If you followed the Canucks online for the last decade, you surely were aware of the great Jason Botchford.
Botch was an absolute triple threat in the Vancouver sports media landscape. He was the best writer, he was the best guest on radio and brought absolute fire every time he went on television.
He was what everyone wanted to aspire to. He captured the Vancouver Canucks’ fanbase through his excellent reporting of the organization and ability to entertain with each form of content that he created.
Through his rise to success, he helped out aspiring journalists along the way. Including the likes of Ryan Biech, who now works for the Canucks. Harman Dayal, who is one of the youngest, brightest minds in sports media. Wyatt Arndt, who has taken over the post-game “Armies” and is one of the most fun writers to read across all markets.
Botch knew talent when he saw it and he made sure that those people earned the right platform.
Jason Botchford passed away in April of 2019 due to an accidental overdose of fentanyl and cocaine. He was 48 years old and has three children.
I am Jason Botchford’s father. His wife, Kathryn Botchford, has asked me to release this statement on behalf of her and our family.@katbotchford pic.twitter.com/jl6xw3x7eb
— John Lott (@JohnCLott1) August 28, 2020
The passing of Botchford shocked the sports world. An entire day was spent on TSN 1040 radio station where the hosts looked back, while fans and friends called in to tell stories of the legendary content creator.
Botch had a reputation in the online community. He was always there for people when they needed advice or a helping hand when it came to sports journalism. Botch had an eye for talent and knew that the Canucks’ market had a bevy of great blogs, podcasts and overall smart hockey minds.
Though he is now gone, his memory lives on through those whose lives he has changed.
“I really can’t say enough about how much he helped me on my way up,” said Harman Dayal. Who is now a full-time reporter for TheAthletic in Vancouver.
“I essentially went from a nobody to a guy that had a voice in this marketplace. A huge reason for that was because of the support that Botch gave me,”
Botch chose Wyatt Arndt to work alongside him in his final year of covering the team. Arndt was the backup when Botch needed a night off and learned first-hand that it was about bringing a community together as much as it was about writing on a sport.
“Part of his legacy was how he got everyone involved. He didn’t just make it about hockey, he made it about everything,” said Arndt. “The Legacy of Tony Gallagher was passed on to Jason Botchford and Jason passed it on to others. If you wanted to write or get into sports and you had a passion for it. He would help you as far as he could and if he found out you didn’t love it; he’d be like well go chase your passion then. He was all about making sure you did what you wanted to do.”
Even with Botch gone from us, his passion for helping others lives on with The Botchford Project.
The Botchford Project is an effort put together by the Vancouver Canucks and TheAthletic to give aspiring sports journalists a chance to experience a night in the spot of Jason Botchford–as a professional sports journalist.
There are six spots this season and two separate groups of three will get to go to a morning skate, have a one-on-one interview with a Canucks player and then experience the game that night from the press box alongside Vancouver’s top media members.
David Quadrelli was the first recipient of the Botchford Project back in November of 2019.
https://twitter.com/1040Patcast/status/1192908131615068160?s=20
I’d encourage everyone who has even a slight interest in sports media to apply,” said Quadrelli in a recent post at CanucksArmy. “It might just change your life, the same way it did mine. You likely already know this — but for those that haven’t seen or heard any of my colleagues’ playful digs at me — I’m considered young for somebody in sports media. And that’s almost entirely because I got a major boost to my career in the form of the Botchford Project.”
The platform that you can get from being a recipient of the Botchford Project is enormous. Those who are selected get to write a paid article for the Canucks’ website that will be seen by tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people.
Aside from the article, those selected get to meet with those in the media and ask as many questions as possible. It is an entirely different experience from any other form of working in sports media.
I was one of the recipients in the first year of the project and also attended Canucks training camp that year. At training camp, I was just a random face with a microphone, trying to get quotes through my nervous shaking of the hand and overbearing shyness to ask a question.
https://twitter.com/ChrisFaber39/status/1233496305181372419?s=20
At my Botchford Project night, everyone was incredibly nice to me and was rooting for me to have success and wanted to support me in any way possible. I learned so much about sports media that night. I made connections with others in the industry that ultimately led me to be part of Canucks media today.
Botch was the reason for my success in the podcasting world. I had 10-20 listeners for the first four episodes of my show and when he came on as a guest for episode five, the show blew up and I had thousands of new listeners.
One thing he said on that podcast episode was, “Woah, we should do a radio show together,” before he historically laughed after I went on a rant about a Canucks goaltender.
That clip of him saying that we should do a radio show together begins every single radio show of mine that I do Saturdays on Sportsnet. I wish Botch was here to see what I have been able to accomplish since that podcast episode with him or where I grew after getting the Botchford Project experience.
He inspired me and the Botchford Project launched me into fully committing, and now have a job in sports media.
I highly recommend that anyone reading this applies to the Botchford Project.
It changed my life and it could change yours as well.