"Cody Hodgson slices through the slot, calling for the puck. It lands on his stick and, in a wink, it's over Eddie Lack's shoulder and in the net. Pretty slick play in a pretty sloppy game of shinny with the Canucks at UBC Tuesday.

Twenty minutes later, Hodgson is still on the ice. It's 90 minutes since he got there. He's alone now, and doing laps.

Flush in sweat, he finally steps off.

"I always feel better when I do that," he says.

In his second sentence he says he's approaching this season with a "fresh start" perspective. He needs one. And it couldn't come at a better time.

Hodgson, you'd think, is about to get the opportunity he's long needed. A report Monday suggests Ryan Kesler could be out until mid-November. That's a long time for the Canucks to be without their linchpin centre. It could be jarring for some, who heard reports earlier in the summer which suggested Kesler hadn't ruled out the start of the season."