Andy Bathgate has recently become one of the hottest players in the OHL over the last three weeks. Prior to his production the Bulls were struggling to find secondary scoring support for Matt Tipoff, Shawn Lalonde and Stephen Silas and it is safe to say that Bathgate has become the solution to that problem.

Usually when the name Andy Bathgate comes up in conversation in nearly all hockey circles, they are talking about his Grandfather, the NHL Hall of Famer. This has never been an issue for the younger Andy Bathgate, most players like to talk about themselves and their own career; however, Andy is the opposite. Just Wednesday night in a post game interview, he was asked what his grandfather has taught him over the years. This instantly brought a huge smile to his face and he jokingly answered, “What hasn’t he taught me.” Afterward, he fondly began talking thoroughly about Andy Sr.’s influence.

Andy Bathgate has his place in hockey history. Although it has been 34 years since he last played professional hockey, his influence on the game is still obvious.

During his playing days, he was known for his graceful skating and with a powerful and accurate shot. Although Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion invented the slap shot, Bathgate perfected it. During his playing days, Andy was considered to have the second hardest shot in the NHL behind the pride of Belleville, Bobby Hull. Bathgate made the slap shot an offensive weapon coupled with his speed it allowed him to score 349 career NHL goals.

His innovations on the game didn’t stop there; On November 1, 1959, the New York Rangers Captain fired one of his laser shots off the face of then Montreal Canadiens goaltender, Jacques Plante. Plante left the ice for stitches and returned to the ice with the first ever goalie mask in hockey history.

After ten seasons with the Rangers, Bathgate was traded to the Maple Leafs where he battled knee injuries. Nevertheless, he was still the heart and soul of the 1964 Stanley Cup Champion team scoring timely goals, including the game winner in the final game to bring the Stanley Cup to the Leafs. There is no doubt that this Hall of Famer has left his mark on the game.

At this moment, it seems that the younger Bathgate is starting to make his mark on the hockey world. Andy is currently in a hot streak that has even the most seasoned fans saying they have never seen anything like this.

Leading up to this season Andy has only once had a multi-point game. Now suddenly, he has recorded three multi-point games in his last six played.

Back on November 7 (almost exactly 50 years after Andy “helped” invent the goalie mask), Andy scored the seventh fastest hat trick in OHL history. The historical natural hat trick came on three consecutive shots as the Bulls were trailing late in the game to his hometown team, the Brampton Battalion. The hat trick almost seemed like a gift to the Bulls faithful fans, the type of fans that don’t head for the parking lot when their team is down 2-0 with less than five minutes to play.

Over the last six games, the Belleville Bulls have scored 14 goals and Bathgate has either scored or assisted on 11 of those goals meaning he has been responsible for 79% of the team’s offense over that period.

It’s not just the fact that the young Bathgate has begun to score. Ironically, he has been doing exactly what his grandfather was known for; scoring important goals that have made the difference between winning and losing for his team.

In Mississauga on November 6, he assisted on the teams only two goals in a 5-2 loss. Against Brampton, he scored “the hat trick” in two minutes and twenty-three seconds, his third goal stole a win from the Battalion with just over a minute left to play. In Kingston, he scored the team’s only goal which at the time tied the game, before the Frontenacs went on to a 4-1 win. Against Niagara, Bathgate had probably his best game of his OHL career so far with a goal and three assists in a 5-2 victory. Once again, on Wednesday night when it looked like Ottawa had the game in hand, he scored a breakaway goal mid-way through the third period to force overtime; then he was only Bull to score in the shootout to give them an opportunity to win the game.

Those that have been following Andy Bathgate over the last couple of years are not surprised by this sudden offensive production. He looks like the same prospect that dominated AAA hockey while with the Brampton Jr. Battalion playing on a line with former-Bull, Tyler Randell. He is also playing the same as he did two years ago in his All-Star season with the Georgetown Raiders prior to coming to the OHL.

Until this point, we hadn’t been able to see the real Andy Bathgate in the OHL. Injuries and a large group of experience forwards ahead of him in the depth chart had either kept Andy on the bottom lines or out of the line-up. Now that those things are behind him, I think it’s safe to say he is now playing up to and beyond the expectations that come with his last name.

Consequently Bulls fans, for as long as Andy stays on this hot streak, you should sit back and enjoy because his on-ice accomplishments over the past month are the type of things that hockey fans only get to see about every twenty to thirty years (or at least until the next member of his family comes along).

Andy Bathgate will always be a part of hockey history and it looks like his grandson is ready to become a part of hockey present and future.

Photo: Aaron Bell/QuinteHockey.ca

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