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Canucks prospect Cody Hodgson gets instruction from... Claude Lemieux?!

Vancouver Canucks v Anaheim Ducks

ANAHEIM, CA - OCTOBER 01: Cody Hodgson #39 of the Vancouver Canucks controls the puck against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on October 1, 2010 in Anaheim, California. Vancouver won 4-2. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

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Canucks fans are excited to have young rookie prospect Cody Hodgson eventually leave his mark on the NHL in the form of being the latest scoring stud in Vancouver. After all, the Canucks have had guys like Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, and Ryan Kesler emerge under their watch and the one thing a loaded team needs is yet another weapon to throw out on the ice.

Hodgson had his troubles cracking the Canucks lineup last year with the team being as loaded up as they were and with the center position having as much talent as they did, Alain Vigneault opted to not go with Hodgson very often when injuries interrupted the team’s flow. This year, Hodgson is looking to make the Canucks main roster and stay there all year and he’s looking for an edge to do that. Who better to ask for tips than Claude Lemieux, right?

Uh... Wait, that Claude Lemieux? You bet it is and Tony Gallagher of The Vancouver Province has the story on how a legendary agitator is lending a hand to a potential rising star.

Lemieux is involved with a company called 4Star which works with and represents athletes, and they’ve established a working arrangement with Hodgson’s agent, Ritch Winter’s Sports Corporation, to help their hockey clients. Hodgson is one of the higher-profile players to have this type of help.

“We’ve had a number of discussions with the coaches and management in Vancouver and we expect to talk from time to time,” said Lemieux, who is really looking forward to the new role as a substitute for playing. “Being able to help another player, to me it’s the next best thing to playing yourself and that’s something I can’t do anymore.”

“He’s helped me with quite a few things,” says Hodgson. “We’ve worked on mental preparation, footwork, shooting and places to shoot and different ways of scoring. It’s been really interesting.”


Nothing about infuriating opponents, turtling in a fight, and hitting players questionably? Come on, that’s not full bang for the buck.

Hodgson looking to get a better edge for his game and to improve his play is a great thing for a young player to want to improve on. After all, the Canucks got a great first-hand look at what a young player can do when he adds a bit of nasty to his game when they couldn’t find a way to handle Boston’s Brad Marchand in the Stanley Cup finals. That’s not to say that’s the sort of action Hodgson will add to his game, but it couldn’t hurt either.

For Hodgson, emerging as an offensive threat could help him get an opportunity to get more time on the power play and more minutes than he saw in his time with Vancouver last season. In just eight games with the Canucks last season, Hodgson averaged just 7:45 of ice time and for any player, never mind a guy who’s looking to score points, that’s just not enough time to be productive. Hodgson spent most of last season in the AHL with Manitoba. There he had 17 goals and 13 assists in 52 games. All of those numbers must improve if he’s going to be a future threat in Vancouver. Luckily for both the Canucks and Hodgson, he’s just 21 years-old.

If Hodgson is going to make the Canucks roster, having some of that Lemieux nastiness to his game will help him earn more minutes on the third and fourth lines in Vigneault’s system. If he can learn how to be effective around the net the way Lemieux was, he’ll wind up having a long and successful career. After all, getting tips from a former Conn Smythe Trophy winner isn’t the worst thing in the world.