The Ottawa Senators forward lives in Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, but his mom’s family is from Port Aux Basque, Newfoundland. He is an unabashed proponent of life in the Maritimes.
It turned out Batherson had nothing to worry about. Kraft Hockeyville 2020 was a rousing success for all involved.
“It was great; I always talk about it, but it was awesome for my teammates to come out and see it firsthand and to get a win here,” Batherson said.
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Ottawa won, defeating the Montreal Canadiens for a third time in a row, this time 4-3 at a sold-out Steel Community Center in front of a decidedly pro-Canadiens crowd Thursday.
The win was almost secondary.
It is the memories that will matter the most.
Batherson had a great game in front of the family that made the six-hour drive from Port Aux Basque, scoring a goal and adding an assist. His line, with Tim Stutzle (one goal, two assists) and Brady Tkachuk (one goal, one assist), combined for six points and figured into each of Ottawa’s first three goals.
“I mean, I wish we could stay in the Maritimes a little longer, actually,” Batherson said. “But now we’re getting excited [for the regular season]. Obviously, it’s been great team bonding out here in the Maritimes.”
Ottawa has one preseason game remaining, against Montreal again, in Kraft Hockeyville 2021 in Bouctouche, New Brunswick, on Saturday (6:30 p.m. ET; TVAS).
The fans here and the players waited two years for this game and the memories it generated. It was postponed because of concerns surrounding the coronavirus.
On Aug. 15, 2020, the NHL announced the small fishing village of Twillingate won the Hockeyville competition to host the game and received $250,000 for upgrades to George Hawkins Memorial Arena, and $10,000 worth of equipment from the National Hockey League Players’ Association’s Goals & Dreams fund. The Twillingate arena is too small to host the game, so Gander, 90 miles to the south, hosted.
The wait was worth it.
After the game, Tkachuk was still talking about the dinner from the night before, a seafood-heavy meal at Mystic Dining Room.
“That goes without saying,” he said, laughing.
But it will be the game that he remembers the most, as it should be.
“It’s just a great atmosphere,” Tkachuk said. “Kind of reminds me of, you know, Michael Phelps in the Olympics. It was just a great experience for all of us.”
Senators coach DJ Smith knows all about playing in intimate rinks across the province. He played for St. John’s, the American Hockey League affiliate for the Toronto Maple Leafs, from 1997 to 2002. That team barnstormed the province during its preseasons, playing games in places like Great Falls and Corner Brook.
He knows what the two-day Hockeyville experience meant to the people here, and in Twillingate.
“Anytime you get an opportunity to play in the small barns like this, especially after living in Newfoundland for five years, I know how important it is,” he said. “I know how much they love their hockey out here, and especially to get some of the caliber of players that were out there tonight is a great time for [the fans]”
Even the Canadiens, who have yet to win in the preseason (0-6-1), tried to look at the bright side.
“At least we won the shootout,” coach Marty St. Louis said, chuckling. “We’ll go with that.”
The teams agreed to a shootout before the game and the Senators won the three-round event 1-0.
The Canadiens also relished the team meal they had Wednesday and reveled in the fun that was had before the game on the red carpet in the morning.
Brendan Gallagherwho made a beautiful pass to set up a goal by Kirby Dachfound himself signing a stuffed puffin in the morning. Cole Caufield signed the forehead of a fan.
“First time for that,” Caufield said.
Each member of the Canadiens loved the reception he received before and during the game.
Newfoundland’s NHL hockey allegiance is pretty evenly split between Montreal and Toronto. On this night, the blue, white and red color scheme of the Canadiens was everywhere.
Juraj Slafkovsky, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, is in his first training camp with Montreal but has already learned a valuable lesson about Canadiens supporters.
“I think there are Montreal Canadiens fans all over the world,” he said when asked about the dominance of Canadiens fans Thursday.
Slafkovsky had an assist on a goal by Josh Anderson that made it 4-3 in the third period, a positive sign in his bid to try to stay in Montreal.
He will savor that later though.
In the aftermath of the game, he was still soaking in the Hockeyville experience.
“It’s good for all the kids here and all the people,” he said. “I think they appreciate it a lot because they don’t get to see the NHL every day. I’m just happy that I can see the kids smiling.”
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