He returned to the QMJHL for the 2017–18 season, splitting the year between the Screaming Eagles and the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, to whom he was traded on January 2, 2018. In 24 games with Cape Breton, he tallied 17 goals and 39 points.[6] 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.[7] Batherson led the QMJHL in points during the 2018 playoffs, scoring 13 goals and adding 20 assists.[8]
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.[11] 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.[12] He recorded three goals and eight points before being returned to the AHL on December 18.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15] He had a brief second call-up to the Senators in late February before returning to the AHL to finish the season on a line with Nick Paul and Logan Brown.[16][17] He was named the AHL Rookie of the Month for February 2019.[18] He completed the season having appeared in 20 games with Ottawa, marking three goals and nine points. In 59 games he scored 22 goals and 62 points with Belleville.[2] He was named to the AHL's 2019 All-Rookie Team.[19]
In 2019–20, Batherson split the season between Belleville and Ottawa. He began the season with Ottawa, making the team out of training camp, but after two games, was assigned to Belleville.[20] 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.[21] During his time in Belleville, Batherson set franchise records for goals, assists and points.[22] He was recalled by Ottawa in January 2020 and remained with the team until February 23, when he was sent back to Belleville.[23] However, the season was paused on March 12, 2020, and then cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[24] In 23 games with Ottawa, he tallied three goals and ten points and in 44 appearances with Belleville, he scored 16 goals and 54 points.[2]
In the pandemic-shortened 2020–21 NHL season, Batherson made the Ottawa roster out of training camp.[25] In February 2021, Batherson tied the Ottawa Senators' all-time record of scoring goals in six consecutive games.[26] On April 17, he marked a three-point game, scoring twice and assisting on Artem Zub's first period goal in a 4–0 shutout of the Montreal Canadiens.[27] He finished the season tied for second on the team in goals with 17 goals and fourth in points with 36 in 56 games.[28]
On September 3, 2021, Batherson signed a six-year, $29.85 million contract with the Senators.[29] On October 27, he scored his first NHL career hat trick on Ilya Samsonov in a 7–5 loss to the Washington Capitals, also assisting on Josh Norris' second period goal for his fourth point.[30][31] He followed that up with another four-point game on November 13, scoring twice and assisting on goals by Tim Stützle and Michael Del Zotto in a 6–3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, ending the Senators seven-game winless streak.[32] On December 11, he had three assists in a 4–0 shutout victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, setting up goals by Brady Tkachuk and Josh Norris.[33] The next game on December 14, he scored one goal and assisted on three other goals by Norris and Tkachuk, beating the Florida Panthers 8–2.[34] 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.[35][36] Batherson was replaced by teammate Brady Tkachuk at the All-Star Game.[37] He returned to play on March 26, versus the Florida Panthers after missing two months[38] and finished the season with 17 goals and 44 points in 46 games.[2][39]
Batherson recorded a three-point game early in the 2022–23 season on October 18, scoring one goal and assisting on goals by Stützle and Zub in a 7–5 win over the Boston Bruins.[40] However, he had a rough November, scoring two goals and six points in 14 games.[41] The season marked the first time Batherson played the full schedule with Ottawa.[42] In March, Batherson stated that it was first time his ankle had felt right since its injury.[43] He completed the season with 22 goals and 62 points in 82 games for Ottawa.[2] He started off the 2023–24 season slow and ended up on the team's third line for a period, but eventually rebounded by December.[44] On March 24, 2024, he tallied three points, scoring once and assisting on two goals by Jakob Chychrun in a 5–3 win over the Edmonton Oilers.[45] He set new career highs in goals with 28, and points with 66 in 82 games.[2][46]
For the 2024–25 season, Batherson played on the team's top line with Norris and Tkachuk.[47] He scored one goal and assisted on two others by Norris in an 8–7 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Kings on October 14.[48] Two games later on October 1, he notched two goals and assisted on another in a 5–4 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.[49] On December 11, he recorded a hat trick, scoring his 100th NHL goal with the first one, and added an assist in a 5–1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.[50] He went ten games with scoring in February–March 2025, ending it on March 13, 2025, when he scored two goals and added an assist in a 6–3 win over the Boston Bruins.[51] He topped off the regular season on April 17, with a three-point effort, scoring two goals and assisting on Norris' replacement Dylan Cozens first period goal in a 7–5 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.[52] The Senators qualified for the playoffs for the first time in Batherson's career, facing the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round. He made his playoff debut on April 20 and scored his first NHL playoff goal in the game.[53] The Senators were eliminated in six games in their best-of-seven series.[54] In the six games, Batherson tallied the one goal and two points.[2]
He was invited to Canada's senior team for the 2022 IIHF World Championship.[59] In the quarterfinals against Sweden, Batherson scored the winning goal in overtime.[60] In the semifinal game versus Czechia, he recorded two assists.[61] Canada advanced to the final, in which they lost to Finland 4–3, earning the silver medal.[62]
Personal life
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.[63] 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.[64]
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.[65] 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.[63] 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.[66]
↑Therriault, Olivier (May 13, 2018). "Le Titan sacré champion"[The Titan Crowned Champions]. Le Journal de Montréal (in French). Retrieved February 22, 2023.
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