Another Botch story: Back when @patersonjeff was doing the Patcast with Botch live at Woody's, they would pack the place. Fans just wanted to be a part of what Botch was up to, he just had that ability to draw people in and make them feel like they were part of the show.

So after they finish up the live podcast, Botch gets off the stage and it was like Elvis had just finished a set. Entire room floods over to him just to have the chance to shoot the shit with him about hockey.

People would hang out in pockets as everyone looked for their chance to sneak in and say hi to Botch and give him their theory about why the team was losing or what move they should have done, etc.

I don't know how much time went by, but it was a long long time, because Botch talked to every single person that night. Even the people so wasted they weren't making sense, Botch would sit there and talk hockey with them. People loved it.

And if you ever talked to Botch, he had a very distinct way of talking to you. He wouldn't grill you, but he would pepper you with questions. Before you knew it you would be opening up to him about anything, not even hockey stuff

Not just small talk shit, but like deep stuff. Five minutes into a conversation with him and he'd have you talking about how your dog ran away when you were five and you weren't quite over it yet.

And again, it wasn't just fluff to Botch. He'd remember the stuff you told him and he would encourage you and pump you up and make you feel like you could conquer the world. He was a natural mentor, it was built inside of him.

But yeah. That's what I remember a lot. Just the way Botch ran that room and everyone wanted to talk to them and he talked to every single one of them with a meaningful conversation that I bet each of them remembers to this day.

The Canucks community can fight with the best of them and we can eat each other up left and right, but there is a deep spirit that bonds all of us together, and it's something Botch tapped into, and something I try to keep alive with The Armies.

Love you Botch.