Prospect Info: Charlie Stramel, C, 21st Overall, 2023 NHL Draft

[Dr Jan Itor]

Yeah, teams screw up all the time in the draft so I'm not saying anything definitive, but I don't think it's nothing that Smith and Leonard were top 8 picks, and Perrault made it through the teens.

 

[MNRube]

Screw the scoring. Can he find his motor and play a defensive game? The bottom 6 is where he ends up if he makes it. I still remember the role he played with USA at WJC. That player was clearly an NHL talent and could be a useful piece on the PK and in the playoffs. Stenlund, Brodziak, Boyle etc. Not ideal for a 1st rounder but not like he was a lottery pick

 

[AKL]

Screw the scoring. Can he find his motor and play a defensive game? The bottom 6 is where he ends up if he makes it. I still remember the role he played with USA at WJC. That player was clearly an NHL talent and could be a useful piece on the PK and in the playoffs. Stenlund, Brodziak, Boyle etc. Not ideal for a 1st rounder but not like he was a lottery pick

You can't just ignore the production because it's inconvenient to acknowledge.

Kyle Brodziak scored 93 points in 70 WHL games his D+1 year, he was first on his team. Brian Boyle may have only scored 8 points in his D+1, his first NCAA season, but he followed it up with a 19 goal, 27 point sophomore season. Then he scored 52 points in his third NCAA season. We're in this thread talking about how 20 points in Stramel's third season would be satisfactory for some?

Even the bottom six NHLers were able to produce in whatever leagues they came out of. Scoring may not be the be all end all of if the player becomes a viable NHL player, but the lack of scoring so far is absolutely a huge red flag that it would be silly to ignore.

 

[AKL]

Derek Forbort was a guy I liked a lot when I was at UND. He's what I would describe as a defensive defenseman, and he went on to become what I would call a bottom pair defenseman in the NHL. He still scored 15, 13, 17 in three seasons there.

Players who go on to become good NHL players, even in a bottom of the lineup role, still find ways to get on the score sheet. Stramel needs to get on the score sheet this season.

 

[TaLoN]

Derek Forbort was a guy I liked a lot when I was at UND. He's what I would describe as a defensive defenseman, and he went on to become what I would call a bottom pair defenseman in the NHL. He still scored 15, 13, 17 in three seasons there.

Players who go on to become good NHL players, even in a bottom of the lineup role, still find ways to get on the score sheet. Stramel needs to get on the score sheet this season.

Brock Faber looked to be on the Forbort track at one point, then he nearly doubled his production in season 3 without PP time in the process. Got the attention of many that he could be much more. Then immediately backed it up in the jump to the NHL.

Unfortunately doubling production is not enough to move the needle for Stramel. He'd need to quadruple his to get people's attention at this point.

 

[Saga of the Elk]

Not even close. Stramel at least has the body and game to be an effective bottom 6 guy with a chance at being more. Phillips leached off of Huberdeau in the Q. His offense was never that good, as evidenced by his AHL totals, and he didn’t have the game or speed to play any role at the NHL level.

Philipps rarely played with Huberdeau, he just played weaker comp because teams had to account for Huberdeau. So, still a bad pick (a remnant of the Wild's excessive love of the Q even when it was obvious that the league's quality was falling behind).

As a general rule, some years an early 2nd is worth as much as a mid-1st, and some years a mid-1st might as well be in the 5th. I'm worried that the Stramel draft was more of the former.

But, generally, I'll say again it's way too early to give up on Stramel. Even if his production flatlines this season (which is at least somewhat likely, given that MSU overachieved and loses Levshunov) I think a fourth college season won't be a death knell.

 

[57special]

Derek Forbort was a guy I liked a lot when I was at UND. He's what I would describe as a defensive defenseman, and he went on to become what I would call a bottom pair defenseman in the NHL. He still scored 15, 13, 17 in three seasons there.

Players who go on to become good NHL players, even in a bottom of the lineup role, still find ways to get on the score sheet. Stramel needs to get on the score sheet this season.

Again, Trent Fredric was a 6'3" C who played with the Badgers, and is now a solid bottom six player on the Bruins at 26 yo, after years of being more of a fringe 4th liner who brought a physical and combative element. At WI, he had 33 points in his D +1 year, 32 in the next. I want to see Stramel get 30 points. Guys who get 15-20 as forwards in their 3rd year of college just tend not to get into the NHL.

 

[AKL]

Again, Trent Fredric was a 6'3" C who played with the Badgers, and is now a solid bottom six player on the Bruins at 26 yo, after years of being more of a fringe 4th liner who brought a physical and combative element. At WI, he had 33 points in his D +1 year, 32 in the next. I want to see Stramel get 30 points. Guys who get 15-20 as forwards in their 3rd year of college just tend not to get into the NHL.

Yeah there are endless examples like this.

Not scoring doesn't really mean he can't or won't become an NHL player at some point, but it most likely does mean he has a long way to go and a lot of areas to improve before he gets there.

