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Batchelor still living his dream

With all the doom and gloom surrounding the Vancouver Canucks heading into the 2017-18 season, Brendan Batchelor’s dream job could have quickly turned into a nightmare.
Brendan Batchelor
The Vancouver Canucks haven't won a lot of games so far this season, but the team's new radio voice — Coquitlam's Brendan Batchelor — is still living his dream job.

With all the doom and gloom surrounding the Vancouver Canucks heading into the 2017-18 season, Brendan Batchelor’s dream job could have quickly turned into a nightmare.

Instead, the Canucks are playing exciting, competitive hockey most nights, and four months into his gig as the radio voice of the team, Batchelor said he’s still living his childhood dream.

Just like a phenom winger, 28-year-old Batchelor ascended to the top of his game quickly. Five years ago he was the play-by-play announcer for the Surrey Eagles of the BC Hockey League, then stepped up to calling games for the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants.

Batchelor got tapped for the Canucks’ job in August, when the team’s radio broadcast rights went to a new partner, Roger’s Sportsnet. Since then it’s been a whirlwind of getting to know the team he emulated when he played road hockey in the driveway of his parents’ home on Harbour Drive in Coquitlam, travel to NHL cities around North America including a recent six-day stint in New York City, and conveying the excitement around some of the team’s promising young players like Brock Boeser.

“Having a team that’s compelling to watch is the biggest thing,” Batchelor said. “There’s hope with some of the young players.”

Even though his first season is not yet half over, Batchelor said there’s already been some highlights, like calling Daniel Sedin’s 1000th career point during an important road victory in Nashville against one of the league’s top teams.

“That is one that will stand out,” Batchelor said. “Not just because it was a big milestone in his career, but it was a big game too.”

Batchelor said there’s still nights he has to pinch himself at where his career has taken him, from broadcasting school at BCIT, to public address announcements at Copeland Arena in Burnaby, to the Eagles and Giants and now the Canucks. But at the end of the day, it’s just calling hockey.

“You put the headset on and you call the game no matter where you are.”