2023 Draft Wrap-Up

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - It's roughly an hour after the Minnesota Wild have selected hometown boy Charlie Stramel with the 21st overall pick of the 2023 draft.

Stramel and his extended family pour out of an elevator on the suite level of Bridgestone Arena. They are immediately embraced by members of the Minnesota Wild scouting and development staff even before they get to the team's suite.

There are introductions and hugs and laughter and, sure, a sense of relief perhaps as Stramel, who just completed his first year at the University of Wisconsin, and his family meet their new NHL family.

Taking in the moment it's hard not to think that maybe this is the essence of the National Hockey League draft. The intersection of family and dreams and that long-anticipated stepping across the threshold that separates those dreams from reality.

In fact, when Wild GM Bill Guerin announced the team's first-round pick it took a few seconds for Stramel's mother, Gretchen, to register what had just happened.

"I actually turned to him and said, 'who from Wisconsin is being drafted?" Gretchen said with a laugh. "And he looked at me like, oh God, it's me."

"I mean I couldn't be more ecstatic for him. It's what he's always wanted. It's who he's always wanted to play with and then to have his dreams come true while we're sitting in the stadium it's pretty unbelievable," added Gretchen who is an administrator at Breakaway Academy but who recently retired from coaching the girls' varsity soccer team at Rosemount High School after winning a state title.

As many as 20 friends and family joined Stramel in Nashville, including his younger sister Sophie is going into her junior in high school and younger brother Cooper who is entering the 8th grade. Both play hockey as well.

"Growing up in Minnesota it was obviously it was a goal to play for the Wild one day and sitting there waiting for the pick to come in you're obviously crossing your fingers a little bit," Stramel told Wild.com. "To hear your name over the loudspeaker it's a dream come true at the end of the day. Surreal moment."

"It's good to have that support system, all Minnesota people too so they're pumped as well," Stramel added. "Obviously great to have that support around you."

Still, there is something poignant about this scene unfolding in this Bridgestone Arena hallway because there is no discussion of the Stramel family without acknowledging the passing of Stramel's father, Dave, who died in March of 2021. On one of the most momentous days in Stramel's life, indeed in the life of the family, Dave's presence remains constant and indelible.

"He's watching up above and I know he's been a Wild fan, probably a bigger one than I was, I know up above he's smiling and laughing and enjoying it," Stramel said.

Dave was a defensive lineman from Nebraska who grew into hockey by necessity in Minnesota. It was Dave who often made hockey road trips with Charlie who played with the National Team Development Program based in Plymouth, Michigan, before committing to Wisconsin.

"Dave and Charlie were very, very close," Gretchen said. "They did a lot of hockey trips together as you know out east, everywhere. But because of that too, there's so much of Dave instilled in Charlie that I see, in his determination and his work ethic and how he views things."

"He's an emotional person, just his emotional drive that is there," Gretchen added. "And that comes from Dave and it's fun to see. It's good for us we can easily talk about Dave and everything that he's added to all aspects of these kids. It's pretty phenomenal to see."

Stramel, a powerful center, was one of six players taken by the WIld in total during the 2023 draft, four centers and two defensemen. Obviously being a first-round pick, not to mention being from Minnesota, means there are certain expectations. Stramel is aware of all that comes with the package. He also knows that he didn't have the season he wanted last year as a freshman at a rebuilding Wisconsin program and is committed to being much better this season.

The fact that Stramel had 12 points in 33 games for the Badgers is one of the main reasons he was available to the Wild at 21st. The Wild's scouting staff were high on Stramel from the get-go and believe that he is one of the players in the '23 draft who could have the biggest bounce back seasons in 2023-24. In fact, during pre-draft discussions it was suggested had he not had an off year he'd have been a top 10 pick based on his skill set and personality.

In the Stramel house, though, worrying about where he was going to be selected was never a focal point. In fact, Gretchen talked about how she and Dave were consistent in their messaging to all of their sport-playing children, but specifically Charlie.

"That it's not about being the best athlete it's about being the hardest working and control the controllable when you're on the ice or on the field," Gretchen said.

