Drake Batherson

Drake Batherson (born April 27, 1998) is an American-born Canadian professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL).

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. 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.

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. 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. 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.

Batherson's sister Mae plays defense 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. His great uncle is Canadian Juno Award-nominated musician Matt Minglewood.

Junior

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. 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; he was selected in the fourth round, 121st overall by the Ottawa Senators.

On October 3, 2017, the Senators signed Batherson to a three-year, entry-level contract. He returned to major junior for the 2017–18 season, splitting the year between the Screaming Eagles and the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. Batherson led the QMJHL in points during the 2018 playoffs, scoring 13 goals and adding 20 assists.

Professional

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. 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. He would record 3 goals and eight points before being returned to the AHL on December 18.

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 MVP. 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.