Parts 1 and 2 are in the books so now it’s time for part 3 looking at the Vancouver Sports Landscape. If you missed them then make sure to check out Part 1 here as I take a look at all the “big dogs” in the industry. In Part 2 I looked at who is coming up with their local product and challenging the status quo.
In part 3 I am going to take a closer look at some of the specific podcasts for Area 51 Network and look at all the other great voices, opinions, and most importantly options in part 3. Trust The Process Podcast, The Van cast, The PP1 Podcast, Canucks Speakeasy, and so many more hockey-specific and Canucks coverage.
This part has taken a bit longer as you may have noticed. That is because I wanted to make sure I gave everyone a chance to shed light on their local coverage and try and get as many Podcasts, Writers, and content providers as possible.
The Vancouver Canucks, Whitecaps, And Lions Podcast Scene: And Writers Galore!
I have mentioned a bunch of great podcasts already that populate the market, like Canucks Conversation, Sekeres & Price, Rink Wide, etc. The great thing is if you don’t like any of those options you have lots more. In this segment, I will go over some of the Podcasts I mentioned already and give a bit more information about them and let everyone know about some more great ones they can add to their rotation.
A New Direction For The VanCast
A new Canucks season means a new version of the VanCast. This year we will see Farhan Lalji and Harman Dayal take over bi-weekly duties. Thomas Drance will still be a regular guest on the show it seems but the bulk of it will be provided by the Boy Genius and Farhan.
The first couple of episodes have just come out so it is yet to be heard how the dynamic will eventually work but so far so good. Harman is on the road for The Athletic and will be one of the few people that will be around the team all season. Farhan’s knowledge goes far and wide to multiple sports so we should expect some great information and commentary from the VanCast this season.
Trusting The Process And The Swear Word Party
Vancouver’s 6th best Canucks related show, but the #1 Canucks, 76ers, NFL, Pro Wrestling, TV, Music, and Pop culture extravaganza. J Bowman and Wyatt “The Stanchion” Arndt go around the world of sports with the Canucks, NFL, and 76ers before getting into a whole lot of fun.
They have great interaction with the listeners and make sure to answer 20-plus questions a show from the people. Also, spoilers without context give us a tease into what we may get to listen to that week.
Easily the best intro in Vancouver podcasting, Wyatt and Bowman always test the boundaries in “Captains Corner”, as they… well they kind of, like sometimes there are questions, or like a choose your own adventure… just listen to it for fuck sake… Oops… It is the swear word party after all.
I reached out to Wyatt and Bowman for comment…Okay, that is a lie. I didn’t reach out to either of them. Wyatt spammed my timeline the other week and Bowman didn’t wear a Goff jersey to the Detroit Lions game so I don’t need to hear from them.
The C4 Podcast The OG Of Canucks Podcasts
One of the longest-running Canucks podcasts around, the C4 Podcast brings you OG takes from Anna and Chris. I was able to chat with both of them about how it all got started, local voices and why they are so important, and much more. Make sure to check them out everywhere you get your podcasts at the C4 Canucks Hockey Podcast.
I spoke with Anna first and then Chris about their podcast. How did it start? What does it mean to cover local and how important is it for multiple voices in the market? And lots more and I got some amazing insight into one of the OG’s in the Vancouver Sports Landscape.
“As to it adding to the experience, yeah I think it does. Sometimes it makes you watch a game when you wouldn’t otherwise be bothered but mainly it’s great to have an outlet to be part of the conversation. Twitter is a fun part of that but it’s [a] very limited medium, podcasting feels like a much more detailed discussion and can feel more open to other opinions instead of being on the defensive.”
“Honestly I love the sports community in and around the Canucks. Vancouver can be a pretty small town and it has its ups and downs but all the “real media” are so supportive of us less professional types. I don’t care that we are one of a thousand Canucks podcasts, it just means people care!”
“As for what we’ve got planned, we are going to get some interesting guests, try and share some voices you don’t hear everywhere, and keep talking about the issues with hockey culture. It’s important to not brush that under the rug.” Anna would continue, “We are going to try and return to some live events too. We got to see some of our listeners in person for the first time in years the other week so we want to keep doing that.”
