Cody Hodgson

<table align="center" border="0" width="80%"><tbody><tr><td><img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload//2008/06/Hodgson2_062108.jpg" align="left" border="0" hspace="4" vspace="1">Wow. What an incredible and unbelievable 24 hours it has been in Ottawa. It was an adventure even before we arrived – we drove five hours from Markham just to get here. And let me tell you, it wasn't an easy journey. Trying to get a group of about 20 people to come down to Ottawa is a feat in itself. You try it and you'll know. <img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload//2008/06/jun2008_hodgsonpose_t.jpg" align="right" border="0" hspace="4" vspace="1">But don't get me wrong because I'm definitely not complaining. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Having so many of my family and friends here supporting me during this time is amazing and I'm so grateful to have them all here with me. I mean, you only get drafted once so I'm glad to share it with the people who mean the most to me. I just can't say enough about the support I've had and not just through the draft process but throughout my whole career so far. The whole night is unbelievable and it still has quite sunken in yet but I'm sure at some point everything will just hit me and I'll realize that I'm part of the NHL now. The magnitude of playing for the Canucks is huge, especially the fact that it is a Canadian team, which makes it that much better. There's only six teams so the odds are against you for playing for a Canadian city but you always dream about, growing up, playing where hockey really matters and I think this is a great city for that. Right after I left the podium, I was rushed to the media circuit where I did the media tour with a bunch of scrums, NHL Live, NHL.com, called into three local radio stations. But it didn't end there because right after I was directed into three different photo booths for the official NHL draft photos... you know the ones, you'll see them all over the web, I'm sure. I also had the opportunity to take some family photos with the professional photography so that was a nice way to finish off that part of the night. <img src="http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload//2008/06/jun2108_hodgson01_t.jpg" align="left" border="0" hspace="4" vspace="1">The media tour was a little overwhelming but I understand that it comes with the territory. Going into a Canadian market, it's expected. I'm excited about coming to such a great organization with amazing fans. I was coached by Pat Quinn just about a few weeks ago and I know they have a great organization and great hockey players playing already. I hear Vancouver is beautiful and I can't wait to see it. This has all come and even gone really quickly but the whirlwind doesn't stop yet. I fly to Calgary tomorrow to accept the rings with the Under 18 World Junior Team and then it's my graduation on Sunday so the excitement doesn't stop.</td></tr></tbody></table>