Charlie Hodge (ice hockey)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Charles "Charlie" Hodge (born July 28, 1933 in Lachine, Quebec) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, and Oakland Seals in the National Hockey League.

Hodge was "an undersized battler of a goalie at 5–6 and 150 pounds." As a junior, he won a Memorial Cup in 1950 as a back-up with the Montreal Junior Canadiens.

Contents 1 NHL 2 Expansion 3 Scouting 4 Achievement 5 External links

[edit] NHL

Hodge's first NHL game occurred in 1954 with Montreal. But because teams in that era only carried one goalie, and Montreal had perhaps the best goalie of the era in Jacques Plante, Charlie was only used in emergency situations. During this time, he played mostly in the AHL. When Plante was traded in 1962, Charlie got his chance to play full-time. He twice won the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender, once outright in 1963–64 and shared with Gump Worsley in 1965–66. Hodge's name appears on the league championship Stanley Cup six times, although he only actually played in one of those finals. He also played 1 game in the finals in 1955, but lost to Detroit.

[edit] Expansion

In 1967, the league doubled in size to 12 teams. Charlie was picked up in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft by Oakland. He won a Western Hockey League title in 1969 with Oakland's farm team, the Vancouver Canucks. Hodge was an expansion pick again when the Canucks entered the NHL in 1970. He posted a winning record while sharing netminding duties with George Gardner and Dunc Wilson. He retired after being unable to come to terms with General Manager Bud Poile.

[edit] Scouting

He sold real estate for a decade until Winnipeg Jets GM John Ferguson recruited him for the team's scout in Western Canada.

Hodge lives in Aldergrove, British Columbia and acts as an amateur scout for the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning after two decades with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Hodge received Stanley Cup rings with Pittsburgh in 1991, and 1992. Rimarily scouts the Vancouver Giants and Chilliwack Bruins of the Western Hockey League and the Lower Mainland clubs in the British Columbia Hockey League.

[edit] Achievement

• Stanley Cup Champion as a goalie 1956–58–59–60–65–66 (Montreal)
• Stanley Cup ring 1991 as Scout (Pittsburgh), but left off the cup.
• Stanley Cup Champion 1992 as Scout (Pittsburgh)
• Played in finals 1955(losing to Detroit), 1965(winning with Montreal)
• Vezina Trophy 1964
• Vezina Trophy (shared with Gump Worsley) 1966

[edit] External links

• Crusty old bird dog Hodge still beating bushes for talent, By Gary Kingston, The Vancouver Sun, May 26, 2007
• Charlie Hodge (ice hockey)'s career stats at The Internet Hockey Database

Preceded by Glenn Hall	Winner of the Vezina Trophy 1964	Succeeded by Johnny Bower and Terry Sawchuck
Preceded by Johnny Bower and Terry Sawchuck	Winner of the Vezina Trophy with Gump Worsley 1966	Succeeded by Denis DeJordy and Glenn Hall