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Hockey Canada adopts The Botchford Project for 2027 World Juniors in Edmonton

Photo credit: © HockeyCanada

By Jeff Paterson

Aug 26, 2026, 11:08 EDTUpdated: Aug 26, 2026, 11:10 EDT

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What started as a local tribute to honour the memory and legacy of popular Vancouver Canucks beat writer Jason Botchford is being elevated to a national stage.

Hockey Canada has announced that it is adopting the successful Botchford Project for this year’s IIHF World Junior Championship in Edmonton and Red Deer.

Using the blueprint that has worked so well in Vancouver, the national governing body for the sport will select two candidates from across the country who will be given an opportunity to cover the WJC over the holiday season and will have an original story featured on the Hockey Canada website. The successful candidates will be flown to Edmonton to take in a Team Canada morning skate and will be given the opportunity to interview players and coaches. The candidates will also have a chance to network with other working media covering the tournament and meet with Hockey Canada executives and alumni before covering a Team Canada game from the press box.

“Media play a critical role in telling the stories of Hockey Canada and hockey in Canada and we believe the more opportunities there are to welcome additional voices to coverage of the game, the better it is for the sport,” Katherine Henderson, president and chief executive officer of Hockey Canada, said in a statement released Wednesday.

The Botchford Project was launched in the summer of 2019, months after the untimely passing of Jason Botchford. It was a co-creation of the Vancouver Canucks media relations staff, Jason’s widow Kathryn Botchford, and select members of the Vancouver media who wanted a way to keep Botch’s memory alive and to provide a platform to help amplify the voices of aspiring hockey writers in an ever-changing media landscape.

After his death, tributes poured in for the innovative Botchford who covered the Canucks for a decade and a half at both The Province and The Athletic. He was also a fixture on local radio and on podcasts. Many of those tributes came from young writers and content creators trying to break into the business, who revealed stories of advice and guidance they had received from Botchford in private conversations on social media.

“Jason prided himself on mentoring young writers and championing authentic storytelling and my family and I are so grateful that his legacy continues through this incredible initiative,” Kat Botchford said. “Expanding the program in partnership with Hockey Canada will connect us with even more aspiring journalists from across Canada and help preserve the art of real journalism.”

The Nation Network’s Editor-in-Chief David Quadrelli was the first participant selected to take part in the Botchford Project in November 2019. Over seven successful seasons, more than 30 applicants have been granted the opportunity to experience the program. Other notable participants include Daily Faceoff Vancouver writer and associate editor Tyson Cole, contributors Lachlan Irvine, Cody Severtson, Jeffrey Kennett, Jordan Frew and Arielle Lalande, Canucks Insider Chris Faber, Hockey News Vancouver writers Adam Kierszenblat and Izzy Cheung, along with Noah Strang who spent a couple of seasons covering the hockey club for The Daily Hive and Daniel Gee whose work can now be found at EliteProspects. In a relatively short period of time, The Botchford Project has helped an impressive list of participants gain a foothold in the Vancouver media market. As such, Jason Botchford’s impact on the market continues to be felt long after his passing.

“We are inspired by Kat’s vision to positively impact even more people who dream of working in sports media through the expansion of The Botchford Project and we look forward to hosting this year’s cohort with her at the World Juniors in Edmonton.” Henderson added.

Full details on Hockey Canada’s version of The Botchford Project and instructions on how to apply can be found at hockeycanada.ca. The deadline to apply for this version of The Botchford Project is September 25th.