Hawks draftees celebrate with hugs and steak
Defenceman Lincoln Baker faced a different kind of two-on-one rush during the Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.
It was courtesy of his parents. Looking to break the stress waiting for his name to pop up in the online draft Saturday, the Cambridge Hawks rearguard went to get breakfast with his sisters, his girlfriend and his sister’s boyfriend. When the gang got back home, his mother and father ran to him screaming that he was taken in the seventh round, 130th overall, by the Kingston Frontenacs.
Baker was the highest of four Hawks players selected in the draft. Johnathan Herrington was picked in the 10th round, 199th overall, by the Oshawa Generals; Matthew Miller went in the 12th round, 224th overall, to the Guelph Storm; and Ryder Roberson was taken in the 15th round, 297th overall, by the Kitchener Rangers.
“My mom hugged me maybe 15 times in the span of two minutes, so my parents are pretty proud of me,” Baker said with a laugh.
Baker, a physical player who ended the 30-game, U16 AAA season with four goals, 11 assists and 28 penalty minutes, admitted he thought he might go sooner in the draft and possibly to Guelph, who talked to him before the season began. He added, though, the Frontenacs contacted him midway through the season and had been keeping their eye on him.
“They said my skating was really, really good,” said Baker, who is in a power skating program six days a week during the summer at the Hespeler arena. He was also told he sees “the ice differently than a lot of young defencemen.”
Baker said, while his goal is to play in Kingston next season, he knows he may need a year of seasoning in the Ontario Junior Hockey League and is looking to hook up with a team near the Limestone City in case he gets a call-up.
He wants to work on his consistency, saying this season he would have a stretch of good games and then mix in a poor one.
“Just get in the right mindset before games so I can go out and perform my best,” he said about his plan for the 2024-25 campaign.
While Baker’s celebration was all about hugs, Herrington’s was about steak.
A trip to the Keg for dinner was the topper on Herrington’s evening after becoming the newest Generals left-winger. The six-foot-two Hamilton native had nine goals and 17 assists for the Hawks in 29 games, and dressed for seven games with the Mississauga Chargers of the OJHL.
Much like Baker, Herrington had a hard time just hitting refresh on his computer draft day. Instead, his mother put him to work around the house to keep his mind occupied.
Despite being a late pick, Herrington isn’t deterred from his goal of playing in the OHL.
“It’s a seat at the table. It doesn’t matter what number you’re picked. I think anyone who gets selected or not selected has a chance and I’m really excited to get started,” Herrington said.
The Generals are probably looking forward to seeing him on the ice once rookie camp opens in May, as Herrington said Oshawa liked his work ethic, style of play and physicality.
“I think, in the coming years, I definitely have a good opportunity to play, and I think, with a lot of hard work, I can do it,” he said.