Meet Comets' Rookie Defenseman, Ethan Edwards
Feb 18, 2026Utica, NY – The latest Comet we caught up with was rookie defenseman, Ethan Edwards.
Edwards grew up in Alberta in a town called Grande Prairie, with a population of about 64,000. Grande Prairie sits about 285 miles northwest of Edmonton, giving credence to his description of the town as “far north and far west.”
Ethan enjoyed a healthy dose of outdoor activities as a kid, from skiing and snowboarding in the winter, to riding dirt bikes and quads as well as going to the lake in the summer. He took up hockey at a young age, around three, naturally influenced by his brother Brett who is four years his senior. The Edwards brothers can be credited with introducing hockey to the family, as Ethan mentioned that his parents hardly ever learned to skate.
With Edmonton being the closest major city to Grande Prairie, Ethan grew up a big Oilers fan and enjoyed their two recent runs to the Stanley Cup despite coming up short. Among the players he looked up to as a kid was Hall of Fame defenseman Chris Pronger, and more recently, he has enjoyed studying the craft of Boston Bruins’ defenseman Charlie McAvoy.
Edwards has himself been a defenseman virtually his entire life. He mentioned that he bounced around a little during his Bantam years, but the blue line has been a mainstay for him. When he got to Bantams, the Edwards family moved closer to Edmonton to the town of St. Albert. Prior to the move, Ethan and his parents were driving four hours every weekend to Edmonton where his team’s home rink was located. It was around that time that hockey became a more serious commitment and that he began playing amongst the area’s best players.
When Edwards was 17, he joined the Spruce Grove Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). He had the opportunity to play in the Western Hockey League (WHL), having been drafted by the Portland Winterhawks two years prior, but decided the AJHL was a better route in terms of helping him fulfill his goal of going to college.
He spent one full season with Spruce Grove, recording 33 points in 50 games, and it was that same year that he committed to the University of Michigan. Before arriving for his freshman year, Edwards played one more season of juniors, shipping out to Iowa to play for the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers. Having lived at home while playing for the Saints, this was his first time moving out of the house and being so far away was a big adjustment. Ethan went a full eight months without seeing his parents but was fortunate to land with a great billet family who also hosted two of his teammates in Sioux City.
The following year, in the fall of 2021, he arrived in Ann Arbor where he would spend the next four years. He fell in love with the school on his very first visit prior to committing, attracted to the school’s rich history of hockey as well as the area’s passion for the sport.
The Wolverines made it to the Frozen Four in each of Edwards’ first three seasons. Among his favorite memories was the game that sent his team to the tournament during his sophomore year. “It was the regional final against Penn State. Mackie Samoskevich scored an OT winner to send us to our second straight Frozen Four. We were scratching and clawing all game. Penn State probably had an edge on us, but that feeling, that relief to get back (to the Frozen Four) was so much fun.”
Another notable memory, although not quite as sweet, came the year prior when Ethan played against his brother for the first and only time in his career. “It was my freshman year Frozen Four in Boston. It was cool to play against him at that level. They (U Denver) ended up winning the whole thing, so my brother has a national championship and has a big tattoo to let me know and will never let me live that one down, but I was super happy for him.”
Edwards is not the only former Wolverine on the Comets’ roster. Seamus Casey began his freshman year when Ethan was a sophomore. When asked about their relationship at Michigan, Edwards said, “We were D partners all year that year. I have so much love for ‘Shaymo’. We ended up going back to Ann Arbor together for a few days over the All-Star break. We’re great friends and I’m super happy to go through our first couple seasons as pros together.”
Edwards made his pro debut with Utica towards the end of last season after leaving the University of Michigan, recording three assists in 10 games. He felt that his collegiate hockey experience prepared him well for the pro level and has allowed him to hit the ground running this year, currently leading all Comets’ defensemen in scoring. He’s enjoyed his time in Utica so far, describing his teammates as “accepting and inviting, and making it a joy to come to the rink every day.”
When asked about life away from the rink, Edwards responded by saying that with more time on his hands, he hopes to pick up some more hobbies, perhaps learning to play an instrument like the piano or guitar. He added that he has enjoyed diving into several leadership books, that latest of which is titled ‘Legacy’ by James Kerr and one he highly recommends.
Edwards and the Comets are back home on Saturday against Laval at 6 pm for 100 Years of Comets Heritage. For tickets, please visit uticacomets.com/tickets or call 315-790-9070.