After addressing their forward depth with their first two picks of the day, the Tampa Bay Lightning added a defender with their third pick. The Rhode Island-native is committed to Providence College in 2026-27, but might play in the USHL next season. He had a brief two-game stint with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders after his high school season finished up last season.
He is a right-hand shot, and while not the biggest player on the ice, he can skate. He is a long-term project that will likely spend the majority of the next few seasons in college, but does have an extremely large upside. Baldwin could be the diamond-in-the-rough prospect for the Lightning in this year’s draft. His positioning and play-reading will need to improve. At this point, he can make up poor decisions with his skating ability, but as the competition gets better as he ages, he won’t be able to rely on that.
From Elite Prospects:
“While Baldwin is an overwhelming offensive presence, his game degrades in the USHL. At times, consistency was an issue,not looking the part of a play-driving defender. Learning to access all his tools in a better environment will be key to his future projection. Right now, all it adds is uncertainty, a reason why he isn’t ranked higher despite his ability. He could be an offensive-centric middle-pair defender with the proper development, but the certainty of that is really up in the air.”