Charles Edward "Charlie" Hodge (born July 28, 1933, in Lachine, Quebec) is a former 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.

[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, Hodge was only used in emergency situations. During this time, he played mostly in the AHL. When Plante was traded in 1962, Hodge got his chance to play full-time. He twice won the Vezina Trophy for being the goaltender of the team allowing the fewest number of goals during the regular season, 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. Hodge 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

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

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

[edit] Achievements

• 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's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database

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