Justin Hodgman (born June 27, 1988) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player who last played for UK Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) side Sheffield Steelers.[1]

Justin Hodgman
Born (1988-06-27) June 27, 1988 (age 36)
Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 196 lb (89 kg; 14 st 0 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Right
Played for Pelicans
Metallurg Magnitogorsk
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod
Admiral Vladivostok
Arizona Coyotes
Örebro HK
HC Dynamo Pardubice
Krefeld Pinguine
Ferencvárosi TC
Sheffield Steelers
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2008–2022

Playing career

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Hodgman was a three-time Turner Cup champion with the Fort Wayne Komets in the IHL. He is the youngest player in IHL history to win the Turner Cup playoff MVP award at the age of 19.[2] He played junior hockey for the Erie Otters of the OHL. While playing for the Erie Otters he led the team in scoring three of his four seasons 2007, 2008, 2009. After going undrafted by NHL clubs, he signed as a free agent with the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League in 2009.[3] In his first full professional season in 2009–10, Hodgman was loaned to the ECHL team Toledo Walleye before he was traded by the IceHogs to the Toronto Marlies to play out the year on January 21, 2010.[4]

After three seasons abroad in Finnish Liiga and the Russian Kontinental Hockey League, Hodgman returned to North America signing a one-year two way contract with the Arizona Coyotes on July 1, 2014.[5] Despite a strong training camp, Hodgman was assigned to begin the year with the Portland Pirates. On October 25, 2015, Hodgman was recalled by Arizona and in his first NHL game, he scored his first career goal on the powerplay against Roberto Luongo of the Florida Panthers.[6] Hodgman was unable to secure a regular role with the Coyotes, appearing in 5 games.

On July 8, 2015, Hodgman continued in North America, signing a one-year two-way contract with the St. Louis Blues.[7] In the 2015–16 season, Hodgman was reassigned to add depth to AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. He appeared in 15 games with the Wolves, producing 6 assists, before opting to return to Europe. After clearing unconditional waivers and accepting a mutual termination of his contract with the Blues, Hodgman signed an optional two-year deal with Swedish club, Örebro HK of the top tier SHL on January 4, 2016.[8]

Hodgman split the 2016–17 season, between HC Dynamo Pardubice of the Czech Extraliga and Pelicans of the Liiga. In scoring 20 points in 26 games in his second stint with the Pelicans.

Hodgman opted to return in the offseason to his first professional club, the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL on July 18, 2017.[9] Hodgman played two further seasons in Fort Wayne, before returning to Europe following the 2018–19 campaign in signing a one-year contract with German club, Krefeld Pinguine of the DEL, on May 29, 2019.[10]

Hodgman continued his career abroad in the 2020–21 season moving to Ferencvárosi TC of the Erste Liga in Budapest, Hungary.

In June 2021, UK EIHL side Sheffield Steelers announced Hodgman had signed terms ahead of the 2021–22 season.[11] Hodgman retired from hockey in April 2022 following Sheffield's play-off quarter-final defeat to the Dundee Stars.[12][13]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2004–05 Huntsville Otters OPJHL 44 10 10 20 36
2005–06 Erie Otters OHL 57 7 13 20 55
2006–07 Erie Otters OHL 67 19 32 51 63
2007–08 Erie Otters OHL 64 37 43 80 75
2007–08 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 11 4 4 8 7 13 7 7 14 12
2008–09 Erie Otters OHL 66 24 42 66 71 5 0 1 1 4
2008–09 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 6 2 3 5 20 11 7 5 12 16
2009–10 Toledo Walleye ECHL 33 9 12 21 35
2009–10 Toronto Marlies AHL 38 7 5 12 23
2009–10 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 3 1 2 3 0 10 4 13 17 8
2010–11 Toronto Marlies AHL 42 12 17 29 44
2010–11 Reading Royals ECHL 3 0 1 1 4
2011–12 Lahti Pelicans SM-l 59 14 39 53 123 17 3 8 11 42
2012–13 Metallurg Magnitogorsk KHL 51 11 20 31 46 7 1 1 2 18
2013–14 Metallurg Magnitogorsk KHL 18 3 6 9 12
2013–14 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod KHL 14 1 6 7 6
2013–14 Admiral Vladivostok KHL 17 3 7 10 12 5 1 3 4 2
2014–15 Portland Pirates AHL 62 11 24 35 55
2014–15 Arizona Coyotes NHL 5 1 0 1 2
2015–16 Chicago Wolves AHL 15 0 6 6 21
2015–16 Örebro HK SHL 11 1 3 4 2
2016–17 HC Pardubice CZE 5 0 2 2 0
2016–17 Lahti Pelicans FIN 26 10 10 20 80 4 1 1 2 4
2017–18 Fort Wayne Komets ECHL 30 9 16 25 26 1 0 0 0 0
2018–19 Fort Wayne Komets ECHL 50 15 41 56 53 4 0 1 1 17
2019–20 Krefeld Pinguine DEL 33 2 14 16 12
2020–21 Ferencvárosi TC Erste Liga 33 14 26 40 14 8 3 3 6
2021–22 Sheffield Steelers EIHL 51 10 24 34 24 2 0 0 0 0
KHL totals 100 22 35 57 76 12 2 4 6 20
NHL totals 5 1 0 1 2

References

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  1. ^ "Steelers Sign Centre Justin Hodgman".
  2. ^ "One for the ages". The Journal Gazette. 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2014-10-27.
  3. ^ "Hodgman signs first AHL contract with Hogs". Rockford IceHogs. 2009-08-17. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  4. ^ "Hodgman dealt to Toronto". Rockford IceHogs. 2010-01-21. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  5. ^ "Coyotes sign Bolduc, Campbell, Hodgman, McKenna and Reese". Arizona Coyotes. 2014-07-01. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
  6. ^ "Hodgman, Ekman-Larsson help Coyotes top Panthers". NHL. 2014-10-26. Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  7. ^ @StLouisBlues (2015-07-08). "The Blues have agreed to terms on a contract with forward Justin Hodgman, who played 62 games with the AHL's Portland Pirates last season" (Tweet). Retrieved 2015-07-08 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ "Justin Hodgman ready for OHK" (in Swedish). Örebro HK. 2016-01-04. Retrieved 2016-01-04.
  9. ^ "Komets sign three time Turner Cup champ Justin Hodgman". Fort Wayne Komets. 2017-07-18. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  10. ^ "Import license 9 goes to Justin Hodgman" (in German). Krefeld Pinguine. May 29, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  11. ^ "Hodgman first new face for Steelers". 21 August 2019.
  12. ^ @J_Hodgie88 (27 April 2022). "Well folks, that's it for me. After playing my first game 15 seasons ago, I am officially retiring from professiona…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ @steelershockey (27 April 2022). "🍊🏒Our #12 Justin Hodgman announces his retirement from professional hockey. Thank you for your contributions on…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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