I switched over to get Chris’s thoughts on the same questions I posed to Anna. “Before the podcast, Clay & I had some good times with CHBTV (episodes are still available on the Canucks Hockey Blog YT channel). The problem was all the work that went into producing & editing the content (plus the venue), and as a result, became an inconsistent thing.”
“As the two of us were still keen on creating content together, we ended up going in the podcast direction. We settled on Chris & Clay’s Canucks Commentary (which was a riff on Clay’s Canucks Commentary, but called C4 to differentiate), and recorded most of our early episodes in my condo huddled in front of a Blue Yeti mic. What Clay & I wanted to produce was something that was akin to two fans having the proverbial water-cooler conversation that people could relate to. We wanted to be a bit more serious than Legion of Blogcast, yet not as serious as the typical radio bits.”
It was an ever-changing dynamic that lead to Anna and Chris hosting the C4 Podcast. Multiple hosts moving on to other things, most of them mentioned in past articles.
“Things pretty much took off from there. Soon Matt came on as a co-host and after he got his gig with CKNW, we transitioned from recording in my condo to recording at the NW studios for quite a spell. Eventually, Clay ran into conflicts with everything he was up to, so he stepped away, and after that Adam and soon after Anna joined the fray.”
“What I’m really proud of is throughout this tenure, C4 has remained true to itself. It truly is the best mediocre Canucks podcast that features two mates who you could catch talking puck over a couple of pints. And as Anna mentioned, we’re now focussed on doing things a bit different in the space of 137 other Canucks podcasts out there.”
The PP1 Podcast
Thoughts and breakdowns from the Interior of British Columbia have Ryan Hank and Ted Wong talking all things Vancouver Canucks on the PP1 Podcast. Stay tuned as I will be a guest on the podcast as the Hockey season starts! For the record, they were on here already before Ryan bribed me with a guest appearance!
I asked Ryan how things got started at the PP1 podcast, “When Jason Botchford passed we felt there was an opportunity to voice our opinions on the Canucks from a local perspective. Little did we know a lot of other people had that idea and Canucks podcasting became an absolute force that fall. We wanted to give our unique spin on the news we’ve all consumed but also create a vehicle to showcase some great guests.”
I wanted to know why he thought it was so important to have so many different local voices in the market. “Just like the craft beer market, the more the merrier. Not everyone consumes major media or has access to it in real time. There are so many great voices out there creating content that we never knew about and now the market is incredibly strong. Traditional media has taken a turn in the last few years and the new wave is taking over.”
“When we worked at Jersey City we spent our days debating the same things we do online and we thought, why can’t we do this? Say what you want about a show like Spittin Chiclets, it became something huge out of nothing. How do you not get a bug to do that? Personally, I was and still am a huge fan of Pucks on Net and I believed we had something similar to what they had. Ryan Schaap has been a huge supporter of our show and in the early days, he helped a few of our hiccups get figured out.”
“We have some pretty big goals for the show and after a surprisingly huge summer, we’re going to have to work hard to keep it up. On a week-to-week basis, expect both Ted and [me] to come at the Canucks in our own special way. We’ll make sure we continue to bring in great guests and shake the tree a bit. We have some cool merch ideas that we hope to release as well. Podcast apparel, who knew?” Said Ryan about what we can expect in the future.
You can check out all the PP1’s great episodes on the podcast here and make sure to check out Ryan’s golf video’s from his backyard. I’m not jealous at all.
The Canucks Speakeasy Podcast
The Canucks Speakeasy Podcast was started by Pete Edwards and Doug Venn. Two big Canucks fans who just wanted to chat more about the team and it caught on with the listeners. Why did Pete and Doug start things off? I wanted to find out.
“We started it because we worked together and talked an awful lot about sports. A few people said we should do a podcast. We were always yeah sounds cool but never did anything with it. Summer of 2019 we finally said you know, why not, this can be our outlet into the sea of Canucks coverage. It felt like the right avenue for us. The name represents what we are trying to bring. We envisioned it as a couple of guys sitting at a bar having a reasonable level-headed discussion about the team.”
“Since then we’ve evolved it into a fans podcast, bringing on voices from the Canucks universe that we feel also carry that middle-of-the-road ability to look at the team objectively. I joke that we are the podcast at the end of the dial. We try hard to bring a good product, try new segments, and bring in as many fans as we can from the Canucks universe.”
