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Drake Batherson

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Drake Batherson
Drake Batherson 2019 3.jpg
Batherson with the Belleville Senators in 2019
Born (1998-04-27) April 27, 1998 (age 26)
Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 187 lb (85 kg; 13 st 5 lb)
Position Right wing
Shoots Right
NHL team Ottawa Senators
National team  Canada
NHL draft 121st overall, 2017
Ottawa Senators
Playing career 2018–present

Drake Batherson (born April 27, 1998) is an American-born Canadian professional ice hockey right winger for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the fourth round, 121st overall, of the 2017 NHL entry draft.

Playing career

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Batherson at the 2019 All-Star Game.

Junior

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Following the 2014–15 season with the Valley Wildcats, Batherson was selected in the sixth round, 97th overall by the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in the 2015 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) Entry Draft.[1] Batherson split the 2015–16 season between the Wildcats and Screaming Eagles. Leading into the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Batherson was ranked 117th among North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Services;[2] He was considered undersized and was selected in the fourth round, 121st overall by the Ottawa Senators.[3]

On October 3, 2017, the Senators signed Batherson to a three-year, entry-level contract.[4] He returned to major junior for the 2017–18 season, splitting the year between the Screaming Eagles and the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.[5] The Armada won the league title as best overall regular season team and went to the playoff final before being defeated by the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.[6] Batherson led the QMJHL in points during the 2018 playoffs, scoring 13 goals and adding 20 assists.[3]

Professional

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Batherson began the 2018–19 season with the Senators' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Belleville Senators. After recording 20 points in 14 games, he was recalled by Ottawa on November 12.[7] Batherson made his NHL debut with the club on November 15. He scored his first career NHL goal (a game-winning goal) on his first shot in a 2–1 win over the Detroit Red Wings.[8] He would record three goals and eight points before being returned to the AHL on December 18.[9]

Batherson (right) battling for position against Brian Dumoulin of the Seattle Kraken in 2024.

Batherson found immediate success in the AHL and was later selected to participate in the 2019 AHL All-Star Game, where he scored five goals for the North Division and was named Most Valuable Player.[10] On February 8, 2019, Batherson set a Belleville Senators franchise record for most goals by a rookie in a season when he scored his 12th goal of the season.[11] In 2019–20, Batherson split the season between Belleville and Ottawa. During the 2019–20 AHL season, Batherson was again chosen to participate in the 2020 AHL All-Star Game after leading the league in scoring.[12] During his time in Belleville, Batherson set franchise records for goals, assists and points.[13]

In the 2020–21 NHL season, Batherson made the Ottawa roster out of training camp.[14] In February 2021, Batherson tied the Ottawa Senators' all-time record of scoring goals in six consecutive games.[15] He finished the season tied for second on the team in goals with 17 goals and fourth in points with 36 in 56 games.[16]

On September 3, 2021, Batherson signed a six-year, $29.85 million contract with the Senators.[17] On October 27, 2021 Batherson scored his first NHL career hat trick on Ilya Samsonov in a 7–5 loss to the Washington Capitals.[18] He was selected to participate in the 2022 NHL All-Star Game. However, after being injured by an unexpected hit from Buffalo Sabres goaltender Aaron Dell on January 26, 2022, he was unable to attend the event.[19][20] Batherson was replaced by teammate Brady Tkachuk at the All-Star Game.[21] He returned to play on March 26, 2022 versus the Florida Panthers after missing two months[22] and finished the season with 44 points in 46 games.[23]

Batherson struggled early in the 2022–23 season, having a rough November, scoring 2 goals and 6 points in 14 games.[24] However, the season marked the first time Batherson played the full schedule with Ottawa.[25] In March, Batherson stated that it was first time his ankle had felt right since its injury.[26]

Personal life

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Batherson has strong family ties to the Senators. He is the son of Norm Batherson, a former professional player who once played for the Ottawa organization with the Prince Edward Island Senators and the Thunder Bay Senators.[27] His uncle Dennis Vial played several seasons with Ottawa in the 1990s and was one of the NHL's most frequent fighters over that time.[28]

Though he grew up in Germany and Canada, Batherson was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana while his father played for the Fort Wayne Komets, and thus he possesses dual Canadian/US citizenship.[29] Early on, he honed his hockey skills in Germany, where his father played seven seasons of pro hockey with four different teams after his North American career had ended.[27] He was then raised in New Minas, in the Annapolis Valley region of western Nova Scotia, where the family settled after his father retired from professional hockey in 2006.[30]

Batherson's sister Mae was drafted in the sixth round of the 2024 PWHL draft by the defending Walter Cup Champions, PWHL Minnesota with Drake sitting alongside her for the event. Previously, she played defence for the Kingston Ice Wolves of the Provincial Women's Hockey League. In November 2018, she signed with Syracuse University for the 2019–20 season.[31] His great uncle is Canadian Juno Award-nominated musician Matt Minglewood.[27]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2014–15 Valley Wildcats MJAHL 4 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0
2015–16 Valley Wildcats MJAHL 28 4 15 19 18 6 1 2 3 8
2015–16 Cape Breton Screaming Eagles QMJHL 10 0 2 2 2 — — — — —
2016–17 Cape Breton Screaming Eagles QMJHL 61 22 36 58 70 11 7 5 12 14
2017–18 Cape Breton Screaming Eagles QMJHL 24 17 22 39 39 — — — — —
2017–18 Blainville-Boisbriand Armada QMJHL 27 12 26 38 26 22 13 20 33 19
2018–19 Belleville Senators AHL 59 22 40 62 39 — — — — —
2018–19 Ottawa Senators NHL 20 3 6 9 6 — — — — —
2019–20 Belleville Senators AHL 44 16 38 54 24 — — — — —
2019–20 Ottawa Senators NHL 23 3 7 10 13 — — — — —
2020–21 Ottawa Senators NHL 56 17 17 34 8 — — — — —
2021–22 Ottawa Senators NHL 46 17 27 44 32 — — — — —
2022–23 Ottawa Senators NHL 82 22 40 62 33 — — — — —
2023–24 Ottawa Senators NHL 82 28 38 66 42 — — — — —
NHL totals 309 90 135 225 134 — — — — —

