Hodgson and Timmins Make Their NHL Debuts

Two former OHL stars began their NHL careers Tuesday night for their respective teams.

For one, it was a long-time coming, and the other, well, he was just happy to have the opportunity to play after a surprise re-call.

Cody Hodgson

The former Brampton Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League finally made his awaited debut with the Vancouver Canucks, skating on a line with Tanner Glass and Aaron Volpatti in a 4-1 win over the Dallas Stars.

The 10th overall pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Hodgson did not look out of place, playing 15 shifts with 9:52 of ice-time and two shots, while winning two of nine face-off opportunities.

Halfway through the first period, with Stephane Robidas in the penalty box, Hodgson got some time on the second power play unit with Mason Raymond and Alex Burrows.  After deflecting a shot from the point standing in front of the net, Hodgson almost slid one through the legs of goaltender Kari Lehtonen, but was stopped point blank.

Hodgson said after the game that he felt healthy and strong, and that he had fun in his first NHL game.

“It’s a dream come true to play in the National Hockey League and to be able to get that opportunity.  I just took it all in, I enjoyed it and it was a good time.”

It wasn’t all fun however, as he was given rookie treatment, not just once, but twice as the Canucks hid his helmet before the game, forcing Hodgson to skate the pre-game warm up – solo at first – without a bucket.

“We thought his first game he had to play with a cage so we’d let him skate in the warm up and let the fans be able to see his face and what he looks like,” Alex Burrows said of the prank post-game.

He was quick to compliment the soon to be 21-year old however.

“He’s a big part of our future and he’s playing right now for us and he’s doing a good job.”

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Scott Timmins

It was another dream come true for a former OHL’er Tuesday night, as Scott Timmins, three-time OHL champion and two-time Memorial Cup champion with the Windsor Spitfires, played his first NHL game for the Florida Panthers against his childhood team, the Toronto Maple Leafs.

With center Shawn Matthias out with a broken ankle, Timmins was re-called from the Rochester Americans of the AHL, in what was – to him anyways – a bit of a surprise move by the club.

“I did not expect this at all. It’s just amazing to be here,” said Timmins to the media in attendance at the ACC.  “Every Saturday night, I was watching the Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada. This is really exciting. I think I’ve had a pretty solid season in Rochester and this is a little reward. If I get into a game or two, I have to make the most of it.”

And make the most of it he did.

Even though there wasn’t as much fanfare as Hodgson’s debut in Vancouver, Timmins was solid playing center in a fourth line checking role, finishing with 14 shifts, a total of 10:25 of ice-time, and two penalty minutes.

The statistic that stood out the most however?  His 75% success rate on face-offs, good for tops on the team, and something that could help him stick with the big club for a little while longer.

Timmins, a sixth-round pick of the Panthers in 2009, has 10 goals and 21 points in his first season with the Americans, good for sixth in team scoring.

Panthers coach Peter DeBoer – who is the former coach of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers where Timmins played for 2.5 seasons before being traded to the Spitfires – knows what he can bring to the table; speed, smarts, and the willingness to go into the dirty areas of the ice.

“I’m real familiar with him,” DeBoer said in his post-game comments. “He’s capable of transitioning here. We need a center. We don’t even have a lot of wingers who are comfortable playing there.”

That familiarity could keep Timmins in the line-up.  At least, for the next little while.