Holding a dual Finnish-Canadian citizenship, Hudson was omitted from the Under Eighteen Team Canada team and instead played for Finland and it was there he made a name for himself.
HUDSON BACKENBAUER ROOKIE PROFILE
Hometown: Turku, FIN (Canadian)
Jersey Number: #44 (his father wore #4)
Birthday: October 18th (Aged 17)
Position: Left Wing
Player Type: Two Way Forward
Height: 6'1" (72 inches)
Weight: 192lbs
Hudson's mother, Ellen Backenbauer only recently discovered her and her husband, the then Brampton Blades star Hanz Backenbauer would have a child when Hanz was traded to the Turku Outlaws. Hudson would be born in Turku the following October and spend his very early days watching the Outlaws play every other night.
Now, however, Hanz has officially retired from the game, angering many Iron Eagles fan (Hanz was a top prospect for the Iron Eagles) which caused a lot of hate and rage to be unloaded on Hudson. It was a given that Hudson would be a VHLM prospect at some point and Hudson confirmed that just a week ago. Just seventeen year old, Hudson is extremely physically mature but lacks the mental strength and is quoted as having 'commitment issues' and 'attitude issues' much like his father.
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At the tender age of seven, Hanz and his family moved to Ottawa, Ontario. Hudson spoke very little English, and only spoke Finnish and German. He, however, spoke fluent hockey. Despite such, Hudson was an early cut from the Cumberland Novice 'A' Grads because of his inability to understand instructions and strange skating patterns. Hudson was the last player to make the Cumberland Novice 'B' Grads and was a role player -- he was big, strong, and was a rough house. He was only eight.
He was the only novice player in his league to have more penalty minutes than games played. However, Hudson was cemented into the hearts of Grads coaches and teammates for his willingness to stand up for his teammates and desire to play the game. The next season, Hudson was a star player on the 'AAA' Novice Grads and was the obvious captain. He led the team to Ontario Championships and year after year he did more of the same. He was dubbed as one of the top prospects coming out of Ottawa and gained a lot of extra exposure because of his father.
His status only soared when he was considered a solid candidate for the 2012 Team Canada Under Eighteen Team. He, however, wasn't even invited to the training camp which was a dream to the U18 Finland team, and they pounced on Hudson, who was over joyed to play for Finland. Ironically, in the semi-finals which featured Canada versus Finland, Hudson scored the game tying goal with six seconds left to sent it to overtime. In the shootout, Hudson scored the first shootout goal in the second round of the contest which proved to be the game winning shootout goal. Despite Finland falling 4-2 in the finals to the United States of America, Hudson was a house held name around the hockey world, expect for in Canada, he was scowled and booed everywhere he went.
It was cool though, Hudson loved it.
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Cons
[-] Discipline - A hot head himself on and off the ice, Hudson draws penalties, but don't be fooled, he takes more than his fair share. He has a very bad temper, which isn't the way to be when you're a star player.
[-] Scoring - Despite scoring some big goals at the World Championships and in his league, Hudson isn't a noted goal scorer. By nature, he prefers to pass it, which is probably good, because he can't 'snipe'.
[-] Faceoffs - The bad thing about this is when Hudson has to kill penalties in a 3 on 5, meaning he's forced to take a faceoff he will more than likely lose. Other than that, it's not a big problem, because Hudson is a left winger, and if he can't be, he will gladly play on the right side.
Pros
[+] Passing - Backhand pass, between the legs pass, blind pass, short pass, breakaway pass... Hudson can pass. He has very good vision and enjoys setting his teammates up rather than scoring himself.
[+] Checking - Hudson is quite big for his age at 6'1" and 192lbs, which makes him effective in a checking role. He bangs bodies hard and shows no mercy against smaller opponents and in turn, does not shy away from hitting larger players.
[+] Defense - Hudson is very mature defensively and rarely gives the puck away. While most players his age are all about the offense and hang their goalie and defense out to dry, Hudson back checks and poses a strong two way threat.
Hudson is most comparable to Boston Bruins forward, Loui Eriksson
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