As women's hockey grows, Nova Scotia's Mae Batherson aims to grow with it

Growing up in a family of athletes, Mae Batherson couldn't help but be competitive.

"She hates to lose," said her father, Norm Batherson.

Hockey is inherent in the Batherson family.

Mae's brother, Drake, plays in the NHL for the Ottawa Senators. Her father played in the American Hockey League and Europe after helping the Acadia Axemen win a national championship in 1993.

Norm said his daughter always worked hard. It's one of the reasons he believes his daughter has only just begun to show what she's capable of as a hockey player.

"It's promising," Norm said. "There's still a lot more for her [to offer]."

Mae, a 24-year-old blue-liner, is coming off a rookie season in which her Minnesota Frost won their second consecutive PWHL championship in a league that's just two years old.

WATCH | Frost captain Coyne Schofield lifts the Walter Cup:

Being part of the championship run showed Mae what it takes to win at the highest level of women's hockey. As the league grows on and off the ice, she said she is focused on growing with it as a player.

"I was put into some different roles and honestly … I just tried to deliver and play my game and help the team the best I could," she said.

The pace of play in the PWHL is unlike anything Batherson had experienced in her career. She admits she didn't want to make a costly mistake as the team went deeper into the playoffs.

She's driven this off-season to get more confident playing her style of game.

"Just improving on my speed and getting stronger, pinpointing some skill work and walking the blue line," she said. "Hopefully I can improve my offensive side next year, too."

After signing a two-year contract extension, there's an opportunity for Batherson to take on a bigger role with the Frost

"You can just tell she's a gifted offensive player," said Ken Klee, Minnesota's head coach.

Batherson is poised with the puck and has a high hockey IQ, her coach said, but as a rookie she was finding her footing last season.

"Now it's just about playing with that kind of confidence to be able to contribute on a daily basis where she's always a threat when she's on the ice," Klee said.

Minnesota's roster underwent significant changes this off-season due to the league's expansion to Vancouver and Seattle.

Klee believes new and old faces in the dressing room will keep the team hungry to win despite coming off back-to-back championships.

"They're really excited," Klee said. "Our new players, our rookies coming in, as well as maybe some of our returning players that didn't have as big a role as they would have liked last year."

Winning hockey games is the priority but it's not the only thing important to this new league and its athletes.

Batherson recently got a first hand look at how the PWHL is winning the hearts of many Canadians, especially young girls.

She brought the Walter Cup to the RBC Centre in Dartmouth earlier this month and was met with a long line of fans who wanted an autograph or a picture.

It's an honour to Batherson to be considered of many role models in the PWHL and show young girls playing there's a place for them in the sport too.

"It's not something that I had growing up. I dreamed of playing in the NHL and obviously that was not realistic," she said. "Now to have girls can actually have a realistic dream … it's pretty awesome."