It’s amazing to think about the profound impact people can make on your life in such a short time span.

I had the privilege of calling Jason Botchford my colleague, mentor and friend for just eight months, but it feels like I’ve known him forever. With Botch, it was a testament to the connection he was able to create between us and how we just clicked from Day 1.

At 18 years old, this was going to be my first full season covering the Canucks on the side while I started my university education. I had no idea what direction I was going in, but I was in love with the sport and would be happy grinding away for however long it’d take to get my breakthrough. I started preseason with CanucksArmy, but after pitching a couple of ideas, The Athletic was gracious enough to give me the opportunity to write two one-off stories.

After those pieces got published, I messaged Botch for the first time to introduce myself and explain to him that I looked up to his work. From there, the relationship took off.

Right from Day 1, Botch took every opportunity possible to hype me up for everyone to see. Whether it was the Athletties, Patcast, Twitter or TSN 1040, everywhere I went I saw he was raving about me and my ideas.

Botch gave me a voice in the media space.

This was incredible, but it was what he did for me behind the scenes that left the most impact. For one, he forged the path for my current position at The Athletic. Botch saw something in my work and went to bat for me — pushing tirelessly behind the scenes to help me get a regular platform here.

As it goes, a few weeks later Botch messaged me with the news that The Athletic would give me a shot as a contributor. He told me I’d need to perform well on my stories, but that he’d be on the ball in making sure I was on the right track with ideas and that he’d help spread the word about my articles.

And boy did he deliver.

We talked hockey every single day up until his passing. We planned stories out months in advance. I still have a list of all the ideas we had for what was shaping up to be incredible offseason.

We were each others sounding boards. Like a veteran player guiding a rookie, he told me exactly what I needed to hear to stay on the right path through the highs and the lows of the season.

The most special thing was that with Botch it was never “You should do this,” it was always “Let’s do this,” where he wanted to play a part and help out even when there was no need. Here and there I’d ask for a couple quick insights from him to include in my articles and each time I’d get back almost an entire page of information I could quote him on.

Botch knew what readers craved — he was the voice of their thoughts and feelings and made sure I was creating work that would resonate with them. Whether it was formulating story ideas with me from the ground up, coordinating marketing strategies with the editors at The Athletic once the piece was done and everything in between, he was the conduit.

The best moment I had with Botch was the time we teamed up for my first trip to the rink.

Around early January I was working on a couple stories and Botch messaged me and said that he thought it’d be really good for me to get the experience of coming to the rink, getting to know the players and ask questions. For someone like myself that has no formal journalistic background, education or experience this was a huge stepping stone and for Botch to take the initiative and show that belief in me meant a ton. But more than that, he went above and beyond to make sure I succeeded on that day.

We had an idea of the stories I was working on for the foreseeable future and he started by giving me a rundown of who would be great to talk to as a first interview. After some back and forth we decided Bo Horvat would be a great fit in relation to an article on his two-way game that I was working on. Botch let the Canucks PR staff know I was coming to practice and assured me that I’d get my one-on-one time with Horvat.

He could have left it at that and it would have been amazing, but he didn’t.

When he stopped by the rink, I still remember Jeff Paterson, with a curious look on his face, asking what got Botch to make the long commute to UBC (he rarely went to UBC practices).

Botch smiled, nodded toward me and said “I gotta support my boy.” I realized at that moment that he’d made the trip out just for me.

Joined at the hip we took in practice. Right before it ended he asked me if I was ready to talk to Bo and emphatically reassured me that I’d kill it.

As players and coaches stepped off the ice a massive scrum formed around Travis Green. Botch just hung back outside the scrum with me, cracking jokes and getting me acclimated to the rink environment. When the huddle broke out he introduced me to Green and raved to him about me, directing a conversation between us before slipping aside so that Travis and I could talk off the record for a few minutes one-on-one.

Then when Bo came out, he introduced me to him and I got my questions in. Afterward, Botch and I kept chatting and we had one of those bigger picture discussions.

Botch amped me up and told me all about his vision for The Athletic and all the big things he had planned for him and I. I couldn’t help but dream of a long future where I’d be the Robin to his Batman here at The Athletic.

Big day at rink today with @harmandayal2 . We have a couple great ones coming for the VIPs in the next week. Be sure to follow @TheAthleticVAN for the good times — Jason Botchford (@botchford) January 7, 2019

I was psyched that day from our conversations and to this day it’s the most fun I’ve ever had covering hockey — a memory I’ll cherish for life. I’ll never forget the massive grin we shared when we fist bumped each other to acknowledge how we’d conquered the day together as we left the rink. And it all stemmed from an experience Botch went out of his way to be a part of.

It’s so unfortunate that the worst things can happen to the best of people.

It’s been hard to follow the team over the last few days without Botch, there’s just such a massive void. I’ve found myself instinctively copying the link to tweets I knew he’d find hilarious or interesting, clicking on my messages to go and send it to him, before realizing that I’m not gonna get another “wow,” “holy fk” or “Wait, what???” I’m not hyperbolizing when I say hockey feels empty right now without our daily interactions.

Botch carved a path for me to follow and showed me the way just as he has for so many others.

Personally, I want nothing more in the coming years than to make him proud and prove him right for his faith in me. The responsibility of carrying Botch’s legacy rests on the shoulders of all the young writers he’s influenced and I feel the weight at the forefront.

I’ll miss Botch a ton as a friend and mentor, but it’s truly heartbreaking to imagine the loss his wife Kathryn and their children Sienna, Keira and Hudson must be feeling. The whole hockey community is praying for them to make it through this incredibly difficult time.

I have no doubts that the generation of writers Botch mentored will couple with the community as a whole to continue carrying Botch’s torch. “Heroes get remembered, but legends never die.”