Analysis: Wild draft pick Charlie Stramel sees production rise after transfer to Michigan State

COLLEGE HOCKEY INSIDER | RANDY JOHNSON

The transfer portal and name, image and likeness opportunities have combined to shake up college athletics as we knew it, especially in the big-money sports of college football and basketball.

In college hockey, you won’t see an NIL deal that even approaches the $4.4 million that former Georgia quarterback Carson Beck will make this season at Miami (Fla.), but the impact of the transfer portal is huge.

Charlie Stramel can attest to that.

Stramel, a Rosemount native, is in his first season at Michigan State after transferring from Wisconsin after two lackluster seasons with the Badgers. A first-round NHL draft pick (21st overall) by the Wild in 2023, Stramel is enjoying a career resurgence in East Lansing. He has eight goals and 13 assists in 24 games this season while centering the Spartans' top line. He’s distributing the puck to Minnesota Duluth transfer Isaac Howard, whose 36 points on 18 goals and 18 assists lead the nation; and Daniel Russell, who has 10 goals and eight assists.

“It’s been a great fit so far,” said Stramel, whose second-ranked Spartans play host to the third-ranked Gophers in Friday and Saturday. “I love it here. … I have nothing but great things to say about that and my development and how good this team is playing this year."

At Michigan State, Stramel has been reunited with Adam Nightingale, who’s in his third season as Spartans coach and coached Stramel during his time with the U.S. National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Mich.

“They’ve built an unbelievable culture here,” Stramel said, “and that’s one of the big reasons I wanted to come here.”

The Spartans are the reigning Big Ten regular-season and tournament champs. They sit one point ahead of the Gophers in first place in the Big Ten standings, part of that gained from a five-point weekend they enjoyed in Minneapolis in mid-December. In the series finale, Stramel scored the winning goal with 6:01 left in the third period as Michigan State rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third to win 5-3.

Stramel knows all about the level of talent he and his teammates will face this weekend. Gophers forward Jimmy Snuggerud and defenseman Ryan Chesley were his roommates for a time with the U.S. development program, and he’s eager for another meeting.

“Playing against [Minnesota] this year is super-competitive and a little chippy, and it’s fun,” Stramel said. “I’m looking forward to the weekend.”

As for his future, Stramel will wait to make any decision regarding returning to Michigan State or signing with the Wild.

“I’m just focused on the season right now and whatever I can do to make sure we’re the last team standing at the end of the season,” he said.

The Gophers women’s hockey team will be part of Hockey Day Minnesota on Saturday at Valleyfair in Shakopee. Minnesota plays Bemidji State at 11:30 a.m. (FanDuel Sports North), and coach Brad Frost hopes for a balance between a unique experience and a WCHA game with meaning.

“It’s a little different when there’s three big points on the line, especially in the WCHA,” said Frost, whose teams is tied with Ohio State for second in the conference. “We’ll enjoy the pomp and circumstance, but when the puck drops, obviously we’re gonna do everything we can to win.”

Other Hockey Day games Saturday are: Eden Prairie boys vs. Hibbing (8:30 a.m.); Shakopee boys vs. Maple Grove (2:30 p.m.); Wild vs. Calgary (6 p.m.).

Minnesota’s influence on college hockey is strong, and research done by Jayson Hajdu of College Hockey Inc. shows just how strong. Here are some gems that he’s mined regarding the 2024-25 season in Division I men’s and women’s hockey:

• Minnesota has the most players of any state in men’s hockey with 249. That’s more than the second- and third-most combined (Massachusetts, 117; and New York, 113).

• Minnesota has the most players of any state in women’s hockey with 205. That’s more than Nos. 2 and 3 combined (Massachusetts, 115; New York, 51).

• Minnesota produces 14% of all D-I men’s players and nearly 20% of all D-I women’s players.

• Of the past 24 teams to win the NCAA men’s championship, 23 have had at least one Minnesotan. Providence in 2015 was the exception. Every D-I women’s champion has had multiple Minnesotans on its roster.

A way-too-early glance at how the NCAA men’s tournament field could shake out — based on the current PairWise Ratings and conference standings — has this first-round gem in the Fargo Regional: No. 1 seed Gophers vs. No. 4 seed Quinnipiac.