Cody Hodgson fit to play for the Canucks Vancouver
It might finally happen. The prized Vancouver prospect, Cody Hodgson could make his NHL debut this season. On Monday, the young centre for OHL’s Brampton Battalion was cleared for practice with the Vancouver Canucks which comes as a positive sign for the
player.
Hodgson had missed most of last season due to injuries. His run in with health issues started just over a year ago when he suffered from a herniated disk in his back during practice sessions, though he continued to play throughout the season in pain. He
missed 4 months that season after more complications arose. He also tore a muscle in his back which has since healed.
Since then, Hodgson has limited himself to doing lighter drills and avoiding contact until his back is completely healed. He has not yet practiced with the NHL. Instead, he has been practicing with the injured players and fringe prospects. The first round
2008 draft pick has steadily been increasing the physical strain on his body and so far, the player has encountered no problems. “I'm really happy,” Hodgson said. “We just keep testing it and throwing more stuff at it and if it keeps going well, we progress.
So far everything has been going well.”
On Monday, Hodgson was cleared for full practices with the Canucks. The 20-year-old won’t wear the Canucks uniform when Vancouver goes to take on the Calgary Flames in the first preseason game of 2010. He will however practice with the league from Wednesday
onwards. If Hodgson wants a spot for himself in the regular season, he has to prove to the Canucks that he can physically take the toll of the National Hockey League. The preseason would be his chance to do that and in all likelihood, his first appearance
would be on Saturday when he is expected to play against the Anaheim Ducks. That is if all goes well for the prospect.
“We wanted to make sure that he was sure he could participate at the level he's capable of,” Vancouver general manager Mike Gillis said. He added that he was pleased to know that Cody was ready. Gillis noted that Cody had been moving in the right direction
and making progress. He warned though that only after a few days of practices and a few games would they really be able to know if Hodgson can be comfortable with the big league and if he is ‘pain-free.’ “We've been waiting for that moment where he said, “Yeah,
I'm ready to go.” That time has come for the Canucks for a second time.
The young blooded and perhaps overly eager Hodgson had told Gillis the same thing last year. He had said that he was fine while he continued to struggle with the pain until he couldn’t go on. He has learned from that experience which put considerable strain
on relations with the team. This time around he is less likely to pretend to be okay if he isn’t.
Also this time, Canucks medical staff and their conditioning coach Roger Takahashi would be keeping a close eye on Hodgson and his progress. Coach Alain Vigneault said that since last year they had discussed the issue with Hodgson. “He was a young player
eager to make our team; it was understandable.” Alain said that he was confident that the prospect wasn’t pushing himself too far. What was true last year is true again this year. He played six preseason games in 2009 to get on the Canucks line-up while his
back was not well and that has cost him significantly. This time though, there are indications that Cody won’t do anything like that.
“I’m looking forward to getting in (a preseason game), but we can't skip any steps,” Hodgson said. He added that if there was no pain or setbacks, he would continue to move forward without any unnecessary haste. “There's no timeline, but we're progressing.”
The pace he is moving at could be enough though. Director of Player Development for Vancouver, Dave Gagner said that Hodgson had been improving physically and had almost returned to feeling the way he used to.
Now all he has to do is impress everyone in the pre-season.
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