Vancouver Stealth team captain Curtis Hodgson has announced his retirement after 13 seasons with the National Lacrosse League team.
Hodgson has played in 211 of the Langley-based Stealth’s 216 regular season games and all 15 playoff games from 2005 to 2017.
In addition to playing hard for the lacrosse team, Hodgson recently accepted a job as vice principal at Burnaby South Secondary.
Hodgson will be succeeded by Matt Beers.
Drafted in 2011, Beers has played all seven seasons of his career with the Stealth organization.
This won’t be his first time as a team captain. The Coquitlam native lead the Jr. A Adanacs in 2010, where he was named defender of the year.
“It is an honour to be named as the next team Captain,” said Beers. “Curtis has instilled the values we follow and I will do my best to continue what he achieved moving forward.
The team is pleased with the transition.
“Matt has been a leader since his arrival as a twenty-year-old and possesses all the characteristics we want in our team leader,” said Doug Locker, Stealth president and GM. “Matt not only is one of the league’s best defenders but is also passionate about the Stealth, his teammates and the growth of lacrosse here in British Columbia.”
“Curtis has embodied everything that is good about our sport over his entire career,” Locker said. “He has been an exceptional player on the floor and an unbelievable leader to a generation of players off the floor. He has always been a great ambassador of the game. As an organization we are very grateful to him for his years of loyalty, sacrifice, leadership and commitment. He is a very special person and we are happy that he will continue with the team in other capacities now that his playing career has concluded.”
Hodgson will continue to direct the Stealth Lacrosse Academy and Junior Stealth program and will remain with the Stealth in a front office position. The Stealth will honour Hodgson during the 2017-2018 season with additional details to be announced soon.
During his career, Hodgson won a Champion’s Cup (2010), appeared in three Champion’s Cup Finals (2010, 2011 and 2013) and made seven post-season appearances during his career. Hodgson has served for four seasons as the Stealth captain. In his 13 seasons, he amassed 708 loose balls and scored 105 points (35 goals and 70 assists) in the regular season while adding 4 points (1 goal and 3 assists) along with 48 loose balls in the NLL post-season.