As women’s hockey grows, Nova Scotia’s Mae Batherson aims to grow with it
Growing up in a family of athletes, Mae Batherson couldn’t help but be competitive.
“It’s promising,” Norm said. “There’s still a lot more for her [to offer].”
Mae, a 24-year-old blue-liner, is coming off a rookie season in which her Minnesota Frost won their second consecutive PWHL championship in a league that’s just two years old.
Being part of the championship run showed Mae what it takes to win at the highest level of women’s hockey. As the league grows on and off the ice, she said she is focused on growing with it as a player.
“I was put into some different roles and honestly … I just tried to deliver and play my game and help the team the best I could,” she said.
The pace of play in the PWHL is unlike anything Batherson had experienced in her career. She admits she didn’t want to make a costly mistake as the team went deeper into the playoffs.
She’s driven this off-season to get more confident playing her style of game.
“After signing a two-year contract extension, there’s an opportunity for Batherson to take on a bigger role with the Frost
“You can just tell she’s a gifted offensive player,” said Ken Klee, Minnesota’s head coach.
Batherson is poised with the puck and has a high hockey IQ, her coach said, but as a rookie she was finding her footing last season.
“Now it’s just about playing with that kind of confidence to be able to contribute on a daily basis where she’s always a threat when she’s on the ice,” Klee said.
Minnesota’s roster underwent significant changes this off-season due to the league’s expansion to Vancouver and Seattle.
Klee believes new and old faces in the dressing room will keep the team hungry to win despite coming off back-to-back championships.
“They’re really excited,” Klee said. “Our new players, our rookies coming in, as well as maybe some of our returning players that didn’t have as big a role as they would have liked last year.”
Winning hockey games is the priority but it’s not the only thing important to this new league and its athletes.
Batherson recently got a first-hand look at how the PWHL is winning the hearts of many Canadians, especially young girls.
It’s an honor to Batherson to be considered of many role models in the PWHL and show young girls playing there’s a place for them in the sport too.
“It’s not something that I had growing up. I dreamed of playing in the NHL and obviously that was not realistic,” she said. “Now to have girls can actually have a realistic dream … it’s pretty awesome.” the perspective of a travel blogger who just returned from a trip to Thailand:
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