Batherson selected to NHL all-star team
New Minas native Drake Batherson is heading to the NHL all-star game.
The 23-year-old son of Norm and Deeann Batherson was selected to this year's event on Jan. 13. The gaame will be played in Las Vegas on Feb. 5.
“It was pretty cool to be hearing that I’ll be going to the game,” Batherson said during a media session. “I just got off the phone with my family and they’re super happy for me. I can’t thank the coaching staff and the players here enough for putting me in a position to be able to go to a game like that.
“I called up the old man a few minutes ago, and they’re both there because my mom is doing online teaching, so the phone call was pretty cool,” he added. “My old man wants a ticket for Vegas so we’ll have to get him one.”
It will be the Ottawa Senators forward's first all-star trip. Cole Harbour's Nathan MacKinnon also earned a selection.
Batherson skates with MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby and Brad Marchand during his off-seasons in Nova Scotia and has the same trainer, P.E.I. native Andy O'Brien.
“That was an eye-opener for me because it was a whole different style of training,” said Batherson, who played most of his major junior career with the Cape Breton Eagles. “I came into the season feeling really good and pretty confident coming off of last season.
“I’ve just been having fun. Honestly, that’s the biggest thing, is having fun and working hard. That’s what
I’ve been trying to do.”
As of Jan. 16, Batherson leads the Senators with 30 points (10 goals and 20 assists) in 26 games.
"Drake deserves all the credit he gets," said Senators captain Brady Tkachuk. "He's such an unbelievable player and a great guy. We're definitely lucky to have him on our team. It's definitely going to be a great experience for him, being in Vegas too. I know he'll have a lot of fun."
This is Batherson's fourth NHL season but because COVID-19 restrictions limited the Senators to games in Canada last year and since he was only a part-time player during his first two seasons with Ottawa, he has never played in Vegas before.
“I’ve never been,” he said. “I’ve never even played a regular season game in the NHL there and I’ve never visited. I don’t really know what to expect I’ve heard a lot of things but it will be cool to see what I’ve been hearing about.”
Batherson was a latebloomer coming out of midget and junior and was passed over once in the QMJHL and NHL drafts before the Senators took him in the fourth round as a 19-year-old. He set an NHL career high last season with 34 points in 56 games and is well on his way to smashing that mark this year.
"I think the last five seasons and every year in junior I just found a way to get a little better," Batherson said. "The more comfortable I got and the more confidence (I got helped). It was the same thing at world juniors – I just got gradually better. It's the same throughout pro. I just feel like I've (taken) a step every year. Obviously I've been put in some good positions to succeed by the coaching staff and I've played with some great players so I'm just building off it."