LEE BALDWIN

Here’s one of those moments where the Rangers announce a signing and you scratch your head and go something like, “They signed who?”

The truth be told, we know zero about this young man. Well, that’s not entirely true. We do know that he’s not related to Alec, Billy or any of those Baldwin’s. So we can build on our knowledge base from there. The only disturbing this, and this comes strictly from looking at his numbers, is that he seems to be the same cookie cutter defenseman that the organization always goes for. Not a big scorer and not a big physical guy who can clear the crease.

Baldwin is a big kid. He’s 6’4” and 205 pounds, but again, simply going by the numbers it’s hard to tell exactly what he brings to the table.

He will probably be assigned to the Wolf  Pack for the remainder of the season and see where he goes from there.

We will attempt to get some more information on him and keep you up to date.

Here’s the official release:

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms with free agent defenseman Lee Baldwin.

Baldwin, 21, skated in 32 games with the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves this season, registering one goal and nine assists for 10 points, along with 51 penalty minutes.  He ranked second among team freshman in assists and tied for third in points.  Baldwin ranked sixth on the team overall and third among team defensemen in assists, fourth among team defensemen in points, and fifth on the Seawolves in penalty minutes.  He registered his first collegiate point in his second game with two assists on October 9 vs. Mercyhurst.  Baldwin notched his first career NCAA goal, and posted a career-high three points (one goal and two assists) and plus-three rating on November 7 vs. Denver.

Prior to joining the Seawolves, the 6-4, 205-pounder skated in 150 career British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) games over three seasons with the Burnaby Express and Victoria Grizzlies, recording 20 goals and 74 assists for 94 points, along with 174 penalty minutes.  Baldwin enjoyed his finest BCHL season with the Grizzlies in 2008-09, establishing career-highs in goals (13), assists (41), points (54), power play goals (seven), shorthanded goals (one) and penalty minutes (79) to capture Team MVP and Top Defenseman honors while serving as an assistant captain for Victoria.  The 2009 BCHL All Star also led the Grizzlies in plus/minus rating, and led all BCHL defensemen in points.  In addition, Baldwin has registered five goals and 14 assists for 19 points, along with 20 penalty minutes in 33 career BCHL playoff games with Burnaby and Victoria.