12-year-old podcaster wraps up hockey and hospitals tour in Vancouver

Zander Zatylny was only a month old when he underwent the first of three open-heart surgeries for a rare congenital cardiac condition.

He wanted to give back to the Ottawa hospital that saved his life so, as a young child, he began fundraising and eventually launched a podcast.

He snagged celebrity guests like Matthew McConaughey and Jimmy Kimmel.

But the 12-year-old goalie wanted to include his love of hockey. So Zatylny wrote a proposal to the NHL to visit every Canadian city in the league, where he would interview a player and representatives from their local children’s hospital on his podcast.

“I know how important it is to raise awareness for children's health, so I want other people to know how important it is,” said Zatylny.

With his father acting as podcast cameraman, and some corporate sponsorship to help with travel expenses, he set off on the cross-Canada podcast tour.

Zatylny has already been to Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Calgary. And on Tuesday he came to Vancouver, where he interviewed Canucks' forward Brock Boeser at Rogers Arena.

“He’s so nice, so down to earth. It was an amazing interview, amazing guy,” said Zatylny.

He also interviewed B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation president and CEO Malcolm Berry.

“I think what is so neat about Zander is the ambassador role he’s taken upon himself, to bring profile and raise awareness of children’s health and the work that children’s hospitals do across the country,” said Berry.

With the Toronto Maple Leafs interview set up virtually, Vancouver is the final stop on the hockey and hospitals tour, which Zatylny described as amazing.

“Like absolutely crazy, just the experience has been so great, everybody has been so great on the journey,” he said.

With big-name actors, talk shows hosts and NHL stars on his podcast resume, Zatylny hopes the work can continue, saying, “I don’t know where this podcast is going to go, but I hope it’s still going to help people in the future.”