OHL North Bay Battalion

Hodgson invited to selection camp

Published on June 19, 2007 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


BRAMPTON, Ont. - Centre Cody Hodgson of the Brampton Battalion is one of 40 players invited to the selection camp for the Canadian summer under-18 team, Hockey Canada has announced.

Hodgson is one of eight Ontario Hockey League players invited to the camp, set to run Aug. 4-9 at Calgary. A 22-man roster, made up of players born in 1990 or later, will compete in an Aug. 14-18 tournament renamed in memory of Czechoslovakian star Ivan Hlinka in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Canada's head coach is Dave Barr, who holds the same post with the Guelph Storm.

"It's really exciting," Hodgson, 17, said by telephone from his Markham, Ont., home. "It's a great opportunity. It's an honour to be invited, but my goal is to make the team."

The selection camp roster comprises 24 forwards, 12 defencemen and four goaltenders. Hodgson is one of seven invited players who earned gold with the Ontario under-17 team at the Canada Winter Games at Whitehorse, Yukon, last February.

"There are some great players from Ontario, and I'm looking forward to seeing those guys in Calgary. There was some great talent from the other provinces in the Yukon. I'm looking forward to trying out against those guys."

Hodgson was the Battalion's first-round pick in the 2006 OHL Priority Selection. He had 23 goals and 23 assists for 46 points in 63 games last season before adding one goal and three assists for four points in as many playoff games.

The Battalion has placed five players on the Canadian summer under-18 team. Head coach Stan Butler won a gold medal in 1999 in the Czech Republic with a squad that included defencemen Jay Harrison and Tyler Hanchuck. Centre Jay McClement earned gold in Slovakia in 2000, while left winger Wojtek Wolski was part of a fourth-place finish in the Czech Republic in 2003. Defenceman John de Gray captured gold in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 2005.

Hockey Canada ices two under-18 teams. Canada, which has won the summer tournament the last three years, finished fourth at the World Under-18 Championship in Finland last April.

"There will be high expectations for this team based on the success they've had in the past," said Hodgson. "I think that's good. It will keep the guys motivated."

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