Whakaotihia te rerenga e whai ake nei: I tīmata a Hodgson ki te takaro i te hokai whakahaere i te wha o ona tau i Haliburton. Kei te takaro ia mo nga Haliburton Huskies o te Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA), he hoa takaro ia ki a Matt Duchene. Ko nga hoa tokorua o te tamarikitanga me te takaro tahi i roto i o raatau mahi iti me te taiohi, tae atu ki te Brampton Battalion me nga roopu a motu o Canada i raro i te 18 me te 20 tau. He hoa hoki tōna whānau ki te whānau o Jeff Skinner e tipu ana i Markham. I takaro a Hodgson i te hokai bantam me te Toronto Jr. Canadiens o te Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL), hei rangatira mo te roopu e wha atu nga kaitakaro o muri mai.
2008 NHL drafted <unk> Alex Pietrangelo, Tyler Cuma, Josh Brittain me Stefan Della Rovere. Ko tana noho ki te kapa i uru atu ki te whakataetae kawanatanga. I uru atu a Hodgson ki te OMHA's Markham Waxers, i whakataetae me ta raatau roopu bantam i te 2004 <unk> 05, ka eke ki te taumata midget i te 2005 <unk> 06. I tuhia e ia he kaupapa 51-tohu mo nga keemu 30 i tana wa midget, i te wa e tuhi ana i tetahi awhina mo nga keemu e rua me te taha Junior A o te karapu. I a ia e noho ana ki te kaupapa Waxers, i takaro ia i te taha o nga kaitakaro NHL a muri ake nei a Steven Stamkos me Michael Del Zotto. I takaro hoki a Hodgson i te taha o Stamkos i nga roopu raumati a-tau, mai i te 11 o ona tau.