[CRS]

It will be a welcome sight for the Vancouver Canucks today at prospects camp as the team's most highly rated youngster, Cody Hodgson will be back on the ice.

The 19-year old Hodgson has been cleared to skate by team doctors after injuring his back during a routine workout earlier in the summer. While he has not been cleared for contact yet, it is a step in the right direction for a player who hopes to crack the Canucks' roster this season.

"It's a great opportunity," Hodgson told reporters at General Motors place Monday. "Obviously no one is guaranteed a spot but I'm going to work for it.

I've done all I can in Junior and now it's time to move on."

After a season in which he captured Gold for Canada and finished as the tournaments leading scorer at the IIHF World Junior hockey championship along with capturing the CHL's player of the year honours, it seems that the next logical step would be the NHL. However Canucks' head coach Alain Vigneault is doing his best to temper expectations on the young sniper.

"We're looking forward to see what he can do at this level," Vigneault told reporters. "He's definitely going to get every opportunity to show his stuff and I'm confident that's he's going to do real well."

One thing that has impressed his head coach is Hodgson's maturity and how he has dealt with the stress of being a highly rated prospect.

"I think all players have to be able to handle pressure, and pressure in a market like Vancouver is there on a daily basis," said Vigneualt. "I think Cody, in the past, has handled himself really well in situation where there has been a lot of pressure and I don't see why it should be any different."

While Hodgson is champing at the bit to resume normal hockey activity, he will not be with the team at the upcoming prospect tournament in Edmonton, however he should be ready when the Canucks' main camp gets underway on September 12th.

"I'm pretty excited," stated Hodgson. "I want to get back and it's driving me nuts not being able to have contact but I know it takes some time."

Should he make the team out of camp, Hodgson will have a great opportunity to skate on one of the team's top two scoring lines as the Canucks appear to be lacking a bit of depth at centre. Despite this, Hodgson is not taking anything for granted.

"I look at the opportunity like maybe there is a spot for me and I can take it."

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=290302