Cody Douglas Hodgson (born February 18, 1990) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL).
A centre, Hodgson played at the major junior level for four seasons with the Brampton Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). 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. 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 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 came out of retirement in 2024 and signed a tryout with former club, the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL. He made 13 appearances before ending his playing career.
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. 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.
Early life 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. Hodgson grew up in Haliburton, Ontario, with his family until they moved to Markham 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 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. 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. 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.
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.
Playing career
Brampton Battalion 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. He was chosen to the Eastern Conference squad in the 2008 OHL All-Star Classic and scored one goal. Hodgson added five goals in five playoff games, as Brampton was eliminated in the opening round for the second-straight season by Barrie.
Heading into the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Hodgson was ranked ninth among North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. He went on to be chosen tenth overall by the Vancouver Canucks. Scouting reports and former coaches emphasized Hodgson's hockey sense and character, while Canucks General Manager Mike Gillis cited his leadership as a strong factor in drafting him. After the 2007–08 season, OHL coaches had voted him the smartest player in the Eastern Conference. As his skating was considered a weakness, he spent the subsequent off-season training to improve it.
Hodgson was expected to compete for a roster spot on the Canucks immediately after being drafted. He was then signed to a three-year, entry-level contract worth the rookie maximum of $2.625 million on October 5, 2008. However, the next day, he was sent back to Brampton for the 2008–09 season.
Upon his return, Hodgson was named the ninth captain in Battalion team history. He succeeded forward Thomas Stajan, who served as captain for the start of the season while Hodgson competed in the NHL pre-season. Stajan himself had just replaced defenceman John de Gray, who had turned professional.
Chosen to represent the OHL in the 2008 ADT Canada-Russia Challenge in November, Hodgson recorded a hat-trick and added an assist in the first of two games against Russia; he was chosen as game MVP. He went on to complete the month of November with 27 points in 13 games to be named OHL Player of the Month. Hodgson had also been chosen as the OHL Player of the Week for the week ending on November 9 after scoring nine points in three games. After a second Player of the Week recognition, scoring seven points in three games for the week ending February 1, 2009, Hodgson participated in the 2009 OHL All-Star Classic. Joined by teammates Matt Duchene, Evgeny Grachev and Thomas McCollum for the Eastern Conference, Hodgson received player of the game honours after a five-point effort in an 11–6 win. He recorded a hat-trick, along with Western Conference representative Justin DiBenedetto, to tie Scott Barney, who first scored three goals in 1999, for the OHL All-Star Game record. Hodgson's five points also tied the All-Star Game record for most points (shared by five others). He recorded another record later in the month with a 23-game point-scoring streak, registering 17 goals, 23 assists and 40 points in that span. The streak was both a Battalion club record and OHL season-high.
Hodgson finished the season with 43 goals and 92 points in 53 games, fourth in League scoring. The annual OHL coaches poll distinguished Hodgson as the smartest player (for the second consecutive season), the hardest worker, the best on faceoffs and the best penalty killer. In addition to OHL First All-Star Team honours, he was awarded both the William Hanley Trophy as the League's most sportsmanlike player and the Red Tilson Trophy as OHL player of the year. The media voted Hodgson ahead of forward John Tavares and goaltender Mike Murphy for the Tilson award. Hodgson was then distinguished over fellow major junior league MVP's Brett Sonne of the Western Hockey League (WHL) and Nicola Riopel of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) as the CHL Player of the Year.
Early in the subsequent playoff season, Hodgson received his second OHL Player of the Month recognition for March (26 points in 11 games). He helped the Battalion advance to the OHL Finals, where they lost the J. Ross Robertson Cup to the Windsor Spitfires. He led his team with 31 points in the post-season.
Following the Battalion's playoff elimination, Hodgson was assigned to the Canucks' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, for their 2009 playoff run. Making his professional debut with the Moose in Game 1 of the semi-finals against the Houston Aeros, he notched an assist on the game's first goal for his first professional point. He followed up with his first professional goal the next night, a wrist shot against Aeros goaltender Nolan Schaefer, in a 5–2 victory. While Hodgson started on the fourth line for the Moose, he quickly moved his way up to the second line with fellow Canucks first-round pick Michael Grabner. Advancing past the Aeros, Moose Head Coach Scott Arniel chose not to play Hodgson in Game 4 of the Calder Cup Finals against the Hershey Bears. Arniel explained the decision was attributed to fatigue on Hodgson's part from a lengthy season in the juniors (including the 2009 World Juniors and a lengthy OHL playoff run). He returned the next game to help the Moose stave off elimination with a goal in a 3–2 Game 5 victory. Manitoba went on to lose the Calder Cup in Game 6 by a 4–1 score. Hodgson's assisted on the Moose's lone tally by Mário Bližňák.
Preparing for the Canucks' training camp for the 2009–10 season, Hodgson injured his back while working out in the summer. The injury, which was misdiagnosed as a bulging disc in his lower back, caused him to miss two months of summer training. After being cleared to play by Canucks team doctors on September 11, 2009, and a back specialist in Toronto, Hodgson was again expected to secure a roster spot during training camp. After struggling in six pre-season games, he was returned to the Brampton Battalion on September 29 in the final round of team cuts.
Hodgson subsequently sought a third opinion regarding his back at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. In response, then-Canucks Head Coach Alain Vigneault publicly speculated whether Hodgson was simply having a hard time being cut and was trying to "roll the [blame] in another direction." Despite having been cleared earlier to play in the pre-season by two sets of doctors, the Cleveland Clinic judged him unfit to play for a month. Previously undetected nerve damage in one leg was also revealed. Due to Hodgson's misdiagnosis, which was not corrected until a year later, subsequent treatment and rehabilitation was designed for a bulging disc, which further aggravated his real injury – a muscle strain.