Drake Batherson’s summer took a detour from contract talk to club-championship hardware, and the Senators winger came out on top at KenWo Golf Club in New Minas, Nova Scotia.
Batherson won the 2026 men’s club championship over the weekend, posting rounds of 66 and 71 to claim the Troyte Bullock Cup by one shot over perennial contender Matt Rogers. The two-day event ran Saturday and Sunday and drew 130 players.
It was a familiar scene for Batherson, who first won the men’s title there as a junior at age 16. This time, though, the trophy presentation carried a little extra family flair. Batherson’s father, Norm, was the defending champion and handed the winner’s trophy to his son on Sunday afternoon.
Norm Batherson, who played for the Senators’ AHL affiliate in PEI in the early 1990s, has been a force in the event himself, winning three of the previous six club championships. But this year, Drake finished six strokes ahead of his dad and took the bragging rights home.
The win also lands in the middle of an important summer for the 28-year-old. Batherson is eligible to sign a contract extension now and is set to become an unrestricted free agent next July. With the Brady Tkachuk situation now in the club’s rearview mirror, Batherson’s contract has become one of the bigger talking points around Ottawa.
The debate isn’t just whether the Senators can lock him up. It’s what a new deal might cost, when it could happen, and whether the timing makes sense.
Around the league, rising salaries have fueled speculation that Batherson’s camp could be aiming for something close to $10 million per season. If he makes it to the open market next July, that figure could climb even higher, especially if he builds on his 2025-26 season, when he put up 33 goals and 71 points, the best season of his career.
For one August long weekend, though, Batherson’s attention was on a different set of numbers. A 66 and a 71 were enough to keep the Ken-Wo club championship in the family for another year.
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