Cody Hodgson - Early Life

Early Life

Hodgson was born in Toronto, Ontario, to Marie and Chris Hodgson and moved to Markham. Ontario at the age of 8. His father is the president of the Ontario Mining Association and a former Ontario provincial Progressive Conservative cabinet minister in Premier Mike Harris's government, while his mother is the executive director of a day care. He has an older brother Clayton, and two sisters, Charlotte and Caroline, who play organized hockey. Hodgson grew up in Haliburton with his family until they moved to Markham, Ontario, in 1998. The family would return in the summers to their cabin on Haliburton Lake.

Hodgson began playing organized hockey at age four in Haliburton, Ontario. 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, 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 31 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.

He 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.