“We both grew up loving radio and living the Canucks so once we got it going it became a lot of fun.” Pete would go on to say. Just another place to get a Canucks perspective! Make sure to check out their podcast right here for that podcast at the “end of the dial.”
The 3rd Line Podcast
All the Western Hockey League coverage you could imagine in one place. Adam, Chris, Jess, and Lizz bring you the 3rd Line Podcast. Chris Roy covers the Victoria Royals, Adam Kierszenblat is on the ground for the Vancouver Giants, Lizz Child is down in Portland covering the Winterhawks and Jessica Mosley is on the beat for the Tri-City Americans.
The 4 hosts regularly have amazing WHL guests on the podcast and like to have some fun with their question lines. The style of interviewing really gives an insight into more than just what we see from the players on the ice.
Along with the podcast, all 4 are also writing for the Area 51 Sports Network or other publications covering the WHL. From Vancouver Giants, partial season recaps from Adam Kierszenblat to a more in-depth player article about Seth Jarvis from Lizz Child. The WHL coverage you will get from the Area 51 Sports Network is matched by no other so make sure to check out the podcast and all their great writing.
Cap Space Wins Cups
Ace, Hassan, Hussain, and Andy bring you all their hot Canucks take every week from the Cap Space Wins Cups Podcast. Like the name states, they have a big idea that “Cap Space Wins Cups” and I tend to agree. Hassan let me know how things got started and what influenced them to start their own podcast and get their voices out into the Vancouver Sports Landscape.
“We ended up starting our pod kind of on a whim, we were all huge Canucks and sports fans, and we talked about it a few times but never followed through. But I think around the time Halford and Brough were at 1040 doing power hours with botch that got us so hyped up so we decided to actually give it a go. Minimal equipment to start, [and] our first few episodes have pretty bad sound quality” He said with a laugh.
“But that’s how we got started, we try not to take ourselves too seriously we joke a lot and have fun with it, at the end of the day we’re not on the radio or professionals people who listen to us listen to 650 they don’t need to be drawn out takes about the PowerPlay we try to make it light-hearted and funny.” Said Hassan
Why does he think it is so important to have local voices and so many options? “Local voices are absolutely huge we’ve seen sports radio take a hit in this city and with teams going in-house radio it’s important to have 3rd party local coverage that’s honest, accountable, and gives fans what they want.”
“New plans for the show were doing live post-game shows on Twitter spaces trying to get that going but still uploading them regular episodes.” He said when I asked about what we should expect this season from Cap Space Wins Cups Podcast.
I also spoke to Andy about his thoughts on the same questions, “I always enjoy talking sports with my friends and one day I saw Hassan’s tweet about wanting to start a podcast. We had interacted before on Twitter so I messaged him and here we are.”
Why do you feel it’s so important for there to be local sports coverage? “For the most part, people living in BC are fans of the local teams. I find that the national coverage is heavily weighed to cover the Toronto teams, which makes sense as they are the e biggest market. However, that leaves a sizeable gap between what local sports fans want and what they have access to from the national broadcaster.”
Like myself, I know you listen to pretty much all the options we have out there, what state do you think the market is in right now? “Excellent. You can get local live coverage from 6 am to 11 pm on a Canucks gameday. Every show in the market brings a different perspective and insight to sports so I very rarely find myself bored of the coverage.”
What do you like and what would you like to see in the future in the regard to local sports coverage I asked Andy. “I think an increased focus on the lower level sports, whether it be Canadians baseball, junior hockey, university sports or amateur tournaments. The coverage of the Canucks is always going to be king, but I find a lot of the lower-level athletics get neglected.”
Canucks Mafia
With the Canucks Mafia Podcast we see Mike Kermode and Darren Prasad give their local take on the Vancouver Canucks. Another one of the members of the Area 51 Sports Network, Mike and Darren also take a broader look at the NHL in general. They were a bit late to the game but that didn’t discourage them from getting into the podcast game.
“Darren and I became friends in college 16 years ago, sharing a passion for sports, especially the Vancouver Canucks. Having spent years watching games together, and always bantering back and forth about the team, we waited until everyone and their kid had a Canucks podcast, then started our own.”
Why is it important for there to be so much local coverage and different voices in the market and what does your podcast bring I asked Mike, “A year into the venture, and 50 episodes deep, we continue to record and discuss the latest in the Canucks world, hoping one day we can have an actual positive spin on things. One day, right? Right, guys?” Slow down there Mike because it still might be a while.
