Sabres F Cody Hodgson shifting from center to left wing
With head coach Ted Nolan officially on board for the foreseeable future, the Buffalo Sabres are using the remainder of the regular season to assess what they have in terms of personnel.
While Tyler Ennis and Zemgus Girgensons appear on track to be the team's top two centers, Cody Hodgson will get a look on the wing to see where he might fit best next season.
“We want to see where he best fits with the team moving forward,” Nolan told the Olean Times Herald. “Maybe he’s a better winger. Also, you have to get him with the right people, get him the puck because once Cody has the puck within a certain footage of that net, he has a good chance of putting it in."
The move to wing, therefore, would allow Hodgson to focus on his offensive game.
“He’s not known for his great defense, and we don’t want him to play great defense," said Nolan. "We want him to score offensively. But you have to be reliable defensively. One thing about the wing position, it’s not as complicated as playing center ice.”
The 24-year-old has scored 17 goals and 21 assists while registering 160 shots on goal, career-highs in all three categories.