AMHERST, N.Y. — If you watched one game of St. George’s hockey this past winter, you would’ve noticed the defenseman who wears No. 4 zipping around with the puck on his stick and controlling the game.
A dying desire and ability to create offense. That is Everett Baldwin (Providence, R.I.).
In 2023, he was drafted by the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in the USHL Futures Draft. He followed that by making USA Hockey’s Select 16 Camp, and on Aug. 1, he committed to Providence College.
Still, the only person who didn’t fully believe in Baldwin was Baldwin.
“I just hadn’t really realized how good that I really am,” Baldwin said. “I wasn’t as self-confident in my game.”
It started last summer. As the accolades piled up, Baldwin knew he had to keep pushing — to make this the beginning, not the end, of the journey.
“I just started to really put my head down and go full throttle,” he said. “I wanted to put myself in a good spot in all areas of my game and I got a lot better.”
That culminated when he went to Cedar Rapids on spring break after the prep season ended. He didn’t suit up for any games, but just practicing with the big club sparked something.
“To play with guys who are going into college next year and I adapted really well and played really well, I’m like, ‘All right, I’m actually pretty good.’ That definitely gave me some more confidence,” Baldwin said.
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At Select 17 Camp, Baldwin didn’t just play like someone who could hang with Division 1 players — he played like a future NHL Draft pick. He was good enough to get an invite to Hlinka Gretzky Cup camp.
“He has all the tools to be a pro at the end of the day,” New England District coach and Northeastern assistant Jason Guerriero said. “You could tell from the way he skates. It’s just unbelievable.”
Baldwin’s skating is his best attribute. It allows him to get up ice quickly and separate from opponents. He models his game after Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy and Vancouver Canucks defender Quinn Hughes.
“I’ve just been trying to follow those guys,” Baldwin said. “I’m kind of a hockey geek. I’m always watching film and just trying to find ways that I can make a simpler play here, make a better play there. That definitely helped me take a big step from my sophomore to my junior year. Watching film and really paying attention to every little detail.”
That doesn’t mean his game is a finished product — far from it.
“To pull the layers back with a him a little bit and fine-tune his game away from the puck is going to make him a legit complete player because you see him,” Guerriero said. “He moves and he can get up the ice and even if he gets in trouble, he recovers well because he can skate so well.”
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The two spent much of their time at Select 17s together working on Baldwin’s play away from the puck.
“I kept joking with him, ‘Hey, as a defenseman, you shouldn’t be backchecking a lot,’” Guerriero said. “You’ve got to pick and choose when to jump up in the play. I think it’s just his play away from the puck in reading speed and reading the game in front of him, because when he has the puck, he can do some pretty uncommon things.
“He’s just one of those players that I feel like less is more."
The less-is-more mentality can be difficult to remember at these camps like Select 17s where everyone is trying to stand out and move on, especially for young, offensive defensemen. They’re faster than everyone else and have more skill. They can rush it coast to coast and get back in time to halt the opposing offense.
As the levels get higher, however, those impacts become much harder to make.
“I’d like to improve my decision-making,” Baldwin said. “During the prep season, I think I’m pretty good. But when I get to these Select camps, sometimes I’m a little jumpy and anxious because I’m trying to make an impression and make a push for a camp or a team.”
Ultimately, they’re champagne problems. He has the hard part down. Now comes an “easy fix,” according to Guerriero — making smarter decisions away from the puck.
“He was very receptive and open and understanding,” Guerriero said. “He wasn’t once ever like, ‘I’m just going to do it my way.’ The kid wants to learn, and I think he will make it.”
It’s a good mindset for Baldwin to have as he enters his draft year. Less than 12 months out, Baldwin looks like a potential third- or fourth-round pick. He has the potential to go higher, too.
As of now, the plan is to return to St. George’s for his senior year. Only two players were drafted straight from prep in 2023 and one in 2024. The bar is sky high for prospects to be taken out of the NEPSAC.
“Yes, it is my draft year,” Baldwin said. “But I want to go in with the mindset that we want to win a championship for St. George’s, and I just want to continue to play my game and see what follows. Obviously, the goal is to get drafted. That would be huge for me.”
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Guerriero believes that if those slight changes are implemented, Baldwin will be impossible to pass up for NHL teams.
“He has that ability,” the coach said. “If he just cleaned up his defensive game and did the same exact thing he did this year and didn’t rush the puck as much and was just responsible and shut down every single kid and then naturally scored some goals and had some assists here and there, his stock would go up because (NHL scouts) would be like this kid is faster than anybody, he doesn’t get scored on and he’s reliable.”
