Drake Batherson
The Senators prospect pool has some impressive prospects. None of their forwards were more impressive last year than Drake Batherson. In 41 AHL games, he put up 55 points (21 goals and 34 assists. Batherson did that at the age of 20, which puts him in pretty special company.
He managed to get a cup of coffee in the NHL last season, playing in 20 games. Batherson, despite averaging about 13 minutes a night, managed to pick up nine points, which put him at a 0.45 points per game rate. For a 20-year-old, that’s impressive.
Batherson likely won’t start the season in Ottawa unless he really impresses the team during training camp. After all, the Senators didn’t have him up on the NHL roster for long after the trade deadline, since his last NHL game was on Feb. 28. Plus, Batherson cooled off in March with 13 points in 18 games. He’s also exempt from waivers, which might ultimately seal his fate to start the year.
Still, he’s definitely worth getting excited about. Batherson has what it takes to be a legitimate top-six scoring wing. The Senators desperately need more guys like him. Batherson’s still only 21 years old and has a lot of room to grow. Expect him to be up in the NHL for good by the end of the season.