Hodgson tabbed to carry Olympic torch

BRAMPTON, Ont. – Cody Hodgson will carry the Olympic torch when it passes through his home town of Markham, Ont., on Dec. 17, it was announced Thursday.
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rBrampton Battalion centre Hodgson will be the final Markham torchbearer. The torch, on a cross-Canada tour in advance of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games at Vancouver, will pass through Brampton the following day.
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r“It’s a huge honour,” said Hodgson. “I’m really proud to have a chance to represent Markham and be involved in the Olympics in Canada. This is something I will always remember.”
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rMayor Frank Scarpitti, chairman of Markham’s torch relay committee, contacted Hodgson in November to see whether the Ontario Hockey League star would be interested.
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rHodgson wasn’t sure he could take part, as he expected to be at the Canadian national junior team’s selection camp at Regina. A member of the Canadian team that won gold at the World Junior Championship at Ottawa in January, Hodgson has been sidelined with a back injury since being returned to the Battalion on Sept. 29 by the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League. He informed Hockey Canada on Monday that he would be unable to attend the camp.
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r“My dad told me the mayor had called my house and said he wanted to talk to me. I had no idea what he wanted. I was asked if I would do it, but at the time I wasn’t sure because I thought I would be at the junior team camp. It’s unfortunate I can’t go the camp, but it enabled me to do this.
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r“It was tough to have to call Brad Pascall at Hockey Canada and tell him I couldn’t make it. I have been making strides, but I still have pain and I haven’t recovered fully.”
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rOn the Town of Markham website, Scarpitti said: “As a community and as a nation, we were all proud to watch Cody and his teammates win the World Junior Championship earlier this year. The whole world will be watching him once again as he carries the Olympic torch to the stage right here in Markham.”
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rHodgson was named the Canadian Hockey League’s Player of the Year for last season after having won recognition as the OHL’s Most Outstanding Player. He said his busy hockey schedule precluded any prior recognition from the Town of Markham.
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rAfter leading the Battalion to the OHL Championship Series against the Windsor Spitfires, Hodgson played with the Manitoba Moose, the Canucks’ American Hockey League affiliate, during their run to the Calder Cup final, which they lost in six games to the Hershey Bears.
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r“The mayor told me they wanted to do something for me after the season, but I went off to Manitoba and we just couldn’t get the schedules to work out. The mayor said this is something they wanted me to do, and I’m very appreciative of it.”
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rA native of Toronto, Hodgson moved to Markham in 1998, playing five seasons in the Markham Waxers organization.
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r“It was a lot of fun and great to grow up there. There are a lot of people from Markham who contributed to my success to this point.”
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rA first-round pick in the 2006 OHL Priority Selection, Hodgson is tied with Raffi Torres for second place on the Battalion’s career points list. Hodgson, who has 106 goals and 117 assists for 223 points in 184 games, is third all-time in goals, assists and power-play goals. He holds the club career record for game-winning goals with 22.