Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that Cody Hodgson of the Brampton Battalion is the recipient of the William Hanley Trophy as the OHL’s Most Sportsmanlike Player for the 2008-09 season.
Hodgson, a 19-year-old from Markham, ON, scored a career-high 43 goals and 49 assists for 92 points in 53 games played while recording just 33 penalty minutes in his third OHL season. The Battalion captain had a league-high point scoring streak of 23 games from November 21 to February 11. Hodgson recorded 26 multi-point games including a five-point game November 6 in an 8-4 win over the Plymouth Whalers where he scored four goals and one assist as the game’s first star. He also led the league in game-winning goals with 11.
Hodgson was selected by the Vancouver Canucks, 10th overall, at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He competed for Team Canada as an assistant captain and won gold at the 2009 World Junior Hockey Championships this past winter in Ottawa.
The William Hanley Trophy is awarded each year based on a selection by the member teams of the Ontario Hockey League. The trophy is presented by the OHL to commemorate William Hanley, former Secretary-Manager of the Ontario Hockey Association for over 25 years.
In a first round of balloting, teams vote for the top player within their own conference based on a nominee submitted by each member club. The top three nominees from both the Eastern and Western conferences are declared as finalists. A second round of voting is then conducted on a league wide basis where teams vote for any of the six finalists. At no time during the voting process can a team vote for their own candidate. Players receive five points for a first place vote, three points for a second place vote and one point for a third place vote.
Hodgson, a runner-up for the award last season, received 72 points in the voting process. Scott Timmins of the Windsor Spitfires finished second with 27 points just slightly ahead of Cory Tanaka of the Belleville Bulls who received 26 points.
Former winners of the William Hanley Trophy include Wayne Gretzky (Sault Ste. Marie 1977-78), Kirk Muller (Guelph 1982-83), Brian Campbell (Ottawa 1998-99), Brad Boyes (Erie 2000-01 and 2001-02), and Jeff Carter (Sault Ste. Marie 2004-05). Nick Spaling of the Kitchener Rangers won the award last season. Hodgson is the second member of the Battalion to win the award following Wojtek Wolski who was the recipient in 2005-06.
Hodgson will be presented with the William Hanley Trophy during the 2008-09 OHL Awards Ceremony taking place on Wednesday June 3 at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
