Cody Hodgson

Cody Douglas Hodgson (born February 18, 1990) is a Canadian

professional ice hockey centreman who is currently on a professional tryout with the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League.

Hodgson played at the major junior level for four seasons with the Brampton Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

Hodgson grew up in Haliburton, Ontario, with his family until they moved to Markham, Ontario, in 1998.

The family would return in the summers to their cottage on Haliburton Lake.

Hodgson began playing organized hockey at age four in Haliburton.

Playing for the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA)'s Haliburton Huskies, he was teammates with Matt Duchene.

The two were childhood friends and played together throughout their minor and junior careers, including with the Brampton Battalion and on Canada's national under-18 and under-20 teams.

His family was also friends with Jeff Skinner's family growing up in Markham.

Hodgson then joined the OMHA's Markham Waxers, competing with their bantam team in 2004–05, then at the midget level in 2005–06.

He recorded a 51-point campaign over 30 games in his midget season, while also recording one assist over two games with the club's Junior A side.

During his tenure with the Waxers program, he played alongside future NHL players Steven Stamkos and Michael Del Zotto.

Hodgson had also played alongside Stamkos on annual summer teams, starting at the age of 11.

Hodgson attended Buttonville Public School and Unionville High School in Markham, the latter of which he helped win numerous hockey tournaments.

Hodgson was drafted 17th overall by the Brampton Battalion in the 2006 OHL Priority Selection.

The following season, he joined the Battalion wearing number 19 in honour of his favourite hockey player growing up, Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings.

He led the team in rookie scoring with 23 goals and 46 points.

He added four points in four playoff games as the Battalions were eliminated by the Barrie Colts in the first round.

In his second season with Brampton, Hodgson improved to 85 points in 68 games, which was second in team-scoring, behind centre John Hughes.

In 2007, he won a gold medal with Ontario at the Canada Winter Games.

He also represented Canada at the 2007 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, finishing fourth.

Hodgson was born in Toronto, Ontario, to Marie and Chris Hodgson.

His father is the president of the Ontario Mining Association and a former Ontario provincial Progressive Conservative cabinet minister in Premier Mike Harris' government, while his mother is the executive director of a day care.

He has an older brother, Clayton, and two younger sisters.

His sister Charlotte attends the University of Western Ontario and Caroline attends Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Both girls played organized hockey in Markham, Ontario.

After being selected tenth overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks, Hodgson won the William Hanley Trophy (OHL's most sportsmanlike player), the Red Tilson Trophy (OHL player of the year), the CHL Player of the Year Award, and his first Team All-Star honours for the 2008–09 season.

Hodgson has represented Canada at two International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) – sanctioned events, winning gold and leading tournament scoring at both – the 2008 IIHF World U18 Championships and 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

Hodgson played bantam hockey with the Toronto Jr. Canadiens of the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL), captaining a team that included four other eventual 2008 NHL draftees – Alex Pietrangelo, Tyler Cuma, Josh Brittain and Stefan Della Rovere.

His tenure with the team included a provincial championship.

Following his draft by the Vancouver Canucks, Hodgson was accepted into the business program at York University for the 2008 fall semester.

However, due to missing classes from his commitments to the Canucks' training camp and a subsequent university staff strike, he placed his academics on hiatus.

While training in the 2009 off-season, Hodgson suffered a back injury that required him to take an entire year off of hockey in order to fully recover.

In December 2009, Hodgson was chosen to be the city of Markham's official torchbearer for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

The torch passed through Markham on its way to Vancouver on December 17, 2009, on day 49 of the cross-country relay.

In 2010–11, he played his professional rookie season with the Canucks' minor league affiliate, the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League (AHL).

The season also marked his debut at the NHL level with the Canucks and he went on to participate in the team's run to the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals.

During his rookie season the subsequent year, Hodgson was dealt to the Buffalo Sabres at the 2012 trade deadline.

He announced his retirement in 2016 after he was diagnosed with malignant hyperthermia.

Hodgson unretired in 2024 and signed a tryout with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL.