A Guide to Vancouver Canucks Podcasts

Podcasts are becoming the newest, hottest media outlet for sports discussion. Barstool’s “Spittin Chiclets” is likely at the top of the hockey podcast world with their two past guests being Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby, with 31 Thoughts sitting in a close second thanks to industry titans Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek. But there are many local podcasts here in BC that focus on the Vancouver Canucks and if you haven’t given podcasts a try maybe today is the day you should.

With the loss of the Jason Botchford and the Patcast, many Canucks fans probably stopped listening to podcasts as a whole, with JPat and Botch making up the entirety of their podcast lexicon.

To quote Jeff Paterson on the final Patcast:

The Patcast was far and away the top Canucks podcast, with behind the scenes looks into life on the road, Botch’s famous rants about anything from Loui Eriksson, to travel, to any event deemed worth enough for an “Emergency Patcast!!!”.

Nobody will be able to match the lightning in a bottle J-Pat and Botch found with the Patcast but there are still plenty of podcasters out there doing some great work and are trying to accomplish the insurmountable task of trying to fill the void left by the Patcast.

These podcasts are in no specific order but here are my seven favourites.

The C4 podcast is the longest running Canucks hockey podcast and they do a great job every week breaking down the news of the week and giving their opinions on current Canucks’ topics. I thoroughly enjoyed their episode after the Sedins last game, you could really hear the passion that the hosts have for the Vancouver Canucks. Big shoutout to Anna, Matt, Chris and Adam. They do a great job and have been at it since 1905.

Pucks on net is another long running podcast in the Vancouver hockeysphere. They don’t focus 100% on the Vancouver Canucks, but then again, they don’t focus 100% on hockey, either. They find a way to combine comedy with solid analysis on the NHL with a focus on the hometown Canucks. Ryan, Geeda and P-Mac bring it every week and have a lot of fun banter every single show.

When they do get down to the deep cuts, their opinions on the Canucks are well thought out and they deliver good points that encourages listeners to see things from a different point of view. They have been running for over 6 years and it shows with the quality of content they produce.

After the long running shows there are a few new ones that have emerged this season and Between the Stammers is one of them. Art and Caleb started the show this fall and it’s one I’ve enjoyed a lot, they both have a radio background and it shows. The audio quality is great and stands out in a medium that lends itself to DIY audio set-ups.

These two cover the most recent news in Canucks land and give their strong opinions about many different topics surrounding the team. They/re also incredibly consistent, releasing a show every week on the same day. The quality of sound is matched with the content and I think they will be a successful show with plenty more listeners this fall. That is, as soon as they make a Twitter account for their show…

Welcome to the swear word party, these boys don’t necessarily qualify as a podcast because they are live on SaveOnRadio on Saturdays from 2-4 but they are also available on podcast form a few days later. Wyatt and Bowman do an amazing job covering the Canucks at the start but they also go around the sports world with some wrestling talk, 76ers chatter and all around fun comedic banter and bits. The addition of DJ Jay Swing has brought the show to another level and these three are a must listen every week.

Another newer show that started up this year that covers more general NHL news as well as odds & ends. Trevor and Kyle don’t necessarily strictly cover the Canucks, but a good portion of their show is talking about the local team and you can certainly tell where their allegiances lie when you listen.

Hosted by JD Burke and Andrew Wadden, this podcast is also available live on TSN1040 when the hockey season is in session. These two do a great job together and their chemistry has continued to grow over the course of their time together. Wadden is a great host and does a wonderful job keeping the conversation flowing as he sets up JD for come quality Canucks banter. With TSN1040 backing them, it makes for a fun show. The radio format means they are able to take live callers when on air and have some of the best audio quality simply because they record live from a professional studio.

Hosted by fellow CanucksArmy boy Jackson McDonald, the Roxy Fever podcast takes a look at the Canucks organization from afar. The subject matter generally trends toward the off-ice stories surrounding the team, covering everything from front-office or ownership machinations to the twitter meltdowns of prominent figures on the ice and in the media. Canucks twitter is a beast on it’s own and Jackson, Vyas and Elliott do a pretty damn good job of taming it every other week. They have a skill of talking their way through some dicey situations and find a way to bring humour to almost any topic.

Honorable Mentions to some of the newer podcasts out there or the ones that didn’t qualify with at least 20 episodes.

The Larschcast: Tej and whoever he can fit into the studio with him do a good job of showing a lot of passion and letting Canucks fans know that the sky is beautiful and blue. Jokes aside, they’ve had some great guests on the show early on, and clearly have so much passion for the team and have good production and audio quality.
Area 51 Hockey Podcast: Jess, Nick and Sean need to work on their audio quality a bit but they are improving every week and have some great chemistry together. These boys got potential, podcasting seems to be a young man’s game.
The SCT Show: By fans for fans and these two are some of the best Canucks fans, Tanbir and Nam have some very passionate debates and probably have the best back an fourth arguments between hosts. They have created a very fun show to listen to, the only problem I have with them is that they don’t release an episode weekly!
Game Theory with Harman: Not sure if Harm is going to keep this show going but I hope he does because when Boy Genius speaks, people listen.

All in all, there are a ton of great content creators out there and I’m sure with the boom of podcasts, there will be more to come when the season is upon us. The loss of Jason Botchford and the Patcast have left a hole that all these shows combined will never be able to fill; but it’s great to see that Botch’s legacy has rubbed off on so many people. I think he would have been proud of the work these people put in behind the scenes to create high-quality Canucks content.