Charlie Stramel brought home a bronze medal. Now he could be the boost Wisconsin hockey needs

MADISON – When Crew USA calls, you reply.

That’s the rule of thumb for school hockey gamers, although representing the nation requires them to go away their colleges for lengthy stretches throughout the common season. It’s the worth applications play for having high-caliber gamers on the roster.

In fact, the disruption is price it. Having a participant tabbed for a nationwide crew normally equates to having a expertise on the roster worthy of a excessive NHL draft decide, the type of participant who may help change the route of a season.

The hope at Wisconsin is that Charlie Stramel builds on his expertise of serving to america win a bronze medal on the World Junior Championship in Canada to assist the Badgers put collectively a powerful end throughout the remaining six weeks of the common season.

“I feel for certain I gained some confidence on the market, hanging on to the puck (and) utilizing my velocity extra typically,” Stramel stated. “I feel that’s one thing I can undoubtedly carry over to this school season right here.”

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Stramel was one in every of 25 under-20 gamers to make the World Junior crew. He completed the seven-game, 18-day expertise with three assists and primarily performed on the crew’s penalty killing unit.

The event was Stramel’s fourth worldwide expertise and the medal was his third.  He additionally captured a silver with the under-18 crew final spring and a silver on the 2020 Youth Olympics.

His play with the nationwide crew continued what had been a gradual emergence for a extremely rated prospect who simply turned 18 in October. The three sequence he performed with UW earlier than his departure for the U.S. crew have been his better of the season.

“You possibly can see him acquire confidence in his offensive capacity and his capacity to guard the puck and create scoring possibilities,” Wisconsin coach Tony Granato stated. “I feel he gained a ton of confidence in that and I feel he carried it over into the event. … I really feel he’s in a extremely good place to proceed to get higher and produce extra and to really feel extra assured in what sort of participant he’s.”

Making key performs on the worldwide stage

Although Stramel spent lots of his ice time killing penalties, he was additionally a part of the crew’s fourth line and assisted on a few well timed scores in video games Crew USA in the end misplaced. The primary got here on a objective from Michigan’s Gavin Brindley that gave america a 2-1 lead in what ended as a 6-3 loss to Slovakia on Dec. 28. The second got here within the semifinals when Massachusetts’ Kenny Connors tapped in Stramel’s preliminary shot to present Crew USA a 2-0 lead over Canada on Jan. 4.

The Canadians roared again to win that recreation, 6-2, however the the Connors-Stramel connection was one of many highlights of america’ event run.

“That entire recreation was a surreal expertise,” Stramel stated. “Taking part in in entrance of 10,000 individuals, all offered out, all Canadian followers was undoubtedly a brand new expertise for me. Positively one thing to study sooner or later, enjoying in away barns in faculty.”

The subsequent evening the U.S. gained a thriller, 8-7, over Sweden to seize the bronze medal. Sooner or later later Stramel was again on campus, able to rejoin the Badgers for the primary recreation of their sequence with Notre Dame. Granato held him out of that contest however performed him in UW’s 6-4 loss to the Combating Irish the following evening earlier than giving him a while off heading into the Badgers’ exhibition recreation.

The times main into the Badgers’ sequence with No. 7 Ohio State at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday on the Kohl Middle can be Stramel’s first full week again working with the crew.

“Positively a unique position over there, however you’re taking what you study over there enjoying towards nice gamers in numerous conditions and also you attempt to translate the most effective you possibly can right here,” Stramel stated. “I feel it’s going to assist me a ton the remainder of the season.”

Badgers entrance line returning to full energy

Stramel’s full-fledged return to the lineup isn’t the one excellent news for the Badgers. Freshman Jack Horbach returned final week after lacking a few weeks as a consequence of sickness, and junior Ty Smilanic returned after Christmas break after taking a private depart.

Junior Carson Bantle will serve a one-game suspension for combating within the exhibition recreation, however Saturday might mark the primary time since October that the Badgers have their full complement of forwards.

Wisconsin (9-13 general, 2-10 Large Ten) ranks sixth out of seven groups within the league in objective scoring with 4.23 per recreation and is at or close to the underside in most different offensive classes.

It would take a collective effort to enhance UW’s offensive manufacturing, however the job can be simpler if Stramel can parlay his worldwide expertise into impactful play throughout the remaining stretch of the faculty season.

“I felt just like the crew was making progress and trending the best approach in addition to myself,” he stated. “That gave me some momentum in making an attempt to make that (World Junior) crew and undoubtedly some momentum I need to perform of that event into the second half, as a result of it’s a giant second half for this crew to essentially show what we’re fabricated from.”