Former Canucks Enforcer in hospital fighting life threatening illness

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Joshua Deeds
August 15, 2022 (6:44 PM)

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The Maniwaki Mauler aka Gino Odjick had a storied career in the NHL especially in his first appearance on the Canucks home ice, dropping the gloves with two Chicago Blackhawks players.

Odjick was inducted into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2022 and in light of him being the all-time Canucks penalty minutes leader. But now Odjick is in another fight and apparently he is in a rough spot reported by The Halaw Group on Twitter.

He is battling an infection, not revealed by the posting.

#GINOSTONG @ginodjick Hello Everyone,just to bring some clarification,because there is alot of rumors going around. Gino Odjick is in the hospital,and he is battling a serious infection,and no its not Covid.We are feeling pretty optimistic he will recover from this battle as well

2/ #GINOSTONG @ginodjick Gino would like to thank everyone for their love and support, and he asks everyone for their positive vibes. Another health challenge he is willing and prepared to battle, thank you everyone and much #Respect

On November 21, 1990, Odjick suited up for his first NHL game, he fought his way up from the QMJHL with the Laval Titan, with coaching from the future Colorado Avalanche coach, Bob Hartley. Throughout his way, he fought racism in his ascension to the NHL and never stopped.

Here are our best wishes to Gino, beat this!

Odjick grew up in a small First Nations community in Quebec. He fought his way into junior hockey with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Laval Titan and then into the National Hockey League. There was plenty of racism along the way.