"It doesn't matter where you go, it's about longevity when you get there and being the player that you should be whether you're third or 103rd it's about the player you're becoming when you get there," she said.

The Wild's entire draft process is shot through with reminders of the vital role family plays in all of this.

Keeping the Wild's scouting and hockey ops staff in snacks and water at the Wild draft table was Deacon Brackett, son of Director of Amateur Scouting Judd Brackett. Deacon just turned 12 and during the Wild's pre-draft meetings GM Bill Guerin introduced Deacon and asked for his latest pitching line (it was a dominant win by the way) and then chided him for eating too many mints.

Assistant Coach Darby Hendrickson was in the team's suite for the first round but on the second day he was sitting with his family waiting to see if his son, Beckett, would hear his name called. He did when Boston made the 124th overall pick.

"It was awesome, it was awesome," Guerin said. "He's such a good kid and the family's fantastic and they're all here."

For those on staff who were lucky enough to have been drafted, days like these two days in Nashville bring back powerful memories.
Matt Hendricks, who works in player development along with Brad Bombardir and Cody McLeod, recalled wearing an old sports coat that belonged to his father and having to stay an extra night in a hotel when he fell to the fifth round in the 2000 draft.

That he was drafted by Nashville was a full circle moment as long-time Nashville GM David Poile was honored this week as he heads into retirement.

Bombardir's draft story is a classic.

Bombardir was a member of the Wild's inaugural team in 2000 and was a popular player during his time in Minnesota. He's been the team's director of player development since 2010.

The native of Powell River, British Columbia attended the 1990 draft in Vancouver just to watch the proceedings not thinking he was going to be selected at all.

"I showed up just to watch the draft in a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, a pair of boat shoes and no socks on," Bombardir said. "So I was watching and it got to the third round and New Jersey took a timeout and I heard my name. And I went down on the floor, if you could see the look on (longtime Devils GM and Hall of Famer) Lou Lamoriello's face at the way I was dressed. That's my story."

It's often said that the draft may feel like the end of something but it's really the beginning of whatever comes next. That's why Bombardir, Hendricks and McLeod are so pivotal to ensuring that draft picks take full advantage of their respective skill sets no matter where they were drafted.

Although just two of the Wild's six picks were on site in Nashville, Bombardir and Hendricks made sure to reach out to the other four by phone to congratulate them and give them the lowdown on the team's upcoming development camp in St. Paul.

"It's a wonderful day. It's a day of celebration. It's something they'll always remember but as soon as the draft is done I'll do everything I can to try to forget the draft number and just go and go to work with these young men," Bombardir said.

"This is one of the greatest days of their lives I would imagine for both the player and the family and all of the people that have supported these young men along the way," he added. "For us to even just celebrate with them a little bit is great and to get to know them. And along the way now we want to have a little bit of a voice in their development path and a lot of that comes with trust and it comes with trust from the players' families too."

Not long after skilled center Riley Heidt was taken by the Wild with the last pick in the second round, the dynamic playmaker made his way to the Wild's suite along with many of the two dozen or so family members who'd made the trip, most from Heidt's hometown of Saskatoon. In a town full of revelers you couldn't have found a happier bunch anywhere.

"It's everything I think," Heidt said. "It's not just you getting here. They play a massive part in everything. Their love is crazy and I mean just the support that's been around. As you can see it's pretty special and to share that moment with them and with my parents especially who sacrificed so much for me. I obviously can't thank them enough."

Heidt's father, Trent, a small businessman and farmer in Saskatoon, was trying to take it all in and admitted it was hard to find words that would do the moment service.

"I think it's a little bit overwhelming to be truthful," Trent said. "Because you always hope that this day will happen but you don't know for sure, right? There's just so many good hockey players out there."

"Very grateful that Minnesota believes in him, that's the main thing here I think," he added. "I guess, too, until you come to something like this you don't realize how many people are wanting you to accomplish your goal. So that part is probably hard to take in. It just doesn't' even seem real, truly."