Alumna Mae Batherson Reaches Hockey’s Highest Level

The girl on the bus has come a long way! Mae Batherson ‘18, whose photo playing hockey on Long Pond as a Grade 8 student was boldly displayed on our KES bus for many years, has gone from pond hockey at the Birthplace of Hockey to the highest level of professional hockey in the State of Hockey. Huge congratulations to Mae who recently realized every young hockey player’s dream when she signed a contract and played her first professional game with PWHL’s Minnesota Frost.

 

“It really is a dream come true. To put on the jersey and look around the dressing room at some of the most accomplished female players in the world is certainly a memory I won’t forget” said Batherson, whose Frost defeated Toronto 6-3 in her debut.

Mae spent five years at King’s-Edgehill and remains grateful for her KES experience both on and off the ice. Her hockey ability and her maturity were obvious from the start when she earned a regular role on the senior girls prep team as a Grade 7 student. It is remarkable to think that she was travelling to the US and competing against players who were often 6 years older. “These were truly my formative years, and I will always be thankful for the opportunity to challenge myself as a Junior School student playing on the senior team,” noted Batherson. As the years passed, Mae became a standout leader on the team, one of the North American Prep Hockey League’s top players, and a role model for the next group of young players.

 

But it was certainly much more than hockey that impacted her during her KES years. “When I think about King’s-Edgehill, the hockey experience was fantastic but the School for me was way more than a place to play high level hockey. I grew as a student, had new experiences on a regular basis, and most importantly met an incredible group of friends who remain close to this day. There is a solid group of more than 10 of us who all met at KES, and still get together several times each year” Batherson continued.

 

Several of Mae’s Halifax based King’s-Edgehill friends even held a watch party to support her from a distance during the PWHL draft held in Minnesota in June. Maggie Baxter '19 is part of this close group of friends and says that Batherson’s humility is remarkable. “We were all athletes in one sport or another at KES and although Mae is the one who reached the pinnacle of her sport you would never know it when we are together. She is just regular, fun Mae,” says Baxter who herself played five years of university hockey after her graduation from King’s-Edgehill.

 

During a time when more and more athletes are focusing almost exclusively on a single sport, it is no coincidence that one of the greatest multi-sport athletes in the School’s history is now a professional athlete. Clearly an elite hockey player at KES, Mae also competed in track and field, soccer, softball, and golf – and often in the same year! And she did more than just compete. She is a multiple time provincial champion in track and field who still holds several school records displayed on the Athletic Centre’s Wall of Payne. In golf, she was both the School’s female champion and a provincial medalist, by Grade 9 she was an impact player for our senior girls soccer team, and she one of the School’s top softball players.

Hockey fans will probably recognize the Batherson name. Mae’s brother, Drake, is a star forward with the Ottawa Senators and one of the top 20 scorers in the NHL. Mae is always quick to point out that she would not have reached such levels in her hockey career without the incredible support of Drake, her mother Deeann, and her father Norm.

The PWHL enjoys a national television contract and all of Mae’s Minnesota Frost games are televised. You can be sure that there is large group of KES alumni, students, and staff cheering loudly when number 9 is on the ice. While the stakes are much higher, that Grade 8 girl on the bus continues to play the game with the same joy and brilliance we knew so many years ago.