Roger Neilsons Towel Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 Former Canucks saviour Cody Hodgson retires Former Canucks first round pick Cody Hodgson has retired from pro hockey at the age of 26. Hodgson will take on a role with the Nashville Predators’ youth hockey program. It’s disappointing end to Hodgson’s career, which had so much promise not that long ago. Hodgson was a 10th overall draft pick by the Canucks back in 2008. The pick looked like a stroke of genius by then-GM Mike Gillis in the years that followed. In his first season after being drafted, Hodgson scored 92 points in 53 games and was named the CHL’s Player of the Year. He also helped Canada win gold at the World Junior Championships, leading the tournament in scoring. It wasn’t a question of if, it was a question of when Hodgson would become a high scoring number one centre in the National Hockey League. It took Hodgson a little longer than expected to crack the Canucks’ lineup full-time, but once he did in 2011-12, he looked like a player that would fulfill his promise. Then came the trade. Less than a month after being named NHL Rookie of the Month, Hodgson was traded to Buffalo for Zack Kassian. We all thought it would be a trade that would define both franchises for years to come. With all due respect to Cam Neely, Alex Stojanov, and Roberto Luongo, it’s arguably the most talked about trade in Canucks history. Whoops. Still, Hodgson looked like he had all the skill to one day make it. His play in the defensive zone was another story, but you can teach defence. He had a nice season in 2012-13 playing primarily with Tomas Vanek, scoring 34 points (15-19-34) in 48 games. In the summer of 2013, the Sabres signed Hodgson to a six-year contract extension worth a total of $25.5 million. He had 44 points (20-24-44) in 72 games in 2013-14 and even had his own line of apparel called CoHo. But as the Sabres went off the rails, so did the production from Hodgson. He was not a favourite of Sabres head coach Ted Nolan and scored just 13 points in 2014-15 before being bought-out of his contract in the offseason. He signed a contract with Nashville before last season, but the change of scenery didn’t do him any good. He scored 8 points (3-5-8) in just 39 NHL games. After clearing waivers in January, he played in another 14 games with the Predators’ AHL affiliate in Milwaukee. Four years ago he was a can’t-miss future star and now he’s out of the league. It’s a gentle reminder when watching the current crop of young prospects in preseason action that you never truly know what will happen with young players. Rob Williams Daily Hive Sports Editor. @RobTheHockeyGuy http://dailyhive.com/vancouver/canucks-cody-hodgson-retires Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Neilsons Towel Posted October 4, 2016 Author Share Posted October 4, 2016 Wow. Pretty crazy how far this guy fell in such a short time... Best of luck to him in his new role with the Nashville Predators youth program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6YPE Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 All they hype, but could never reach his expected target. Must have been something in his head cause he had most of the tools, well, except foot speed. I cant say I feel bad for him, he's retired from the NHL at 26 and has enough money to last him the rest of his life if he looks after it the right way. Works with youth in Nashville, certainly beats the hell out of my job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thundernuts Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 Showed such promise, but just couldn't translate his junior success into NHL success. Just goes to show what an inexact science the draft is. The jump from playing with boys to competing with men in the world's best league is huge to start with. Add on to that the added pressures of being a professional athlete and just the day to day challenges of figuring out life in your early 20's, it can be too much for some to overcome. Unfortunately, he joins a long list of talented, promising athletes, that ultimately failed to live up to their lofty expectations. I wish him all the best in his new role with the Predators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck_Fan_52 Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 Wow that is a shocker! Then again, many factors contribute towards the performance of a player. CoHo was a promising star for the team and I was shocked and disappointed when he was traded. In Buffalo he wasn't on the good side of the coach which may have affected his play. It is not just the player, but also the people (coaches, upper management, teammates) around him that can make or break someone. With Cam Neely the Canucks just lost patience with him and gave him up at 21 as they expected him to be a prolific point producer right off the bat after forcing him into the lineup at 18. In the Boston system, the franchise gave him opportunity and he flourished. Looking back now, I think the Canucks benefitted from the trade as Kassian provided the physical presence as well as contributions to goal scoring. Why we got rid of him is beyond me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaBamba Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 ROH? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuxin07 Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 I still remember when his agent (Rich Winter?) got him that 6 year $24M deal in Buffalo. Agent of the Year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJSkingz Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 Nowhere did I see a statement from CoHo stating he is retiring. Perhaps taking time off to get his head right? Work with kids to re-align his focus? Don't be surprised if he tries to make a comeback at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbdoubleu Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 [Alexandre Daigle walking down the street in head-to-toe CoHo apparel] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HKSR Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 Future Canuck Captain Retires at Age 26. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tre Mac Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 Product of bad coaching, bad medical assessments, and a tank job. He got paid atleast and don't think he ever suffered a concussion so walking away from this over coached game is probably not a bad idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YEGCanuck Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 I heard some noise about his Father wanting to play super-agent in CoHo's dealings with the various team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nucker 67 Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 What a career! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ossi Vaananen Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 I believe Elvis beat you to this, in a thread yesterday. I shall soak in the sweet irony of a mod making a duplicate thread and being reported by Elvis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRAZY_4_NAZZY Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 Its like they say, its hard to get into the league, but even harder to stay in it. I love the guy, but you could just see the passion and joy was taken out of him the year we traded him. I think he enjoyed being in Vancouver. all the best to Coho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elvis15 Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 19 minutes ago, Ossi Vaananen said: I believe Elvis beat you to this, in a thread yesterday. I shall soak in the sweet irony of a mod making a duplicate thread and being reported by Elvis. Haha! I did, in the Around the NHL sub-forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircool Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 So who won the trade? I mean Buffalo gave him a big contract, so maybe we won the trade. Although that being said, we traded a pick with Kassian for Prust, who turned out to be Captain Pylon with an extra dash of quitter. So we gave away a pick to get rid of Kassian... Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.... After all the discussion I think it's fair to say, that trade was a complete wash, which is kind of sad LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynwa Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 His family should've stayed out of things at the beginning. Not too different from the Lindros fiasco, although he (Lindros) was still able to have a successful career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pears Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 3 hours ago, LaBamba said: ROH? Never forget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honeydews Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhgCaHsidSY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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