Wow back-to-back mailbags on a game day, luckily the last time until the Sens second last game of the season against the Rangers. With that in mind, I will keep it short and sweet. We're talking about Thomas Chabot and Drake Batherson's pregame routines, favourite meals, superstitions and more in today edition. So without further ado lets get into it!
Janny B.A. from Ottawa, ON
Would love to know what the different pre-game routines are like for the guys (open to all the players, but if I need to narrow it down, Chabby, Norris and Tkaptain, please and thanks!).
Admitedly there is a lot more to this question that I will answer it over the coming mailbags, and while I'll get to a bunch of the players' pregame routines I'll start with two today.
Thomas Chabot
First he comes to the rink for morning skate, have a quick bite and then it's back home to relax for a couple hours. He takes an hour and a half nap and then gets ready and is always out the door at about 3:30. From there he has his routine of going to his treatments, getting his gear ready, helmet, skates, taping his stick so that he when it's time to get dressed he doesn't have any issues. From there he hits the cold tub before heading out to play sewer ball. He's big on sewer ball because it gets a sweat on, gets his eyes rolling and feet moving a bit.
Drake Batherson
After morning skate he tapes up his sticks so he doesn't have to do it later. From there he will hang out and get a stretch in before grabbing a bite. He always eats the same thing, chicken noodle soup, salad, and pasta. Then he heads home, relaxes and hets a pregame nap from 2-3:20 and leaves for the rink at 3:45 to arrive around 4. When he arrives he has a peanut butter sandwich and a coffee and then is right into his routine of stretching, riding the bike, going to pregame meetings, play soccer and then he breaks into his warm up before grabbing a final coffee and hanging out before warm up hits.
Molly S. from Ottawa, ON
Who is the most superstitious player on the team?
I think it's fair to say all players have their little nuances in their pregame routine that they rarely if ever stray from. We recently learned that Parker Kelly always eats three sweets on a game day for three good periods of hockey (spoiler alert, we may have learned that in a behind the scenes piece dropping this week)
When I spoke with Thomas Chabot about supersition he mentioned that he would probably be near the top of a lot of guys lists but that he viewed it less as superstition and more as routined. For example, Drake Batherson always takes his cold tub at 5 o'clock but once Chabot started poking fun at him about that he started to intentionally take it at 4:57, 4:58 etc. to prove that it wasn't superstition.
When I asked Drake about who the most supersitious player on the team was he didn't skip a beat and didn't mince words. "Chabby by an absolute mile, it's not even close. He's dialled in." So for what it's worth, we may have a winner.
Milla R. from Ottawa, ON
chabby, what is your pregame ritual?
So while I already adressed a big part of this I'm going to use this as a chance to talk about pre-game meals since so many people ask about this.
Chabby's pregame meal is Salad, rice, salmon and sweet potatoes. He mentioned that he used to be a big pasta guy but has moved away from it on game days and his current game day meal keeps him full and feeling full of energy.
I touched on Drake's pregame meal above, but he told me that he has a different pregame meal on the road. Typically he will have spaghetti with a vodka sauce, and a soup and salad.
Noémie B. from Ottawa, ON
Brady what is your favorite food?
Fitting with the theme of today I like this because it gives a look at what the players like on their own time and not on a game day. While I didn't get a chance to ask Brady his favourite meal (I will this week), I do have Chabot and Batherson's handy and will maybe make this a weekly update to include a few guys each time.
Chabot: On an off-day it's always pasta, he loves it and could eat it every day. When I asked him some of his favourite pasta places around the city, he mentioned he's a big fan of Supply and Demand because they make their pasta in house. He also goes to Giovanni's and J'TM.
Batherson: He likes tacos a lot, his mom taught him how to make her home made tacos when he turned pro at 20. He also mentioned he's not bad on the barbecue and likes to fire up a steak with salad and sweet potato fries. When he's eating out he's a big fan of El Caminos for tacos or on the road going to Chipotle.
Hope you all appreciated what ended up being a bit of a deep dive with Thomas Chabot and Drake Batherson. Be sure to submit your burning questions and we will get to the bottom of it! Submit your questions here.
