Even though he has great friends in both locker rooms, Batherson's loyalty lies with Canada.
Ottawa Senators winger Drake Batherson is one of those players who watches as much hockey as he plays. And he plays a lot. So, on Sunday morning, he'll be like every other hockey fan in this country, transfixed on the gold medal game in Milan (8 am Eastern) against Team USA.
On the one hand, Batherson's Ottawa friends and teammates, Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson, will be going for gold for Team USA. On the other hand, his Nova Scotia friends and training partners, Sidney Crosby, Nate MacKinnon, and Brad Marchand, want that same gold medal for Canada.
Even Batherson's birth certificate is split down the middle.
Batherson is a dual Canadian-American citizen; his parents are Canadian, but he was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father, Norm, was playing minor pro at the time.
But spoiler alert, there's no question that Batherson's allegiance lies with Canada.
The 27-year-old has represented our country twice in his career, winning gold at the 2018 World Juniors and then winning silver at the 2022 World Hockey Championships.
"Yeah, it's a huge honour," Batherson told the media. "Anytime you get to represent your country, there's a lot of pressure that comes with it to win. But as a player, that's fun,
in those short tournaments. So I can only imagine what they're feeling over there right now. I'm excited to even watch. So to play in that, I'm sure it's gonna be unreal."
Batherson is like the rest of Canada, wondering if is pal Sidney Crosby will be healthy enough to play or no
"Yeah, I mean, that'd be awesome to see him come back and play," Batherson told the media on Saturday. "Obviously, he's a huge part of that team. Everyone wants to see him back in that game. And so hopefully he's okay to go tomorrow morning. It'll be fun to watch him out there."