#73: The Cody Smith Story [2/2]

[cody73 87]

Cody Scott Smith was born on May 17, 2001 at Women's College Hospital in Toronto, Ontario..... however, his birth was unexpected to his mother, Tina. Cody, not expected to arrive until early August, was diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy, and had to spend the first 7 weeks of his life in the hospital. However, this did not faze the young boy, who went on to defy his doctors expectations.... being fully able bodied, save for some orthotics until the age of 8. By then, Smith was seen as a regular kid, one who loved to play sports. His 1st real love was basketball, particularly idolising then Toronto Raptor Vince Carter. However, he struggled with shooting the ball & was seen as small & slow by the other kids.... so one day, he decided to join the other kids playing hockey in the school yard. From there, Smith realised he could shoot.... but instead of it being on a basketball hoop. it was on a goalie in a hockey net. He was able to use his good hockey play, along with being genuinely friendly to everyone he met to make friends at school, but this was harder for him than for other kids.... at first, he didn't know why until he was 12, when Smith was once again, diagnosed with another disability, this one being Asperger's Syndrome, a type of autism. This explained a lot of things about the young boy.... while he enjoyed playing with others from time to time,  another one of his passions was being alone, reading books. He struggled with making friends, and was often bullied by the other kids, who took advantage of his naivety..... which when discovered by him after the fact, led to outbursts and fights, leading Smith to the detention office whilst the bullies would get off free.

This would change however when Smith was 13.... where thanks to a move, he had started at a new school and found out the school hosted a ball hockey league. Smith went ahead and decided to sign up, getting on a team called the Sharks roster, along with another new kid to the school named Richard.... a slick athlete who was everything Smith wasn't: Tall, strong, fast on his feet and could dangle.... the team opted to use them as a unlikely duo, with Smith doing a dump and chase style with Richard.... flinging the ball down the court to him, where he then would dangle out the D and score. This led to a lot of goals for the Sharks, who went on to be the best team in the league, making the Finals after the season was over. However, during the season, Smith had not been able to show off the shot that had garnered him love at his previous school. That changed in game 7 of the Finals between his Sharks & the team facing them in the Finals, the so called "Canadiens", led by a kid named Felix, who was a bit of a smug asshole. Instead of playing Cody & Richard together like usual, the coach of the team, a man named Mr. Bacon, decided to split them up, hoping to get more scoring this way. However, the big surprise of the day was Cody, who ended up netting a hat trick, which included the OT winner. This was the highlight of Smith's year, where he decided he was going to learn how to skate so he could play some real hockey. 

Smith's dream of playing ice-hockey got off to a rough start, thanks to another small move that made him shift regions once again, this time being near the Scarborough Bluffs. His foot speed was already slow, and him being a novice skater didn't help matters. However, he was able to get some minutes on a single-A club known as the Skulls, coached by a man named Waye Douglas Chard, a man respected in the community, who took a liking to Cody.... seeing a smart kid whose shot could be a weapon. While Smith was playing only 4th line minutes on the regular lines, Chard opted to implement Smith on his 2nd power play unit, using him once again on a dump & chase unit.... this time, though, as the guy getting set-up, making Smith have to chase down the ice to get the puck, thus helping him work on both his speed and his skating ability in general. That first year went by decently, with Smith notching 10 goals and having 12 assists for 22 points..... while Chard worked with him during the summer months, getting his skating up and rewarding the kid by taking him out for lunch as well as going to the occassional Blue Jay game with him. 

By the time September rolled around, Smith was much faster on his skates, had some deking ability and had taught himself how to hit as well as brace for impact from other players, leading him to be used on the 1st line, power play & penalty kill for the Skulls, where he had 50 goal campaign as the team's leading scorer. Now being 16, Smith was garnering attention as a late OHL prospect, and was expected to perhaps make a club or two.... when his life changed, once again. 

Mr. Chard, who Smith had seen as a grandfather figure, passed away on April 13th, 2017..... and Smith decided to leave hockey entirely, refusing to play a third year for the Skulls and deciding to not forgo his OHL tryout that had had received from the Oshawa Generals. This led to Smith falling into a pit of depression, dropping out of school and after a fight with his mother, he left home, shelter hopping for roughly 3 months. Luckily for him, he was able to find a place in Oshawa, where he worked hard to earn his high school diploma..... and it was then he met a man named Foster Cromwell, who ran a hockey beer league and decided to get Smith to join. 

Smith did indeed join, and he refound his love for the ice, the game, and most importantly, patched things up with his Mother..... and that' when the Halifax 21st of the VHLM gave him a call. Smith accepted their one year offer, knowing after the season, he would be draft eligible. Smith ended up playing a mix of 2nd & 3rd line minutes on the Maritime squad, notching only 3 goals in his season with the club to go along with 20 assists..... as the 21st made it all the way to the Founders Cup Final, sadly losing in 6 games. Smith then was drafted by the newfound expansion club, the Mississauga Hounds in the VHLM Dispersal Draft, and by the Calgary Wranglers of the VHL Draft, who see him as the team's next big prospect. 

Smith so far has played 25 games for the Hounds & has 35 points this year (19 G & 16 A), while also captaining the club. He's also cracked the Team Canada WJC roster, where he's expected to play a 3rd line role. What the future holds remains to be seen for #73, but given all he's been through, one should look forward to this kid lighting the VHL up for years to come. 

[Quik 4,113]

Interesting read @cody73!

[fonziGG 1,065]

Review:

 

Great story with lots of interesting subjects. Only thing I'd suggest is that you added some pictures so we could get more of a visualization of that story. Great bio!