After four months of a gruelling, congested schedule, for the NHLers not competing in Milan-Cortina, you’d think hockey would be the last thing on their minds during the Olympic break.
Not Drake Batherson.
While players from all across the league flocked to the hot, sunny beaches of the Caribbean, Batherson “just wanted to go back home” to Nova Scotia. He posted up near his hometown in the Annapolis Valley, saw friends and family, skated with the men’s hockey team at Acadia University and watched hockey.
“Honestly, I’ve been watching the whole (men’s hockey) tournament,” Batherson said Tuesday after reuniting with teammates back in Ottawa for the first practice in weeks. “I was just kind of hanging out at my lake house and watching the Olympics all day, and then going for a skate at night. That was pretty much my routine. It was awesome.
“The timing’s nice for the games. I think everyone’s probably getting up, like myself, and having a few coffees, kicking the feet up and watching some hockey. It’s been awesome. All of the boys have been playing great.”
Top of that “all of the boys” list is Tim Stutzle, by a considerable margin.
The 24-year-old centre has six points (four goals, two assists) in four games and is tied for the tournament lead in goals with Canada’s Macklin Celebrini and Denmark’s Nick Olesen.
On a German team that has few NHL players, Stutzle is being asked to carry a heavy load.
Among forwards in the tournament, only teammate Leon Draisaitl has played more minutes. Stutzle averages 21:47 of ice time per game. During Germany’s 5-1 win over France in the qualification playoffs on Tuesday, Stutzle’s average shift length was 1:09.
“He’s playing a lot,” Batherson said. “I talked to him yesterday and he said he was feeling pretty tired. I think he played like 27 minutes or something the other day. But he’s flying out there. He left here on a good run and then pretty much went on a goal-scoring streak there until today. He’s been playing great. It’s cool. I love watching all the guys, really. But Timmy just seems like he’s carried what he was doing here into there. Obviously, on a big stage like that, it’s pretty impressive.”
Tim Stutzle of Team Germany shoots the puck against Connor Hellebuyck of Team USA in a game at the Olympics on Feb. 15, 2026 in Milan, Italy. Stutzle has six points, including four goals, in four games.
Stutzle had two assists in the elimination game win on Tuesday. The best one came late in the first period: He fought off a check in the left corner of the offensive zone and zipped a backhand pass into the slot for JJ Peterka, who scored on a deke in tight to make it 3-0.
“To me, it’s not (surprising). I know how good he is,” Sens defenceman Thomas Chabot said. “I knew he was going to go out there and play lots of minutes, take charge and take control of that team. I know he was very excited about it and looking forward to it. And he’s not disappointing. I mean, the guy is unbelievable.”
Stutzle and Team Germany will play Slovakia in the quarter-finals on Wednesday (6:10 a.m.; CBC, SN, RDS), a day that will feature each of the four remaining Ottawa Senators at the Olympics.
Nikolas Matinpalo, who scored in his Olympic debut on Friday, could dress for Finland’s quarter-final against Switzerland (12:10 p.m.; CBC, SN).
Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson will suit up for the red, white and blue when the United States takes on Sweden (3:10 p.m.; CBC, SN, TSN).
“It’s awesome,” Chabot said. “It’s so fun to watch, and they’re all doing so well, too. It’s fun. I always watch a lot of hockey, and having the chance to see a few of the boys make a dream come true, it’s awesome to see.”
Centre Shane Pinto had an outside chance to make the U.S. roster until a lower-body injury sidelined him in early December. Wearing the remnants of a sunburn on his faces and ears, he spoke proudly of his teammates who were chosen to represent their nations.
“We’re so happy for them,” Pinto said. “We know what they do to prepare for that, the hard work they’ve put in these last few years. To see it come to fruition for them, I’m just so happy for them. Some guys are not finished. It’s going to be fun to watch these next few games.”
Tkachuk, Sanderson and their American teammates seem to be on a collision course with Team Canada for the gold-medal game. Each squad is a heavy favourite in its respective quarter-final — Canada plays Czechia at 10:40 a.m. (CBC, SN) — and it’ll likely be a similar story for the semis.
Batherson has watched every Team Canada game, keeping up with his summer training crew, fellow bluenosers Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Brad Marchand.
“It says I’m born in the States,” Batherson says, “but I grew up in Germany for eight years and I’ve been in Canada ever since I was eight, so I’m a Canadian at heart. Obviously, I’ve got a lot of close buddies on that team, and supporting those guys.”
So, if all goes as expected, and it’s two particular neighbouring nations in the final, will it be awkward for the Canadian Senators to potentially cheer against their teammates?
“I don’t make too big of a deal about it, to be honest,” Chabot said. “It’s a dream come true for them. It’s such an unbelievable achievement in their career. I mean, most of them, most likely, are going to play more than one, but to see them do that and to see how much fun they’re having there, we’re just happy for them.”
As for Wednesday’s elimination-game frenzy, the Sens are scheduled to practise at the Canadian Tire Centre just before noon.
But outside of that, you can find Batherson and company on a couch watching Stutzle, Matinpalo, Tkachuk and Sanderson living their dreams.
“I’m excited for (Wednesday), the quarter-finals,” Batherson said. “We’ll see what happens.”
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