Engaged Batherson making impact for Senators in multiple ways

OTTAWA — Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson were reunited at the Canadian Tire Centre Thursday where they dropped the ceremonial puck.

For many fans, it was a time to reminisce about the Senators’ acclaimed "Pizza Line," so-called because of a promotion after the 2004-05 lockout that gave fans free pizza whenever the Senators scored five goals or more. The problem was that the team scored so many goals in that era, in large part because of that line, that free pizza became almost routine.

One current Ottawa Senators player who fondly remembers the trio from his childhood is Drake Batherson.

Throughout this season, and again during Thursday night’s 2-1 Senators win over Detroit, Batherson has done his best impression of one of the trio’s members, Jason Spezza. Batherson has silky mitts, a great shot when he uses it, and loves to send saucer passes just like Spezza. Batherson idolized Spezza growing up.

Batherson’s first NHL game as a fan was in Ottawa when he was 12 years old, with his cousin Dean coming all the way from Nova Scotia to watch. He and his cousin went to the morning skate.

“We each got a stick after the morning skate," said Batherson. "I got Spezza’s stick. Still got it in my room at my parents’ house.

“I actually went for dinner with (Spezza) a few summers ago, but I never brought that up to him. I have a picture of me and him, and maybe I'll tell him that tonight.”

Batherson wears No. 19. Coincidence? Yes, Batherson told Sportsnet.ca after Thursday’s game that he wears the number for his father Norm, who played professional hockey in Europe and the AHL. But Batherson said it is “hard to live up to” wearing Spezza’s No. 19.

This season Batherson has been a menace, scoring at over a point-per-game clip, with 27 points in 25 games. And he’s consistent. Batherson has had a point in 18 of the first 25 games.

We’ve seen a hot start to the season before with Batherson when he broke out in the 2021-22 campaign when he had 34 points in 31 games before a high-ankle sprain injury. Despite that setback, in the last two seasons Batherson has followed up with back-to-back 60-point campaigns.

“I think back to the COVID year. I was around a point per game,” Batherson told Sportsnet.ca. “And for me, when I'm engaged and playing consistently, I know the points will come. So, I'm just trying to do it on a nightly basis, getting in those dirty areas, getting pucks back.”

He demonstrated his puck retrieval ability in the first period on Thursday when he stole the puck from Lucas Raymond at the Detroit goal line. Batherson spun around to find Brady Tkachuk in the slot, Tkachuk’s shot rebounded onto Josh Norris’ stick to open the scoring 1-0.

It’s all part of the package with Batherson who currently has the best shot share of his career this season at 52 per cent. The Senators have outshot opponents 361 to 331 at five-on-five when Batherson is on the ice.

His coach has been impressed.

“Quite strong,” said coach Travis Green about Batherson’s play. “He's becoming a strong player who understands certain parts of the game that we've talked about, owning the puck, being hard on pucks. He's smart, very smart, and plays a real strong game.”

In the second period, it seemed Batherson had scored after batting the puck into the net with a golf-like swing on the powerplay, but the goal was cancelled out because of Batherson’s zone entry when he briefly lost control of the puck putting him offside.

Batherson is a scratch golfer who almost went pro as a teenager, and it shows in his eye-hand coordination. The talent in the offensive end hasn’t always translated to the defensive side of the puck for Batherson in previous seasons, where his plus-minuses have emulated a winning golf score more than he would like. That includes a minus-35 in the 2022-23 season, which was the fifth worst in the league that year. Entering this season, Batherson vowed to change his defensive game. He is only a minus-one on the season.

On a couple occasions on Thursday, Batherson tracked back to break up odd-man rushes. In the first period he poked the puck out of the zone to ruin Detroit’s cycle opportunity.

“For me and the system right now, it's clicking for me, I seem to have a pretty good rhythm with it,” said Batherson . “Obviously, there's still always room to improve on the defensive side of the game. And if I pick off a pass or take away a lane in the defensive zone for us and to get the puck back and go on offence, that's the goal.”

With Batherson on the ice, the Senators are allowing 2.41 expected goals per 60 minutes at five-on-five, according to Evolving Hockey, which ranks him 179 out of 690 players league-wide.

Meanwhile, by tallying an assist in Thursday’s game, Batherson extended his point streak to eight.

Some of his production has come on the powerplay, where Batherson leads the team in points with 12. The Senators went scoreless on five powerplays Thursday but Batherson thought he had scored a powerplay goal before it was called back. Batherson has been the catalyst for the seventh-best power play in the league.

The puck has been finding Batherson everywhere, including getting hit in the face from a slapshot against the L.A. Kings leading to stitches and a gruesome gash on his right cheek.

Toughness is also typically measured by fights or hits. In Batherson’s case, he has begun to throw the body around more than in previous seasons, ranking fourth in hits on the Senators this season with 44 in 25 games compared to 98 hits all last season.

“I've come to figure out, I think, when I'm more engaged in the battles, that's when I play my best,” said Batherson. “That's when I'm getting more pucks back, and let my skill take over if I'm eliminating guys.”

In the final minute of the game against Detroit, when his team needed him the most, Batherson’s skill elevated his game. He grabbed the puck out of mid-air in the neutral zone and feathered a pass to Norris who rushed down to score the winning goal with 41 seconds left.

The Senators are going to require Drake Batherson to be Spezza 2.0 if they are going to rescue this season. In Ottawa, it seems that all the No. 19s play alike.