Longtime Canucks forward Gino Odjick in hospital, expected to be out soon

Former Vancouver Canucks tough guy Gino Odjick has been hospitalized with an infection and is expected to be released soon, according to Global BC’s Jay Janower.

Janower posted two tweets about Odjick on Friday, indicating that the 51-year-old Canucks alumnus is “resting comfortably” and “doing well.” According to Janower, Odjick is being kept in the hospital for the time being to monitor his condition given “all that [he’s] been thru the last decade.”

Odjick, a 6’3″ left wing from Mainwaki, Quebec, played 12 NHL seasons with the Canucks, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, and Montreal Canadiens. He became a fan favourite in Vancouver during the early 1990s, particularly for the role he played with the Canucks during their 1993–94 Stanley Cup Final season.

In 2014, Odjick announced he had been diagnosed with the rare disease AL amyloidosis, a heart issue with a very bleak prognosis. Despite being told at the time that he had just months to live, Odjick is still here more than eight years later.

Odjick has been very involved as a Canucks alumnus in recent years. This year, he shared a video to help commemorate the team’s First Nations Night and was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

The Canucks originally selected Odjick in the fifth round (No. 86 overall) of the 1990 NHL Draft. He scored 64 goals and 137 points in 605 career NHL regular-season games with Vancouver, New York, Philadelphia, and Montreal, adding four goals and five points in 44 career playoff contests.