Hodgson's injury keeps him from world juniors

The risk of rushing back was not worth it for Cody Hodgson.

Hodgson has informed Canadian junior team officials that his back ailment will prohibit him from attending the selection camp in Regina on Saturday. It means he will not play for Canada at the IIHF World Under-20 Championship in Saskatchewan later this month.

The Canadian juniors will be chasing an unprecedented sixth consecutive world title, and they were hoping to have Hodgson in the lineup to lead the way. But the 19-year-old Vancouver Canucks prospect still is experiencing pain as he trains to return to game action.

"It wasn’t a tough decision because I have to worry about my long-term future," Hodgson said. "I’m progressing. But after so much time away I’m just not there yet. I’m still in physio anywhere from four to five to six hours a day."

Hodgson injured his back in an off-ice training session last July. But he was thrown into action in six preseason games and was cut by the Canucks. When he returned to his Toronto-area home after Vancouver’s training camp, Hodgson visited sports injury specialist Dr. Tony Miniaci at his clinic in Cleveland.

It was discovered that Hodgson had a bulging disc that was pinching his sciatic nerve into his spine. A recent magnetic resonance imaging test revealed that Hodgson’s troublesome disc still is protruding. Therefore, he has not been cleared to play for his Brampton Battalion junior club. 

"There still is some pain," he said. "But I’m skating and I believe I’m progressing. I just can’t set a timeline yet for when I’m going to start playing again."

Big things were expected of Hodgson this season. He not only was one of Canada’s top performers at the world juniors a year ago, he went on to lead the Battalion to the Ontario Hockey League final and was named Canadian junior player of the year. After the Battalion were eliminated by the Windsor Spitfires in the OHL final, Hodgson joined the Manitoba Moose and was impressive in the AHL team’s run to the Calder Cup final.

An average day in Hodgson’s comeback includes a morning visit to a physiotherapist, an hour in the gym, more therapy from Battalion trainers, an on-ice session and more therapy to relax his back muscles.

The Canadian juniors will not replace Hodgson on the invitation list.