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Sports
MPR News Staff

Wild pick a Minnesota native in first round of NHL Draft

NHL Draft Hockey
Charlie Stramel puts on a Minnesota Wild jersey after being picked by the team during the first round of the NHL hockey draft Wednesday in Nashville, Tenn.
George Walker IV | AP

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The Minnesota Wild picked a Minnesota native in the first round of the NHL Draft on Wednesday night.

The Wild chose center Charlie Stramel — a Rosemount native who played his first season of college hockey at Wisconsin last season — with the 21st overall pick.

“Obviously thrilled — no better feeling than getting picked by the hometown team,” Stramel, 18, told reporters gathered for the draft in Nashville. “I always hoped that the Wild would pick me, it was always in the back of my head for sure, and to see that dream come true is a blessing.”

The Wild said Stramel is the 16th Minnesota native drafted by the franchise over the years, and the first since Jack Peart of Grand Rapids was picked in 2021.

“Charlie is a heavy, strong skating, physical two-way center,” Judd Brackett, the Wild's director of amateur scouting, said in a news release. “We are very excited to add him to our organization.”

Stramel played high school hockey for as a freshman in the 2019-20 season, before joining the U.S. National Team Development Program.

Minnesota will have five more picks in rounds 2 through 7 of the draft, which will be held Thursday.

Stramel was the second Minnesotan picked in the first round of the draft.

Mounds View native Oliver Moore was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks with the 19th overall pick. He’ll play college hockey for the Minnesota Gophers this fall.