I ended up with a lot of diverse tactical notes for him through these games. He’s smart, assesses potential attacking lanes on the fly, and has little details to finish off plays as the driver or a complimentary piece. His decisions were well-timed and used little touch passes to the middle after drawing pressure. Even against NAX, while appearing smaller than the opponents, he was still able to slip past coverage a few times and drive wide with his footspeed. In later games, his offense came from sitting net front or finding secondary options with tips and little jam plays. There’s a holistic approach to his game which brings that consistency and intelligence whether he’s playing against bigger/stronger opponents or the game is a little chaotic.

The details of BWC players continue well with Baker. He is capable and smart in motion; weaving and advancing plays with his head up and can both spring players himself into the middle of the ice or take the chances to drive plays there himself. There were backdoor driving attempts, consistently keeping possession out of the reach of defenders, and making great lateral passes with proper timing. The more I watch him, the more the details of his play stand out as he known how to delay his shot attempts, shoot across his body far side, and make the most of puck battles in open ice. Much like the other players on BWC, he could certainly use some extra strength and size to be more dominant but the details are how he is consistently effective.

Cohen Baker finds himself as a standout player in this one as a result of shifty puck handling with the occasional outburst of speed that gave opponents troubles. He was able to shift his way around the perimeter of the ice and constantly be a step ahead of opponents thanks to his powerful steps, if an opponent would get near him, only a few quick crossovers and puck handles were necessary to further the gap and pull away. Because of this puck possession ability, he eventually opened some lanes to the middle, once more using his explosiveness to jump into seams and get decent looks at the net. He had a 2-on-1 chance in the second period, pulling away from traffic in the neutral zone with great speed, opening enough ice to snap a shot on goal.

While Jayden Simpson was doing a lot of the long haul truck driving through the middle of the ice, it allowed Cohen Baker to pick his positioning and take advantage quickly of little opening backdoor or slicing into open spots to shoot back against the grain. His first goal was terrific as he maintained balance and puck control despite the pestering upon the zone entry. He understands gap control, changing the angle with a little cut before using a defender as a screen, and how to quickly push into an open gap. Even on the forecheck, Cohen was using quick starts and stops to stay with defenders attempting to curl away from him.