In another lesson of Carolina Hurricanes history, we take a look at everybody’s favorite player Bates Battaglia.
Ok maybe calling Bates Battaglia a favorite player is a little strong. He’s more like everybody’s favorite forgotten player that you don’t remember at all until somebody brings him up because he owns a restaurant in Raleigh. Rolls off the tongue right? Yeah, I didn’t think so either. Still, Bates Battaglia holds a special place in all Carolina Hurricanes’ fans heart for being part of the first cup run in 2002. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, though, and start at the beginning.
Battaglia’s Career with the Hurricanes
The Anaheim Ducks drafted Battaglia in the sixth round of the 1994 NHL draft but he would never play a game for the franchise. In March of 1997, the Ducks traded Battaglia to what was then the Hartford Whalers for Mark Janssens. Don’t feel bad we never heard of him either. Battaglia made his NHL debut in the Carolina Hurricanes inaugural season and played in 33 games. The next few seasons saw Battaglia settle into a third/fourth line role for the team.
Mostly a depth player for the team, Battaglia gained notoriety during the 2002 season and subsequent cup run. He became part of the infamous BBC line of the Hurricanes playoff run. The line consisted of Rod Brindamour, Eric Cole, and Battaglia. You’re probably reading this and thinking, “one of these things isn’t like the other,” but Battaglia held his own with five goals and nineteen points in the playoffs. The number of those goals that came from the strategy of, “Don’t guard him it’s just Bates Battaglia,” is currently still unknown.
I tried to find a clip of some of his goals for the Hurricanes, but youtube didn’t have any. So here’s a clip of him getting pummeled by Scott Stevens after Stevens commits a late hit on Jeff O’Neil. Whatever you want to say about Battaglia, you can’t say the guy didn’t have heart.
Life after the Hurricanes
The next season, Carolina traded Bates to the Colorado Avalanche for another Hurricane favorite Radim Vrbata. After Colorado, he played a season for the Washington Capitals and the Toronto Maple Leafs. With the Maple Leafs, he found himself unable to secure a roster spot after the 2007 season and spent all of 2008 and 2009 in the AHL. He never matched the success he had with Carolina, and by the 2010 season, he was out of the NHL.
One could argue that Battaglia is much more successful off the ice than he ever was on it. He currently own’s the Lucky B’s on Glenwood St. in downtown Raleigh. He is also the winner of one of the cruelest contests known to man. A horrible contest that pits man against man in a quest to prove himself superior to all. A fierce gauntlet where only the strong survive and the weak are left behind to perish. Some have described it as “the most dangerous game.” That’s right, Bates Battaglia, and his brother Anthony, were the champions of CBS’s Amazing Race.