 2022 and 2023 World Juniors. He could have become a free agent later this summer had Stramel chosen not to sign with the Wild, but the appeal of a return to his home state was strong. He has been assigned jersey number 15 in Minnesota, which is what he wore with the Spartans.