Montreal Canadiens Star Reps Drake Baldwin Braves Jersey

Drake Baldwin’s efforts have been putting him on the map, even north of the border. Ahead of the Montreal Canadiens’ game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, Canadiens forward Cole Caufield wore the Atlanta Braves’ catcher’s jersey upon arriving at the Bell Centre.

On the back of the jersey, Baldwin’s signature and “2025 NL ROY” written on it on the number.

Cole Caufield 🤝 Drake Baldwin

De coéquipiers chez les moins de 14 ans avec l'équipe du Wisconsin à marqueur de 50 buts dans la LNH et recrue de l'année 2025 dans la Ligue nationale de baseball

From U14 teammates with Team Wisconsin, to a 50-goal scorer in the NHL and the… pic.twitter.com/70QnfHLnXu
— x - Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) April 11, 2026

This was part of a planned "jersey swap" of sorts. On the same day, Baldwin wore a Caufield jersey to Truist Park ahead of the Braves games against the Cleveland Guardians.

To most, it would come as a surprise crossover episode. However, these two go way back. The two knew each other growing up and were teammates on Team Wisconsin’s 14U team. It comes up from time to time that the Braves’ catcher played hockey. But Baldwin didn't happen just to be a teammate. Like on the Braves now, he was a key offensive piece on the ice.

Caufield recently spoke of Baldwin's time as a hockey player. Having him as a teammate, in his own words, made his life a lot easier.

"As a hockey player, he was fast, hard-working. He'd get the pucks back and go to the net and do all those things to create space for other guys," Caufield said in a video posted by the Canadiens. "I remember he's very fast and could score too."

He was on Team Wisconsin for the 15U and 16U teams as well. During his senior year at Madison West High (2018-19), Baldwin tallied 46 goals and 24 assists for 70 points in 24 games. He was highlighted in the Wisconsin State Journal as a hockey player during his junior year of high school.

High-scoring Drake Baldwin propels Madison West's postseason hockey hopes https://t.co/U6HmG07VRx pic.twitter.com/zsSfsfLp66
— Wisconsin State Journal (@WiStateJournal) February 8, 2018

He added that seeing Baldwin's ability to balance baseball, hockey and football encouraged him to push as hard has he could as an athlete.

Ultimately, Baldwin chose to play baseball for Missouri State, while Caufield stuck with hockey and committed to Wisconsin. The Braves took Baldwin in the third round of the 2022 draft. Caufield went 15th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft.

Since they were last teammates, both have done well for themselves in their respective professional sports careers. Baldwin is the reigning Rookie of the Year in the National League. He has started the season batting .328 with a 1.004 OPS, giving himself a case for his first All-Star nod in his career.

Meanwhile, Caufield has long established himself as a key piece of the Habs’ offense. However, he has taken a big leap in his performance during the 2025-26 season. He became the seventh Montreal Canadiens’ player ever to score 50 goals in a season and is the first to do it since the 1989-90 season.

Baldwin gave that 50-goal mark a shoutout during his entrance by holding up a five and a zero with his hands.

Both have gotten the chance to play for a storied franchise in each of their respective leagues. Both the Braves and the Canadiens happen to be the oldest franchises in their leagues. The former has been around since 1871, while the other since 1909.

The Canadiens have clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2020-21 season, when they reached the Final. Baldwin, meanwhile, has the Braves off to a 9-6 start. Two former teammates have playoff aspirations.

Beyond Baldwin, the Braves franchise has had its connections to the NHL in the past. Tom Glavine was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings, but he, wisely, chose baseball.