Former NHLer Cody Hodgson reveals the REAL reason he was forced to retire in new documentary

Flash back in time 10 years and you may recall that Cody Hodgson was one of the hottest prospects in all of hockey. Drafted 10th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Hodgson had torn up the OHL with the Brampton Battalion, won the CHL’s Player of the Year award and was arguably the best player  a dominant team Canada World Junior squad full of future NHL superstars like John Tavares, Jamie Benn and P.K. Subban. Flash forward to present day and Hodgson is out of hockey altogether… and no one is quite sure why, until now.

Despite a promising start to his NHL career, Hodgson struggled with consistency throughout his 328 NHL games. In his rookie season, the shifty center put up a respectable 19 goals and 41 points in 83 games split between the Canucks and the Buffalo Sabres. Hodgson was traded in a surprise deal at the 2012 Trade Deadline in a one for one deal for fellow prospect Zack Kassian. During the trade announcement then Canucks general manager Mike Gillis made it clear that personal issues had affected Hodgson’s play and that the team was happy to move on from him. Hodgson would go on to put up decent numbers with the Sabres, but after signing a massive six year, $25.5 million with the Sabres in 2013, Hodgson’s game all but fell off a map. He was bought out of his contract just two years later and attempted a short comeback with the Nashville Predators that lasted only 39 games. Just five years after making his NHL debut, Hodgson would be out of the league entirely. 

At the time of his retirement Hodgson claimed that back injuries and the complications surrounding rehabilitation of his injuries ultimately led to his decision to retire, but a new documentary simply titled “Hodgson” is shedding light on the real reasons Hodgson was forced to quit the game of hockey. 

Those reasons? A rare genetic disorder called malignant hyperthermia that made physical activity extremely difficult and dangerous. 

“I was having trouble breathing i was blacking out and my muscles were extremely tight. My whole body was just shaking,” says Hodgson in the film.

Hodgson has partnered with the RYR-1 Foundation, a group that’s trying to spread awareness about the condition, and has created a documentary about the disorder, and says he’s looking to raise awareness about it. The documentary will get its first screening in Toronto in early December. 

Check out the trailer below: