Cody Hodgson - International Play

International Play

Hodgson first competed internationally for Canada at the 2007 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in Hodonín, Czech Republic and Piešťany, Slovakia. Although favoured to win the tournament, Canada finished in fourth place. He scored two goals in the 5–4 bronze medal game loss to Russia. In total, Hodgson contributed a team-high five points in four games, tied with Steven Stamkos. Hodgson also represented Ontario later that year at the 2007 Canada Winter Games, winning gold over Manitoba 6–4 in the gold medal game.

Hodgson next represented Canada at the 2008 IIHF World U18 Championships in Kazan, Russia. Playing in the quarter-finals against Finland, Hodgson was named player of the game after scoring the game-winning goal in a 2–1 victory. Hodgson finished with a tournament-high 12 points in seven games, leading Canada as team captain to its second IIHF World U18 gold medal with an 8–0 victory over tournament host Russia. He was chosen as one of Canada's three top players by tournament coaches, along with forward Jordan Eberle and goaltender Jake Allen.

In his third year of junior, Hodgson was selected to compete in the 2009 World Junior Championships with Team Canada in Ottawa. He was chosen as an alternate captain to defenceman Thomas Hickey. In the second round-robin game against Kazakhstan, Hodgson accumulated six points (two goals and four assists), coming within one point of the single-game Canadian record held by Mike Cammalleri and Dave Andreychuk. The following round-robin game against the United States, he scored the game-winning goal in a 7–4 win to lead Team Canada to first place in their pool and a bye to the semi-finals. Facing Sweden in the final game, Hodgson scored two goals – one on the powerplay and an empty-netter – and one assist to overtake John Tavares as the tournament leading scorer with five goals and 11 assists for 16 points in six games. Team Canada defeated Sweden 5–1 to capture the gold medal while Hodgson was named to the Tournament All-Star Team. Returning from the tournament, Hodgson was asked to drop the ceremonial faceoff for a Toronto Maple Leafs game against the Florida Panthers on January 6, 2009.

Leading up to the 2010 World Junior Championships in Saskatchewan, Hodgson was named to Team Canada's selection camp roster on December 2, 2009, despite not yet playing in an OHL game during the 2009–10 season due to a back injury. However, he notified Hockey Canada five days later that his back was not yet ready and that he would not participate in the selection camp.