International

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Medal record
Representing  Canada
Men's ice hockey
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2022 Finland
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2018 United States
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2018 Canada WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 7 0 7 4
2022 Canada WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 10 3 11 14 6
Junior totals 7 7 0 7 4
Senior totals 10 3 11 14 6

Awards and honours

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Award Year
NHL
All-Star Game 2022 [32]
AHL
All-Star Game 2019, 2020 [33]
All-Rookie Team 2019 [34]
Second All-Star Team 2020 [35]

References

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  1. ^ "2015 QMJHL Entry Draft". Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
  2. ^ "157 CHL Players in Final 2017 NHL Central Scouting Draft Rankings". Canadian Hockey League. 11 April 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  3. ^ a b Pam, Murray (November 14, 2018). "Drake Batherson tears down the door, earns call up to Senators". Sporting News. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  4. ^ "Senators sign Drake Batherson to entry-level deal". sportsnet.ca. October 3, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  5. ^ "Drake Batherson est échangé à l'Armada" [Drake Batherson is traded to the Armada]. RDS (in French). January 2, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  6. ^ Therriault, Olivier (May 13, 2018). "Le Titan sacré champion" [The Titan Crowned Champions]. Le Journal de Montréal (in French). Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  7. ^ Ottawa Senators [@Senators] (November 12, 2018). "Roster update: The #Sens have recalled forward Drake Batherson from @BellevilleSens" (Tweet). Retrieved November 12, 2018 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ "Batherson scores in NHL debut for Senators in win against Red Wings". NHL.com. November 15, 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  9. ^ Beneteau, Josh (December 18, 2018). "Senators send forward Drake Batherson back to AHL Belleville". Sportsnet. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  10. ^ Williams, Patrick (January 28, 2019). "Senators prospect Batherson named MVP of AHL All-Star Challenge". NHL.com. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  11. ^ "Former Eagle Batherson sets AHL franchise record". Cape Breton Post. February 12, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  12. ^ "Senators recall Drake Batherson, Filip Chlapik from AHL". Sportsnet. January 26, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  13. ^ Vanderlaan, Joel (October 3, 2022). "Preseason contest a homecoming for Batherson". Belleville Senators. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  14. ^ "Ottawa Senators announce 23-player opening night roster". Ottawa Senators. January 13, 2021. Retrieved February 22, 2023 – via NHL.com.
  15. ^ "Drake Batherson extends goal streak as Senators roll past Flames". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. March 1, 2021. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  16. ^ "Senators re-sign Drake Batherson on six-year, $29.85M contract". Sportsnet. September 3, 2021. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  17. ^ "Senators agree to terms with Drake Batherson on a six-year contract". Ottawa Senators. September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021 – via NHL.com.
  18. ^ Garrioch, Bruce (October 26, 2021). "A tip of the cap to Drake Batherson's confidence after his three-goal effort". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  19. ^ Harrington, Mike. "Observations: Aaron Dell on hot seat for hit as Sabres are drubbed by Sens". Buffalo News. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  20. ^ "Ennis records hat-trick to lead Ottawa Senators to 5-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres". CTV News. The Canadian Press. January 26, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  21. ^ Pringle, Josh (January 26, 2022). "Tkachuk to replace Batherson as Senators representative at NHL All Star Weekend". CTV News. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  22. ^ "NHL Buzz: Batherson returns for Senators against Panthers". NHL.com. March 26, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  23. ^ Palov, Willy (May 9, 2022). "Nova Scotians Drake Batherson, Ryan Graves named to Team Canada for hockey worlds". Saltwire. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  24. ^ Warren, Ken (December 3, 2022). "Warren's Piece: Batherson searching for scoring touch, Kastelic moves up and Karlsson comes home". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  25. ^ Warne, Steve (April 23, 2023). "Batherson on Playoffs Next Year: "Anything Other Than That Would Be a Disappointment"". The Hockey News. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  26. ^ "Batherson: My ankle is finally feeling good, doesn't feel tight anymore". TSN Ottawa 1200. March 21, 2023. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  27. ^ a b c Palmeter, Paul. "Like father, like son: Batherson signs pro deal with Sens". CBC News. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  28. ^ Garrioch, Bruce (June 28, 2018). "Dennis Vial passed along good advice to nephew Drake Batherson". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  29. ^ Garrioch, Bruce (November 16, 2018). "Sens' Batherson makes an impact in NHL debut". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  30. ^ "Norman Batherson". Acadia University Hall of Fame. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  31. ^ "Mae Batherson signs with Syracuse University". Cape Breton Post. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  32. ^ "All-Star Game rosters as selected by NHL.com". National Hockey League. 2022-01-09. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  33. ^ "Bracco, Liljegren added to All-Star roster". American Hockey League. 2020-01-26. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
  34. ^ "2018-19 American Hockey League All-Rookie Team Named". OurSports Central. April 10, 2019.
  35. ^ "2019-20 AHL First, Second All-Star Team announced". American Hockey League. May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
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