What do we have to look forward to from Canucks Mafia going forward this season? “We look forward to interviewing more interesting guests and providing further insight and opinions on all things Canucks related in the future.”
“If you haven’t yet, check out the episodes with Pat Byrne, former Sleep Consultant with the Canucks, Jonathan Bates, former Canucks scout and ex-Canuck player Aaron Volpatti. Each provides a unique insight and story that Canucks fans should really be aware of.” Said Mike when I asked him what people should check out from their past shows.
The Shifts And Pucks Podcast
Another Area 51 Podcast and YouTube shown as Shifts And Pucks brings you great Canucks and Calgary Flames coverage. Kevin Olenick was kind enough to talk with me about how it all started. “It started after Trevor Linden left the Canucks organization in July of 2018. I was living in Kamloops at the time. I asked Sean and Tyler to come on my former podcast Agree or Disagree: The Podcast.”
“We then started going weekly. It eventually grew into its own separate and stand-alone podcast. Chris and Devin joined in 2019. We started doing playoff recaps. Now we do a specific Canucks podcast and a specific Flames podcast once a week. I do a daily hockey news-type podcast. And instant reactions to big moves. So we have expanded our content.” He would continue about the start and the instant reaction they received.
“The interesting thing about local is we are not all in the same place. Tyler is in Terrace. Chris is in Kelowna. Sean and Devin are in Calgary. I’m in Burnaby. But when I was in school, it was ingrained in me to focus on local. Start where you live. We just love everywhere. Our plan is to continue to do what we are, doing one Canucks podcast a week, One Flames podcast a week, As well as the Daily news show.” Local from so many different angles is the great thing about Shifts & Pucks.
“The question is not about hockey. But more about sports. I think some sports are getting missed right now. The Canucks and Flames dominate both Vancouver and Calgary markets. But there are other sports that deserve attention. There are important local stories that get missed and deserve recognition.”
I am glad that we have more and more people providing local stories so things don’t get missed! They are also on YouTube so make sure to check them out where ever you get your shows!
The Vancouver Whitecaps And Footy In The Vancouver Sports Landscape
If you are a Footy fan, or Soccer, as North Americans might know better, then you also have lots of options. You can get great Whitecaps news from J.J. Adams of the Province, Manuel Veth of Transfer Markt, or the amazing Har Journalist from Daily Hive.
You can also check out Area 51 Network, AFTN, and the Sports Talk Line Network for great local soccer podcasts. For all things, Canada Soccer Alexandre Gagne-Ruzic and Ben Steiner are on the beat with some great Photogs in Beau Chevalier and Keveren Guillou bringing you lasting pictures of all the action.
Terminal City FC
As I mentioned earlier with Area 51 Network, The Terminal City Podcast is out weekly and Joshua and Nathan provide articles throughout the week from all of the Whitecaps training and media. They also take a look at the English premier league with a focus on Chelsea and Tottenham and the Canada Men’s and Women’s National teams.
I asked Joshua and Nathan about how they started Terminal City FC Podcast and if they noticed something lacking in our market. “It started when I told Sean Warren I was burned out with Avid Discussers and the fact I needed a co-host after doing solo shows for about a year. He proposed an all-soccer show and I was on board with it. So I reached out to Nathan Durec who was a classmate of mine from Langara and he was happy to be a part of it.” Joshua would say.
“Yes, I feel like Whitecaps and Soccer coverage in this market is lacking especially after TSN 1040 went down. This may sound funny to some people but I want this market to get behind the Whitecaps. They don’t have to have the amount of support as the Canucks (let’s face it, Vancouver is a hockey town first) but given Vancouver’s history of soccer, I have always wanted more Whitecaps coverage and soccer coverage in general.”
Football (Or Soccer) is such a global sport so why the local coverage? “It is because there isn’t enough coverage of them. The Canucks have lots of podcasts about them. I also wanted to branch out a bit from hockey and soccer is a sport that I love more and more each day. The Whitecaps? Not much other than AFTN and Between The Sticks right now. Even though support has waned over the years, there are still some people that are passionate about the Whitecaps. (It’s more than I thought there are)”
He would continue “We also believed our Canadian Men’s and Women’s teams needed coverage, especially the women who have been one of the best teams in the world and have recently won Olympic gold. It was perfect timing for the men as they qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 1986. Soccer is growing in Canada and we want to be part of the coverage.” Which has been great to see.
