Stone shrugs off huge hit from Kings’ Hodgson: ‘He’s not much of a player’

Mark Stone doesn’t expect to see Hayden Hodgson any time soon after the Los Angeles Kings winger ignited Wednesday’s preseason clash with a gigantic hit on the Vegas Golden Knights captain.

Hodgson caught Stone near the end boards as the latter reached for a loose puck. A lengthy skirmish erupted in the aftermath as Vegas came to the defense of its leader.

Hayden Hodgson drills Mark Stone along the end boards and a melee ensues.#GoKingsGo #VegasBorn #VGKvsLAK pic.twitter.com/MB2RNWxvjp

— LA Royalty (@LARoyalty1967) September 28, 2023

Stone didn’t mince words after the contest, which ended in a 4-3 overtime win for the Kings.

“That’s probably the last time I’ll ever play against that guy,” Stone told reporters, including FOX 5 Vegas’ Vince Sapienza. “Not really much of a player, so I’ll leave it at that.”

Hodgson has seven NHL games under his belt, each coming with the Philadelphia Flyers over the past two seasons. He’s primarily been an ECHL player. The 27-year-old was traded to the Kings in June as part of the three-way trade that sent Cal Petersen and Sean Walker to Philadelphia.

Wednesday’s clash was Stone’s preseason debut. The veteran winger finished his 2022-23 campaign with a dominant playoff run, collecting 24 points in 22 games as the Golden Knights won their first Stanley Cup.

Vegas and Los Angeles will meet once more in the preseason (Oct. 7) before their regular-season tilt on Oct. 28.

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