In other words, he's not currently on track to become an NHL player, but as soon as next year, he may get back on track, and scoring 27+ would be a sign that he is.

 

[P10p]

Derek Forbort was a guy I liked a lot when I was at UND. He's what I would describe as a defensive defenseman, and he went on to become what I would call a bottom pair defenseman in the NHL. He still scored 15, 13, 17 in three seasons there.

Players who go on to become good NHL players, even in a bottom of the lineup role, still find ways to get on the score sheet. Stramel needs to get on the score sheet this season.

Wisconsin was a much lower scoring team to be fair

 

[thestonedkoala]

From my limited viewing, but knowledge, Stramel isn't really the physical grinder/pest that Frederic is. Could he transform his game to be a more physical game? Probably, but for now, I don't think he uses his size effectively.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

I didn't agree with the Stramel pick, don't think Perreault is the slam dunk you're making him out to be. He has a ton of quirks in his game that might prevent him from becoming an NHL player, let alone a star NHL player. He's also had the benefit of playing with Will Smith and Ryan Leonard for the relevant parts of his career. And Cutter Gauthier was in the mix at times too.

Perreault isn't an absolute slam dunk, but at the time of the 2023 Draft, Perreault's biggest skeptics still had him in the 17-20 range while the most optimistic Stramel supporters typically had him in the 31-35 range. Pretty big reach regardless.

 

[AKL]

Perreault isn't an absolute slam dunk, but at the time of the 2023 Draft, Perreault's biggest skeptics still had him in the 17-20 range while the most optimistic Stramel supporters typically had him in the 31-35 range. Pretty big reach regardless.

I don't know if his biggest skeptics had him 17-20 if he was actually taken at 23, but regardless, I don't think Stramel is an equal prospect to Perreault, just don't agree with the sentiment that Perreault was the obvious pick there. There were several other guys I would have been okay with, and some I definitely would have liked even more than Perreault.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

I don't know if his biggest skeptics had him 17-20 if he was actually taken at 23, but regardless, I don't think Stramel is an equal prospect to Perreault, just don't agree with the sentiment that Perreault was the obvious pick there. There were several other guys I would have been okay with, and some I definitely would have liked even more than Perreault.

I was at the draft and thought the obvious names on the board for the Wild were Brindley, Perreault, and Ritchie. You could definitely make the case that Gulyayev, Sale, Edstrom, and Nadeau were options too, much more reasonable to take there than Stramel IMHO.

 

[DANOZ28]

perrault had the most offensive upside based on production & rankings. stenberg was a potential 2nd line C kinda similar to JEE. musty was a potential net crasher / goal scorer. cristall & ritchie well not my choice but ranked first rnd. other than size no reason to pick stramel in the 1st. i will always say this had to be a guerin pick not judd.

 

[AKL]

I was at the draft and thought the obvious names on the board for the Wild were Brindley, Perreault, and Ritchie. You could definitely make the case that Gulyayev, Sale, Edstrom, and Nadeau were options too, much more reasonable to take there than Stramel IMHO.

Yeah I wanted Edstrom, Ritchie or Stenberg. Would have been fine with Perreault or Sale. Didn't know much about the rest. Stramel wasn't even on my radar.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I'd take Brindley over Perrault.

 

[Circulartheory]

I was at the draft and thought the obvious names on the board for the Wild were Brindley, Perreault, and Ritchie. You could definitely make the case that Gulyayev, Sale, Edstrom, and Nadeau were options too, much more reasonable to take there than Stramel IMHO.

I think there was a huge variance for Brindley, I had him in the 2nd round. Gulyayev and Nadeau also had a huge variance, and Sale was a notable dropper so it wasn't out of the realm of possibility he would fall late 30s.

The only notable "obvious" names IMO was Perrault. Stenberg and Ritchie is a much lesser extent bc I had him ranked #22 and #23 respectfully and we picked #21. So passing on them made sense per my own rankings.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

I think there was a huge variance for Brindley, I had him in the 2nd round. Gulyayev and Nadeau also had a huge variance, and Sale was a notable dropper so it wasn't out of the realm of possibility he would fall late 30s.

The only notable "obvious" names IMO was Perrault. Stenberg and Ritchie is a much lesser extent bc I had him ranked #22 and #23 respectfully and we picked #21. So passing on them made sense per my own rankings.

I had Brindley in the teens, thought his bulldog like qualities (a Stankoven-lite type) at Michigan made him project pretty well to the league despite the size. I was also extremely high on Gulyayev because of the skating and offensive ability.

 

[57special]

Yeah I wanted Edstrom, Ritchie or Stenberg. Would have been fine with Perreault or Sale. Didn't know much about the rest. Stramel wasn't even on my radar.

Yes, so much those. It's not like they are tiny, or wings, either. I get why they wanted a bigger C prospect after the underwhelming showing Rossi had in 22-23 and McBain leaving, but Stramel didn't rate over those guys.