What about the need for local voices in this market? I asked Joshua and Nathan, “It’s very important, especially in these times. Bell pulled the plug on 1040 angered and saddened me. I just don’t like the fact that Toronto corporations control most of the sports media in this country. The people who wear suits don’t care about Vancouver or any other Canadian city, they think Toronto is the center of the universe.”
“Vancouver sports fans want local coverage from people who know local teams and that’s exactly what TCFC and Area 51 Sports Network want to provide. With sports media mostly run by the suits in Toronto, local coverage is disappearing, we don’t want that to happen. There is so much talent (especially up-and-coming) in this market and it would be a shame if we can’t hear their voices.”
Sports Talk Lines Soccer Coverage And The 90 + Podcast
You can also follow me for all of my Whitecaps coverage with the Sports Talk Line Network and the 90 + Podcast, which will hopefully kick off again when Ben gets less busy. I have been on hiatus for the end of this season I am hoping to get back going as the season kicks off next year.
Speaking of Ben, he seems to be doing alright covering the local Abbotsford Canucks. Make sure to get down to the Abbotsford Events Center this season and check out the baby Canucks.
Writers, Writers, Writers
We also have lots of great writers throughout all the different media options in the Vancouver Sports Landscape. I mentioned some of the great writers who cover the Vancouver Whitecaps, you can add Joshua Rey, Nathan Durec, Samuel Rowen, Michael McColl, and Gemma Karstens-Smith to that list. Throughout all of the various outlets, you can usually find a bevy of Caps articles throughout the season.
If you are looking for more Canucks coverage then check out the Canucks Army of course as Cody Severtson, Stephen Roget, Michael Lui, Lachlan Irvine, Mike Gould, and others bring you every story you could possibly think of, and then some about the Canucks.
Joshua Rey, Brogan Houston, and Zaahid Lalani are pumping out tonnes of content for The Canuck Way. While You can also subscribe to the Athletic for more from Thomas Drance and Harman Dayal. As was mentioned in part 1 of the series Wyatt “The Stanchion” Arndt is doing Stanchies now for Canucks army and they have been amazing despite a terrible start for the Canucks.
The Area 51 Network is back into WHL mode as Lizz, Jess, Adam, and Chris are all over BC at local rinks getting the hard-hitting stories before the players hit the draft or NHL. There is also lots of Whitecaps content from Joshua and Nathan as the team just had their end-of-the-year media. Then you can get random local sports, Canucks, and everything in between.
I know I am forgetting lots of people and if I missed you in this article I apologize but I did put the call out several times!
Wait There’s More! What About Those BC Lions?
The BC Lions have clinched a home playoff date! If you missed the big win against the Edmonton Elks then you can get caught up on all the action right here from Sports Talk Line. J.J. Adams and post media also bring you a lot of great BC Lions coverage.
The Lions are definitely not covered as much in the Vancouver sports landscape as they probably should be this season. There is one BC Lions podcast that I am aware of on Go Goat Sports with Matt Baker that is the official show of the Team.
Nathan Rourke dazzled fans to start the season and owner Amar Dohman has been pushing all the right buttons on and off the field. Hopefully, we will see a bit more Lions coverage as they try and make a deep playoff run and into next season.
Sports Talk Line And Local Coverage Of The Vancouver Sports Landscape
That brings us to the end of my 3 part series on the Vancouver Sports Landscape and all the great voices and options we have. Make sure to go back and check out parts 1 and 2 if you missed them. I always enjoyed local sports coverage so I had a lot of fun talking to everyone about their projects and how they started to get their voice out there.
For more sports coverage make sure to check out the Sports Talk Line Network as the NFL moves to the middle of the season and the contenders and being separated from the pretenders. Also, check out all my Vancouver Canucks game recaps as I am having a bit of fun with it this season, and after a slow start that may be just what people need.
Make sure to follow me on Twitter at JoshuaGriffith0 for the latest sports news and updates about all things local sports. I hope you enjoyed my look at all the different voices and options in the Vancouver Sports Landscape and you have found some new shows you can add to your playlist.
